The round-up: navigate The Valley like a pro with our BIGSOUND survival guide
From September 5–8, some of the best up-and-coming bands on the Australian music landscape and hundreds of industry big-wigs will descend on Fortitude Valley for BIGSOUND, the southern hemisphere’s largest music industry gathering. For three days and nights, The Valley’s amazing cluster of music venues will come alive with song and the streets themselves will buzz with activity. If you’re in town to take part in BIGSOUND’s conference, are a band performing gigs as part of the live showcase or are a music-loving local simply keen to catch some acts on stage, you’ll want to have a list of food and drink spots handy for quick reference. Introducing our BIGSOUND Survival Guide, wherein we list our favourite venues for coffee and breakfast, lunch pit stops, high-roller dinners and late-night party palaces.
Before we begin, we want to state that this list is missing a few noteworthy inclusions. Why? Well, for the most part, many Fortitude Valley bars are actively participating in this year’s BIGSOUND as venues for the live-music showcase. That means places like Black Bear Lodge, Blute’s Bar, The Brightside, Cloudland, Soapbox Beer, Press Club, Prohibition, Ric’s Bar, Stranded, Summa House, The Outpost, The Warehouse, The Fortitude Music Hall, The Prince Consort, The Sound Garden, The Zoo, Tomcat and Wonderland – all worthy inclusions in any normal Fortitude Valley round-up – are excluded for the purposes of this list. If you’re going to BIGSOUND, you’ll more than likely end up at several of these venues throughout the week. For extracurricular outings, read on …
Get into gear
If we know anything about BIGSOUND, it’s that the days are long and the nights are longer. That means you need to be appropriately fuelled from the jump! Thankfully Fortitude Valley is flush with killer coffee spots and bang-on breakfast nooks. If an invigorating sip of coffee is your biggest priority, then we suggest making tracks to Reverends Fine Coffee for a cup of Coffee Supreme. The team is also dishing out tantalising fast breakers like chorizo-and-potato omelettes and chilli, bacon and cheese bagels, if you’re feeling a bit seedy from the previous night’s revelry. Other options include The New Black in Bakery Lane for The Black Lab brew and fried-chicken Benedicts, No. 5 Cafe in Winn Lane for silky coffee and brekkie rolls, L’Americano for Italian food and espresso, Pressi Juice for an invigorating health injection, Bear Bones Coffee or Keep 15 for specialty caffeine, and Andonis Cafe & Bar on Robertson Street, where all-day breakfast is king.
Midday munchies
Networking is hungry business, so it’s important to stay topped up throughout the day. If you’ve got time between BIGSOUND panels to step out for lunch (and a cold one), saunter over to BrewDog’s three-level venue on Brunswick Street for a pub-style offering of burgers, pizzas, wings, tacos and big-bowl salads. In the mood for noods? We suggest making a beeline for Biang Biang Fresh Noodle for its bowls of hearty belt-width noodles. If you’re keen on something with a bit more broth, Gung Ho in Bakery Lane has you covered with its menu of ramen and dumplings. Next door to Gung Ho is Jeon’s Kitchen & Bar, where Korean cuisine shines. NUG. General Store is our pick for baked goods, homemade focaccia sandwiches, hearty salads and soups, while Fortitude Valley classics Ben’s Burgers and Hashtag Burgers & Waffles are trusty stalwarts for hunger-busting handfuls. Craving pizza? Head down Ann Street until you find Italia Lane or seek out Stone & Copper for some sensational South Asian-inspired fare from lunchtime onwards. Folks eager to get on the beers early can ascend to Valley Hops Brewing for an ale or two (and a pizza to accompany), or trek to the Jubilee Hotel or the Osbourne Hotel for some classic pub atmosphere (and a quintessential pub feed).
Sundown feasts and frothies
Nighttime is when The Valley really comes to life during BIGSOUND. The gigs start early, so sometimes it’s best to get dinner stashed in your stomach before the music kicks off. The Vietnamese on Wickham Street is great for a well-priced serve of pho, while Fat Dumpling on Brunswick Street is ace if a plate piled high with xiao long bao is more your thing. Bloodhound Bar‘s excellent range of craft beer is ably supported by a menu of Indian-inspired bar snacks like butter chicken curry fries, naan pizzas and tacos, Mi Raak in Bakery Lane is great for Asian-fusion eats, Bird’s Nest is a must if you like sizzling yakitori skewers, and Netherworld‘s vegan friendly bar food is great for lining the stomach before a night of feverish gig hopping. Stone & Wood‘s Fortitude Valley brewery is ideal for post-conference beers, but the brewhouse boast plenty of fare for pre-gig feeds, too. We understand schmoozing is part of the game at BIGSOUND, so if you want to splash out and impress a potential industry connection, we suggest booking a table at Agnes (for high-end Brisbane dining at its best) Baja (for Mexican), Viva La Cali! (also for Mexican), Perspective Dining (for boundary pushing tasting menus), Les Bubbles (for steak frites), Rosmarino, Etna or La Costa (for Italian), Mr. Vain or TAMA (for Euro-inspired finery) Magnolia Modern Chinese (for Chinese fine dining), Super Bowl (for more casual Chinese fare) Bisou Bisou (for French-inspired food) or Hôntô (for Japanese).
Late-night revelry
Now, if you’re still on your feet after all of the performances and industry parties, congratulations – you win BIGSOUND. If you’re still eager to sign, seal and send the evening, then there are plenty of bars for kick-ons and nightcaps. Seek out Savile Row on Ann Street (behind the orange door) for top-shelf whisky and craft cocktails, Winn Lane boozer QUIVR Bar for cocktails and sets from up-and-coming DJs, head down Bakery Lane to Dark Red for some top-notch Italian vino, or sample a creative concoction at 1st Edition in California Lane. Hawaiian-themed dive bar Suzie Wong‘s is always a primo place to boogie, while Finney Isles a few doors down has plenty of cushy leather couches to sink into and rest your feet. Love your bars a little bit gritty? King Lear’s Throne and O’Skulligans are the boozers you’re looking for. Down towards James Street, the old GPO building is now home to late-night bar and party spot The Tax Office, as well as elegant old-school cocktail bar The Gatsby upstairs. Want to get elevated? Cielo Rooftop Bar, Soko Rooftop, Iris Rooftop Bar, Dirty Sultan and MAYA Mexican have views to die for (and cocktails to match), but those eager to stick close to Brunswick Street Mall can always cut a rug at perpetually popular party spots Ric’s Bar, The RG, Hey Chica!, Prohibition and Retro’s. Need something to line your stomach before you call it a night? Pop in to Lord of the Fries. You’ll thank us later.
This is just the tip of a very tasty iceberg – for more venue suggestions, hit up our Stumble Guide. BIGSOUND will be rolling into the Valley from September 5–8 – to check out the stacked line-up and grab tickets, head here.
Baja image supplied
The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Brisbane dining guide with more than 2400 places to eat, drink, shop and play.
