Feast and frolic for four days when the James Street Food & Wine Trail returns
The only thing more exciting than an adventure is an adventure involving food. What’s not to love about grabbing a map, assembling a crew and setting off to distant lands in search of treasure? When you sub out gold and loot for delicious eats, and distant lands for one of Brisbane’s favourite foodie precincts, you get the James Street Food & Wine Trail. This beloved culinary escapade returns from July 27–30 for its sixth incarnation, providing a four-day tasting plate of the best brews and chews from the iconic strip.
This year will see the James Street Food & Wine Trail offering up a lavish schedule of in-venue collaborations, tastings and masterclasses from the Thursday to Saturday, with a highlight being the inclusion of founders and owners of Japan’s internationally acclaimed Bar Gyu+ (you may know it as ‘The Fridge Door’). Owners Ioanna Morelli and Hisashi Watanabe are joining forces with Harveys Bar + Bistro’s head chef and owner PJ McMillan to create an exclusive five-course dinner on the Thursday, plus the guys from Maker are taking the wheel of a kick-ass pop-up Japanese whisky bar collab on the Friday. Other must-do events on the schedule include the Gerard’s Bistro and Embla Hat Swap (as part of Good Food Month), a seasonal six-course dinner at King Arthur, the Local Producers Cornucopia at Scrumptious Reads, and Bucci’s Vacation Series to name just a few.
If you have never been to the James Street Food & Wine Trail’s Market Day then boy oh boy, you simply have not lived! The closing event of the festival sees a portion of the street close off to create an alfresco dining wonderland, where patrons can sample wares from the many and varied food establishments on the block. As well as more than 25 pop-up bars and restaurants serving up unique off-the-menu specials, the area comes alive with live cooking demonstrations, chilled out tunes and a dedicated zone for little ones. This is the first year that organisers are giving punters a sneak peek at the food offering on the day and it does not disappoint – take a look and start planning the most delicious day of your year.
Feeling peckish? You can check out the whole mouth-watering James Street Food & Wine Trail program and nab tickets to special events through the official website.
To find out more about what’s on in Brisbane, head to our Event Guide.
