Featuring: Johnny’s Pizza, The Apo, Italian Street Kitchen, Betty’s Burgers, Salt Meats Cheese…
DON’T be fooled by the name – King Tea is not the place to go if you’re looking for a nice, strong cuppa. Paddington, in Brisbane’s inner west, has a vibrant new eatery that takes its name from the snack bar that occupied the building back when the shopping complex Paddington Central across the road was still a tram depot.
The interior is rustic, relying on features of the bygone era – exposed beams and bare brick walls with a bar and kitchen running the length of the room. Seating is at high communal tables or you can gather around wine barrels at the front of the old shopfront. There’s not a cucumber sandwich or macaron to be found on the menu, rather a Spanish-inspired line up of tapas from the southern coast of Spain featuring the familiar and popular – patatas bravas, croquettes of varying flavours, plates of cured meats and fragrant grilled octopus. Spain remains the main influencer of the wine list and there’s a good list of interesting beers and cocktails. Co-owner Dane Huitfeldt is working on a laneway between the bar and his other venue, Hai Hai, a casual little Japanese ramen joint next door. The third venue, Remy’s, which specialises in burgers and beers served in a leafy courtyard at the front of the venue, is just one door away, so King Tea completes an eclectic trio of watering holes that Paddington locals are flocking to. 100 Latrobe Tce, Paddington; phone (07) 3368 2889.
There’s plenty to say “Hai Hai” (which translates to “Yes, Yes”) to on the modest menu of bowls of ramen and sides – think daily bao’s, delicious peanut and crispy onion-laden seaweed slaw, sweetcorn dripping in miso butter and karaage chicken with lemon and kewpie mayo. Carbo-phobes will love the fact that you can swap out your noodles for extra greens, you can also add menma (bamboo) and an extra soft, marinated egg to bolster up the protein ante. 102 Latrobe Tce, Paddington; phone (07) 3876 5947.
Johnny’s Pizza – serving up delicious eats and killer beats. That’s the strapline for the latest addition to the ever-growing Moubarak Group, a family of siblings which has also brought award winning gems like Gerard’s Bistro and Gerard’s Bar, La Ruche, Hatch & Co and the Apo.
Located in buzzing Bakery Lane in the heart of The Valley, at the front of which is The Apo, Johnny’s Pizza is about as throwback ’70’s kitch as it comes, complete with threads of chillies and garlic hanging from the ceiling, shelves full of aperol and campari bottles and disco beats bouncing off the walls of the curving laneway through which red-checked clothed tables are dotted. The menu is clipped to say the least – five classico and five gourmet pizzas make up the bulk of the menu, there is a rocket salad to accompany and an antipasto to precede. Dessert comes in liquid form and involves liberal amounts of aperol, prosecco and amaro montenegro.
Open for lunch through the week it’s a quieter vibe, but as the sun sets the mood morphs into party mode, the beats crank up and hand-stretched dough is literally flying around the open kitchen. Bakery Lane, 694 Ann St, Fortitude Valley; phone 0474 564 669.
There’s another new Italian, this one equally as casual although slightly less colourful, at Gasworks in Newstead in Brisbane’s inner north. In the ever-expanding precinct, which is home to the previously mentioned Hatch & Co, Reef Seafood, Peng You Modern Asian and Buzz Cafe & Bistro as well as food shopping mecca Standard Market Company, Sydney-based Italian Street Kitchen opened earlier in the year much to the delight of locals. Self described as a “streetside cafeteria” with stations where you can serve yourself pizza, pasta and coffee, there’s also a hearty menu to choose from that includes a range of antipasto, pasta dishes, salads and sides as well as spit roast beef and lamb served with a radicchio salad and rosemary and garlic potatoes. For a quick bite of lunch check out the panini’s filled with wood-fired pork belly with salsa verde, lamb with horseradish and rocket or classic Napoli meatballs with fresh basil and parmigiana reggiano. Opening out on to the street overlooking parklands and a soon to be constructed high rise called Haven, which will be home to more popular food outlets such as Betty’s Burgers, Salt Meats Cheese and a new concept from the team at Jocelyn’s Provisions. havenapartments.com.au