Mina Italian
Fans of Fortitude Valley’s Eterna received some sad news late last year when the team behind the Roman-inspired restaurant announced that it would be closing its doors permanently just before Christmas. After the Eterna crew couldn’t come to terms with its landlord on a new rental agreement, the team decided to find a new location to serve its Italian fare – one that allowed for a bit more versatility in its offering and atmosphere. Fortitude Valley’s loss is Bulimba’s gain, as the crew has snagged a primo spot on Oxford Street in Bulimba for Mina Italian, a fresh concept that looks to deliver the best elements of Eterna in a new setting. Mina Italian will join Melrose, Darvella Patisserie and Bellissimo Coffee’s recently refurbished Bulimba cafe as part of the suburb’s buzzing dining strip towards the river, with the restaurant set to seduce locals with a fresh and vibrant personality separate from Eterna’s intimate brick-laden aesthetic. Mina will boast a 150-sqm interior and alfresco space, with a funky and fun visual identity comprised of bright whites, light pastel yellow, marble and leather. A 40-seat interior will boast banquette seating and a sizeable bar, while the team has partnered with neighbouring Darvella Patisserie to jointly share the outdoor space, which will also feature all-white furnishings and festoon lighting. As for the menu, Mina Italian’s offering will be made up of the best Napoli-style woodfired pizzas from the Salt Meats Cheese menu as well as Eterna’s crowd-pleasing steaks and pasta dishes. The beverage list will feature wine as well as an assortment of colourful cocktails (expect some concoctions repurposed from the drinks list at Cielo Rooftop Bar). As for the Eterna brand, the team is eager to find a new home for the eatery and is currently considering launching a street-food pop-up while a new home is sought. Mina Italian is slated to open in mid-April – stay tuned for more details.

Melrose
The Bulimba news doesn’t stop there. The Venzin Group is also making some exciting moves, announcing the relaunch of its beloved Balinese-inspired rooftop restaurant Melrose this week. Come Wednesday March 2, the venue will be split, with each half offering a unique and distinct dining experience of its own. From this week, guests can opt to dine in Melrose Restaurant or relax and snack at Melrose Cocktail Bar, with each half pivoting to serve up its own culinary offering designed by head chef Arté Assavakavinvong. Melrose Restaurant’s menu will likely be familiar to regulars, with share-style dishes like cold tea-smoked scallops, chargrilled Ōra king salmon, wagyu beef cheek curry with ginger and kipfler potato, and taro pudding with coconut butterscotch and honeycomb. Over at Melrose Cocktail Bar, guests can perch with pals among the high tables sipping on frozen cocktails and chomping on bar snacks like beef skewers with satay macadamia sauce, crispy enoki mushroom with soy caramel and sticky rice, grilled lamb ribs, chargrilled corn with coconut and kaffir lime salt, and Moreton Bay bug milk buns – all available to order via an easy-to-use QR code system.

Popolo
It’s hard to believe that River Quay’s Popolo is ten years old – time flies when you’re chowing down! The South Bank-based eatery has crammed a lot of modern Italian cuisine into its decade of operation, earning its place amongst our list of Brisbane’s best. To celebrate the tremendous milestone, hospitality group DAP & Co. (The Gresham, Walter’s Steakhouse) is giving the restaurant a refreshed look and attitude. In addition to the aesthetic shake-up, Popolo’s head chef Francesco Vitagliano has created a new menu of Italian-inspired delights that stay true to the restaurant’s overall essence, but explores lesser-known provincial Italian twists. We’ve been told to expect the likes of pizza fritta with mortadella, pistachio and stracciatella and baby octopus braised in red wine, Ligurian olives and lemon mascarpone. Popolo’s new menu and look will be officially unveiled when the restaurant reopens on Thursday March 17.

King St Bakery’s Bake Sale
The weekend’s heavy rains and subsequent flooding continues to impact numerous Brisbane businesses, with many still grappling to understand the toll inflicted by the wild weather. Shannon and Clare Kellam, the hospitality veterans behind Montrachet, Mica Brasserie, The Kneadery and King St Bakery are no exceptions, with power outages at their production facility resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars of food that would otherwise be sold at their businesses and wholesale partners. In order to salvage some stock, the team will be hosting a bake sale, selling salvaged pies, sausage rolls and pastries – as well as coffee, juice and KSB Home Feast meals – from King St Bakery today from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Pies and sausage rolls will be available hot and ready to eat or cold for take-home consumption.

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Melrose image credit: Freyosh Images