Flour & Chocolate
We’ll travel far for phenomenally flaky croissants, dreamy doughnuts, decadent brownies and mouth-watering sausage rolls – especially the kind artfully crafted by the team at Flour & Chocolate. Good news for those who frequently trek from Moreton Bay for a fix from Flour & Chocolate’s Morningside and Northgate dispensaries – the beloved bakery is opening a new site in Redcliffe! Owners Lachlan and Kylie Scott – both northside locals – have a strong affection for Redcliffe and believe the suburb is an ideal family-friendly outing spot. The team has secured a space just a short stroll from the waterfront, with a footprint similar in size to its Morningside location offering room for an on-site kitchen, service area and some outdoor seating. Flour & Chocolate Redcliffe will be making its coveted tarts, slices, cakes, savoury items and gourmet sandwiches in house (served alongside cups of Mocopan Coffee), while its range of breads will be baked daily at the team’s production kitchen in Northgate. The team is targeting a post-Easter opening – we’ll have more details as that date gets closer.

Nonna’s Pizzeria & Deli
“Just like Nonna’s” – three little words that are the Holy Grail of compliments when it comes to Italian food. Soon Nonna will be serving up her family-style feasts at South Bank, when Nonna’s Pizzeria & Deli opens its doors on Grey and Little Stanley Streets. The eatery is the latest project from the Olé Group (Olé Restaurant, Mucho Mexicano, Downtown Istanbul), which is currently transforming its recently closed Mister Paganini into this refreshed concept. The group has acquired Mister Paganini’s neighbouring space, with the multi-faceted Nonna’s set to span over 400 sqm with the capacity to fit roughly 200 patrons. The bar and eatery will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, across Nonna’s Deli & Espresso, Nonna’s Pizzeria and Bar Italia. The Deli & Espresso bar will serve up a morning breakfast menu alongside pastries and Campos Coffee, and the likes of piadina sandwiches, house-made pies, jaffles and more at lunchtime. The woodfired pizza oven will also be fired up from lunch through to dinner, where the Nonna’s Pizzeria crew will hand stretch their house-made dough for a range of pizzas, alongside generously portioned modern-Italian family-style dishes. From 4:00 pm, an impressive vibe-changing curtain will be pulled across to close off the deli and reveal Bar Italia, a moody New York-style bar pouring Mediterranean-inspired sips – think negronis, spritzes and more. With rich flavours and the freshest ingredients on the menu, Nonna’s Pizzeria & Deli aims to bring together the best of Italy, showcasing its northern, southern, coastal and country regions. The bar and eatery is due to open late March to early April – we’ll have full details for you when it does!

Hotel X
Those of you that have strolled along Brunswick Street to or from The Valley in recent months will have spied an eye-catching geometric facade rising up on the entertainment precinct’s fringe. We can now reveal that this new structure is home to Brisbane’s newest five-star hotel, Hotel X. The 146-room hotel is the latest addition to the portfolio of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which has crafted an identity for the site that is unique to Brisbane. Operating on the mantra of ’24-hours of play and stay’, the hotel naturally boasts all of the top-tier amenities one would expect from a five-star accommodation destination in the thick of the action. Foodies will be interested to learn that two new dining concepts from award-winning local hospitality crew the Ghanem Group (Donna Chang, Blackbird Bar & Grill, Byblos) will also be opening at the hotel soon. French-inspired restaurant and aperitivo bar Bisou Bisou will be opening in Hotel X’s ground-floor dining space on Monday February 22, serving up quintessential French tastes recontextualised for a Queensland palate. The Ghanem Group has also revealed the name of Hotel X’s forthcoming rooftop bar and restaurant. Iris will boast a Mediterranean-inspired aesthetic that will no doubt capitalise on the site’s panoramic views and pool. We’ll have more on that one at a later date – stay tuned for more.

Cubic Coffee
Those seeking a new coffee option in the inner city will soon have a new caffeine dispensary to call their own when Cubic Coffee opens on George Street in mid-March. The brainchild of coffee lover Richard Barthes, Cubic is a hole-in-the-wall space that will occupy the space formerly home to Alen’s Espresso Bar opposite the Supreme and District Courts Building. An interior refurbishment is currently underway, which will establish a Brutalist-inspired aesthetic comprised of concrete composite, oak timber, black metal and spots of greenery. As for Cubic’s offering, Richard is keen to do justice to Alen’s legacy while also taking a modern approach to coffee service. Beans from Toby’s Estate will be used for Cubic’s white and black coffee (soon a rotating selection of single-origin beans will be added), while cold-brew and nitro coffee will be a specialty. Cubic will also be dispensing kegs of kombucha, while freshly baked pastries, raw vegan sweets and smørrebrød-style open sandwiches will be available for those angling for a snack. Although Cubic’s footprint will be on the small side, the interior will boast room for dine-in patrons, including an eight-person meeting room at the rear of the venue. We’ll have a closer look at Cubic Coffee when it opens next month.

Black Milk Coffee
We’ve got a double shot of a coffee news for you this week! Oxley-based caffeine crew Black Milk Coffee is expanding to West End, with a brand-new locale at the base of Aria Property Group’s new Rothelowman-designed multi-residential development Tree House. Black Milk Coffee owner Todd McHenry has been operating the Station Road cafe since 2013 and three years ago also established his own micro-roastery one suburb over in Seventeen Mile Rocks. This foray into the heart of the city will see Todd and his team looking to charm West End’s coffee-loving demographic with its range of locally roasted blends and single origins, as well as a concise menu of Mexican, Central American and Californian-inspired eats – think keto-friendly bowls, grab-and-go burritos and more. The bespoke fit-out (applied by Tonic Projects) is nearing completion, which means Black Milk Coffee will officially open in the coming weeks.

Howard Smith Wharves’ $25 lunches
If you’ve been craving a feed at Howard Smith Wharves but are looking to reign in the spending, we’ve got news that you and your wallet will enjoy. The riverside foodie hub’s Let’s Lunch program is bringing together the precinct’s eateries for a month of lunch deals available Monday to Friday until the end of February. Each restaurant is putting forward a special hand-picked lunch experience, all of which include a meal and a drink for just $25. Packages include a dirty rice bowl or a Vietnamese vermicelli bowl from Felons Barrel Hall (served with a schooner of Felons beer, naturally), grilled whiting, frites and lemon paired with a glass of chardonnay at Mr Percival’s , tonkotsu ramen with a Four Pillars Gin in Yuzu Highball from Yoko, saganaki garides, salad, fresh bread and a Four Pillars olive leaf lemon spritz at Greca, and Shanghai duck noodles with shiitake mushroom and black pepper with a glass of Craggy Range pinot noir from Stanley. Hit the Howard Smith Wharves website to check out all the tasty deals available.

If you’ve heard something that’s worth mentioning in The Weekend Edition’s Pavement Whispers, email [email protected].