Featuring: Siffredi’s Spaghetti Bar, Stokehouse Q, Haig Street Bistro…

LAST year as Brisbane diners watched restaurant doors temporarily close from the safety of their lockdown bunkers, pining for the day life would return to some form of normality, some of those doors were destined to remain closed.
The most high profile to bid farewell to the sunshine state was Stokehouse Q, the northern relative of Melbourne’s lauded Stokehouse in St Kilda. The purpose-built venue, on a commanding reach of the river at South Bank, was a popular restaurant, bar and event venue and left a gaping hole in the upper end of the dining market.
It’s permanent closure also left some major talent with no place to cook, something sought after head chef Ollie Hansford and sommelier Aleks Balodis had little experience with.
But good things can come out of calamitous times and in this case, it is Siffredi’s Spaghetti Bar, the brainchild of Balodis and Hansford with the help of long-time friend and colleague Stephen Overty (who also worked the bar at Stokehouse Q).
At first the trio were looking at a pop up – a market tester for both the unprecedented times and also for their non-traditional ideas for a spaghetti bar – but short-term leases proved difficult to secure so they took the leap of faith and opened in Teneriffe in Brisbane’s inner north.
You won’t find beef ragu or carbonara on this menu – in fact Hansford sees pasta as a carrier for his inspired flavour pairings such as braised beef tongue, pickled radish, shiitake mushrooms and crispy pasta or champagne lobster with pumpkin seed pesto and stuffed zucchini.
The concept and delivery are a far cry from the ‘Queensland formality’ of their former home, instead of long lists of entrees and mains with a voluminous wine list with a star-studded line up of old and new world wines, Siffredi’s offers four snacks and five spaghetti dishes on rotation according to seasonal availability and the chef’s abundant creativity.
Finger Lime and prosecco garnish oysters, a crostini topped with Ora king salmon and pickled rhubarb or cured meats and pickles are typical of the snack line up and if you’re very lucky spaghetti with saffron, white asparagus and young garlic will feature on the mains.
There is one dessert on offer, a Campari soft serve, with grapefruit on one occasion, is deliciously weightless and a savoury/sweet finish to a light but flavour packed meal.
There are 12 wines to choose from and a short list of cocktails – aperol spritz, Americano and an aeropress negroni – makes you wonder why anyone could possibly want any more in an aperitif line up.
With just ten seats inside and forty out on the terrace the venue is just as streamlined deriving character from the heritage listed Woolstore in which it is located. Sandblasted brick walls are the backdrop for the mosaic tiled bar and a giant pastel neon sign leaves you no doubt of the name, an ode to Rocco Siffredi, an Italian porn star of some note.

Service is slick and professional and a world away from fine dining but it’s nice to see the pro’s in action working for themselves and doing what they love. Thank heavens for those redundancy cheques! Siffredi’s Spaghetti Bar, 36 Vernon Terrace Teneriffe. No Phone. Email party@siffredis.com.au.
Across town in Red Hill on a busy corner sits a lovely old shop with an adjacent courtyard and a cosy upstairs dining room. Over the years it has been everything from a well-regarded local bistro to breakfast hub and coffee pitstop.
Enter Le Coin (The Corner), freshly painted and decked out with teak folding chairs upholstered in taupe with hints of jade around the courtyards. Wooden tables with red umbrellas sit in lines on the footpath heralding the early opening hours for breakfast which flows into lunch and dinner. It’s directly opposite the Red Hill Cinema, a lovely space, formerly a skating rink and reclaimed after standing vacant for years after fire claimed much of the interior and roof.
Expect French fare to be served at all times – announced in French with English descriptors – the lunch menu sees classics like garlicky escargot, souffle au chevre and salad nicoise all make an appearance alongside the Alsatian classics, a range of tarte flambee, a non-yeasted tart base topped with onion bacon and gruyere, a ratatouille-style eggplant, peppers and zucchini and the Provencale, topped with white anchovies, tomato and olives.
They’re also available at night when the menu also offers two and three-course set menus for $58 and $72 respectively.
Le Coin is the sister restaurant of the Haig Street Bistro in neighbouring Auchenflower, owned by Arvid Noack and Marcus Kerschbaumer where chef Yann Bouton creates an Alsatian focused menu much like their newest venture. Here though you will see dishes such as canard roti (roasted duck with spaetzle and braised red cabbage), côte de boeuf with bistro potatoes and cafe de Paris butter and pan seared gnocchi with mushrooms and truffles in a beurre noisette.
Le Coin’s decor is similar to its sister venue which is also housed in a lovely old shop with bright green French doors and symmetrical bay windows making for cosy spots for diners to watch the passing parades of cars. Le Coin, 5/1 Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill. Phone 0449 696 236. Haig Street Bistro, 111 Haig Road, Auchenflower. Phone 0452 522 770.