Stratton Bar & Kitchen
It’s shaping up to be a big year for Newstead, with a bunch of new arrivals slated to open in 2022. The first scheduled to arrive is Stratton Bar & Kitchen, the ambitious new drinking and dining spot from Ben and Tarryn Brown, the owners of hugely popular Commercial Road nightspot Mrs Brown’s Bar & Kitchen. The duo’s new concept is located around the corner on Stratton Street within a pair of WW2-era hangars nestled next to live-music venue The Triffid. Ben and Tarryn first inspected the site in the final days of 2020 and quickly became enamoured with its structural properties (especially the arched roofs) and the possibilities the spacious 920-sqm interior afforded. A fit-out process has seen the team lean into the venue’s industrial aesthetic, creating a dark and moody vibe via a material palette of steel and concrete. The hangars have been combined into one grand space divided by a central bar that services Stratton’s restaurant on one side and its function space on the other. A courtyard is also being constructed, with a glasshouse-style roof offering shelter and the sense one is still sipping outside. Chef Andrew Toms is leaving the Mrs Brown’s kitchen to head up the culinary contingent at Stratton, creating a menu that offers something for everyone. The finalised offering favours share-style plates (both small and large), noodle dishes, sides, desserts and an array of easy-to-devour snacks. We’ve been told to expect tantalising tempters like chicken karaage milk buns with Japanese tartare and lemon, potato skins with porcini salt and manchego cheese, sliced roast duck breast with citrus sauce, lemon, turmeric and black pepper salmon, and green tea soba noodles with chicken and green miso. A woodfired pizza oven has also been installed, so expect pizza to also feature on the menu. Stratton’s beverage program is reportedly cocktail heavy, with a list boasting between 30 and 40 concoctions, many of which are imbued with house-made syrups and shrubs. The bar will feature a tighter wine and beer offering than its Commercial Road sibling, with 70 wines and 12 beer taps offering plenty of quaffing material. Stratton Bar & Kitchen is targeting a late-February opening. We’ll be there to show you the best bits once it arrives.

Catalina Rooftop
Before summer ends, South Brisbane will be the lucky recipient of a brand-new rooftop bar and restaurant – one inspired by the breezy beach clubs found in abundance along the Mediterranean coastline. Catalina Rooftop, the new venue from Icatha Hospitality’s Ross Ledingham and Salt Meat Cheese Group’s Stefano De Blasi (who opened Argentinian restaurant Evita late last year), will be perched atop the only non-residential commercial tower in Australia equipped with an infinity rooftop pool. The venue will be cramming a sizeable suite of amenities into the rooftop’s 1500-sqm of space, including a restaurant boasting a mix of indoor and outdoor seating (including curved sky-blue booths and hanging greenery), a sunken rosé lounge for laid-back libation sipping, and a 30-m infinity pool complete with cabanas and daybeds with views of the Brisbane River and the city skyline beyond. Exact details on the offering are still under wraps, but it’s not hard to assume we’ll see a killer collection of cocktails and eats inspired by the Mediterranean’s melting pot of cuisines. Catalina Rooftop is targeting a late-February opening – stay tuned for an up-close look once it launches.

A new venue from the Beccofino and the Julius Pizzeria crew
If you take a gander at our round-up of Brisbane’s best Italian restaurants, best pizza parlours and pasta spots, you’ll see the likes of Beccofino and Julius Pizzeria consistently mentioned. These institutions, helmed by Cordell Khoury and Paolo Biscaro, have long helped set the standard for top-notch Italian fare in Brisbane and soon they’ll look to go three for three with their forthcoming as-yet-unnamed concept, which is due to open in mid-2022. While team are being kept tight-lipped on the exact details of the venue, we’ve been told the casual Italian eatery will be located at the base of Cavcorp’s Long Island development on Longland Street in Newstead (joining the soon-to-open Baker D. Chirico and Evra) and will boast 120–140 seats. Head chef Anthony Nicastro is formulating the menu of Italian-inspired fare – expect handmade pasta, lots of grilled items, a couple of pizzas and woodfired breads. We’ll have more details on this exciting opening when we hear it!

Chinese New Year
As we approach the end of January, we get ever closer to the start of Chinese New Year. Over the coming weeks you’ll see a plethora of restaurants announcing a swathe of events to check out, but two of Brisbane’s lauded neo-Chinese eateries Southside and Donna Chang have revealed how they’ll be celebrating the start of the Year of the Tiger. Southside in Fish Lane will be hosting a week of festive feasting from Monday January 31 to Sunday February 6, with a special multi-course banquet the centrepiece of the restaurant’s celebration. The menu will feature the likes of roast prawn crackers, Sichuan tuna tartare with smoked salmon roe, wild-mushroom spring rolls with Davidson plum, scallop har gow with black caviar, duck sang choy bao, master stock wagyu brisket, char siu fried rice and much more. The banquet is $88 per person, or $158 per person with an all-inclusive two-hour beverage package, which includes cocktails, wine and beer. Lion dance performances will take place on Friday and Saturday evenings between 7:30–8:00 pm. Bookings for groups as big as seven can be made online via OpenTable, while groups of eight or more can email Southside to check availability. From February 1–6, Donna Chang will also be hosting a week of banquet bliss featuring an assortment of Sichuan flavours and contemporary culinary twists. Expect the likes of tea-smoked duck with pickled cabbage and mustard, steamed Southern rock lobster dumplings, pork-and-garlic chive spring rolls, steamed coral trout with ginger and shallots, and red braised pork with shiitake mushrooms. Donna Chang’s banquet is going for $128 per person, with an additional wine pairing available for an extra $50. Traditional lion and dragon dancers will be performing in Donna Chang’s main dining room on Friday February 4 and Saturday February 5 – click here to make a booking.

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