The Weekend Edition

Food & Drink

The year in review: 2019’s biggest openings

19 Dec 2019

After the blockbuster year Brisbane's food scene experienced in 2018, you'd be forgiven for thinking that 2019 would be hard-pressed to to follow suit. Now that we sit on the precipice of a new decade, we've got the perfect vantage point to look back on the year that as. From our point of view, 2019 has not only matched 2018's gargantuan effort, but has even surpassed it! This year Brisbane was the beneficiary of several new restaurants, bars, cafes, breweries and live-music venues – with homegrown heroes and international names establishing must-try venues all over town. From Howard Smith Wharves consolidating its position as Brisbane's go-to dining precinct to the emergence of Fortitude Valley's Ada Lane as a hospitality juggernaut in its own right, 2019 has proven to be a landmark year in Brisbane's history. To celebrate this milestone stretch, we've cast our eye back over 2019 and handpicked some of our personal highlight openings. Here's to another decade of Brisbane excellence!

Food & Drink

Brooke Saward of Brooki Bakehouse chats macaron making in Paris and the joys of baking

18 May 2023

Before she was making some of Brisbane's best confections, Brooke Saward was a globe-trotting travel blogger. She had accumulated thousands of followers thanks to her holidaying resource World of Wanderlust, through which she experienced the wonders of the world. When the self-confessed dessert die-hard starting taking macaron-making classes at the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, Brooke's career trajectory changed. Now based in Brisbane, Brooke has opened Brooki Bakehouse, a Fortitude Valley dispensary known for its in-demand cakes, cookies and macarons. A year on from Brooki's opening, we caught up with the self-taught dessert doyenne to chat about the Brooki journey so far, running an owner-operated businesses and her tips for the best food cities in the world.

Food & Drink

The round-up: get a sublime scoop at Brisbane’s best gelato and ice-cream spots

15 Feb 2024

When the temperatures rise and air-conditioning units activate all over Brisbane, it's safe to assume that gelato weather has arrived. This summer has been particularly scorching, so it's only fair that we treat ourselves to some ultra-cold, creamy and delicious ice-cream to help us cope. Brisbane has a great selection of gelaterias and ice-cream parlours across town. If you're keen to brave the heat to get your fix of gelato or ice-cream, be sure to equip yourself with knowledge before hand. This is our list of Brisbane's best!

Food & Drink

The round-up: Brisbane’s best dinner spots – as voted by you!

07 Sep 2017

We’ve ticked off breakfast, we sorted lunch, now we need to get our third square meal of the day with dinner. Whether you’ve got a hot date lined up for the weekend, or your friends and family are making you choose where you all eat next catch-up, it’s important to make the right choice when it comes to your evening meal. Many of you voted in our 2016 EAT/drink Awards last year, making it clear where you’d prefer to eat out in town. If you are stuck for a recommendation, you don’t need to simply take our word as gospel – you can listen to what everyone in Brisbane is saying, too!

Food & Drink

The round-up: Brisbane’s ten best places for lunch as chosen by you

06 Dec 2018

Here at The Weekend Edition, we’re huge fans of the fun lunch. Sure, we have our fair share of desk-bound leftovers and toasted sandwiches, but we jump at the opportunity to explore our culinary horizons when the midday pangs hit. If your two-day-old salad is looking a little limp, we’ve got ten toothsome ideas to bring your lunchtime back to life. Presenting Brisbane’s ten best places for lunch as voted by you, our readers, in The Weekend Edition’s 11th annual EAT/drink Awards in 2018.

Food & Drink

The round-up: start your day on the right note with a visit to Brisbane City’s best coffee spots

20 Jul 2023

Coffee. It's the lifeblood of Brisbane City, where thousands upon thousands of workers descend daily – almost all of whom need some sort of caffeine-infused hit before they start their day. Thankfully for the bleary-eyed hoards, The City is home to many sensational caffeine dispensaries, including specialty focused stalwarts and express espresso outlets. No matter if you're a latte lover or a filter fanatic, you're sure to find the jolt of your preference amongst this list of Brisbane's best coffee spots.

Food & Drink

The round-up: fill up on goodness at Brisbane’s best vegan spots

17 Aug 2023

Put your presuppositions in the bin – plant-based food is not just salad and steamed vegetables. Vegan cuisine is becoming increasingly prominent due to the rise of dietary requirements and a conscientious focus of what we put in our bodies. For those of you who can’t stomach the thought of canning the cutlets and trashing the T-bones in favour of salad, please relax – we aren’t here to sway you to veganism. What we will say is that dining as a vegan can be hard in our predominantly meat-eating society, but also very rewarding – even if you love bacon and eggs. We’ve chosen to point out Brisbane’s best vegan spots well worth sampling.

Food & Drink

The round-up: Brisbane’s best Chinese restaurants

03 Feb 2022

When it comes to variety, flavour and crowd-pleasing potential, you would be hard-pressed to find cuisine as beloved as the Chinese variety. From sizzling hotpots, saucy vegetables and pillowy-soft dumplings to mountains of rice and deep-fried chicken feet, Chinese food has the ability to satisfy a diner's tastebuds and curiosity simultaneously – it just depends on what vibe you're chasing. Forget the food-court bain-marie honey chicken – we've done the research and searched far and wide to find the best authentic Chinese restaurants in Brisbane. So get your chopsticks ready – there’s a Chinese restaurant nearby just waiting to feed you!

Food & Drink

The year in review: Brisbane’s best restaurant openings of 2023

22 Dec 2023

This year was one for the history books, as far as Brisbane's restaurant scene was concerned. Big-name players from interstate planted flags north of the border, while local icons continued to prove why Brisbane is now seen as a world-class food city by many. Italian cuisine was big (again), as was steak – but innovation and rule bending was also huge trend of Brisbane dining over the past 12 month. If this stacked list of our picks for Brisbane's best restaurant openings of 2023 is anything to go by, this year is going to be hard to top. Read on to see why ...

Food & Drink

The round-up: classic cocktails reimagined – where to get Brisbane’s best

01 Dec 2016

Look, when we say variety is the spice of life we really mean it. While there is no harm is sticking with a good thing, sometimes it’s nice to spice things up from time to time. Before you call us out for being suss, let us clarify – we’re talking about cocktails here. We’ve all got our personal favourite when it comes to crafted concoctions, but how do you know if you’ve experienced the best that’s available if you haven’t looked beyond the borders of your local? We’ve scouted Brisbane for some of the most enticing variations on some classics, as well as a few share cocktails to try next time you crave a sophisticated sip.