One of Fortitude Valley’s most storied restaurant spaces welcomed a new resident in October 2022 when Mr. Vain Bar & Dining opened to the public in the laneway site previously home to LONgTIME and Eterna at 610 Ann Street. The restaurant – owned and operated by Dilan Ildes and Tom D’Arcy of Dirty Sultan fame – sees the moody, dimly lit space transformed into a hub of contemporary European-inspired fare. Designer Courtney Low has worked with the hospitality crew on Mr. Vain’s interior, with a 90s-influenced aesthetic emphasising elegance and sophistication while underscoring the site’s rustic glamour. In the kitchen, head chef Tim Young (previously of Blackbird Bar & Grill and Melbourne’s Matilda) is turning out a thoughtful, season-driven menu anchored by locally sourced and native produce, with a minimalist style of execution letting ingredients shine. Expect the likes of seared kangaroo with fermented pepper and buckwheat cracker, Fremantle octopus with soured tomato, coconut and black lime, pork tomahawk with coffee, turnip top and pineapple, butterflied reef fish with champagne butter, coral mushroom and salt bush, and Daintree ice-cream sando with wattle, Davidson plum and macadamia. In the bar, Jhon Gavino Hinestroza is crafting a beverage program that is equal parts modern and nostalgic, headlined by a six-strong selection of signature cocktails featuring the likes of the Leo Not Lenny (Christian Drouin Selection, Sangue Morlacco cherry liqueur, pear verjuice and nashi pear) and the Arnie’s Punch Punch (Casamigos reposado, fermented hot honey and corn), as well as zero-ABV concoctions, martini flights, aperitivos, three kinds of negroni and a wine list favouring natural, skin contact and minimal-intervention vino.