All the New Restaurants, Bars and Cafes We Got Excited About in Autumn 2026

We blinked, and suddenly it was June. It’s been a busy year for Brisbane and, although summer packed a bigger punch with 10 new openings, autumn still served up some serious new openings, including a neo-Nordic bistro, a Sydney transplant and a new late-night bar.

Here – in alphabetical order – are six new spots we loved, plus two pivots.

Bar Cooper’s, Coorparoo

It’s been a big year for the Snug team. Jane’s Deli opened its doors in summer and Bar Cooper’s joined the fray in March to complete the trilogy of neighbouring venues. Much of the menu is based around the central woodfired oven. Fed with ironbark, it can reach 500 degrees Celsius and churns out dishes like woodfired oysters with chicken velouté and tarragon, flatbread with green garlic butter and parmesan, wood-roasted fish with jalapeno and coriander sauce, and a dry-aged Wagyu cheeseburger.

The wine list leans European, in contrast to Snug’s Australian-only selection, but the fit-out echoes the team’s characteristic restraint with timber, bronze tiles and dark tones.

Kosta’s Takeaway, Newstead

Kosta’s Takeaway opened in 2021 in a smash-repair workshop in Rockdale, NSW. It had a “no bullshit” approach and a crew of chefs with restaurant pedigree. Quickly, it expanded, opening three more Sydney venues and becoming one of the city’s most popular sanga shops.

In late February 2026, it opened its first interstate shop at Gasworks Plaza.

Like at his Sydney outposts – which tapped fine-dining talent like Ester’s Jono Fisher, Tim Cassimatis (ex-Barzaari), Zach Livingstone and Will Bond (both ex-Firedoor, Gildas) – owner Benjamin Terkalas is courting top-tier Brisbane talent. Adam Wolfers (former group chef for Anyday Hospitality) has come on board to consult for Brisbane – and occasionally jump on the tools himself.

Brisbane-exclusive dishes include breakfast yiros and chicken shawarma flatbread. There’s also a solid selection of Sydney faves like a schnitty bun, a fish burger, a tuna melt and the Supa Deli with salami, ham, mortadella, rocket, peperonata and stracciatella on Sicilian scacciata.

Le Royale, CBD

If Anyday’s Tyron Simon, Ben Williamson, Bianca Marchi-Simon and Frank Li are tired, they’re not letting it show. Le Royale was the group’s third opening in a year. The bar sits upstairs from December opening The French Exit in the heritage-listed Coal Board Building, but here the focus has shifted from fancy French brasserie fare to good tunes and good booze. Music is at the core of the experience, with three rotating house bands putting jazzy spins on pop music.

The beers are exclusively Aussie – and the backbar is stocked with spirits from local distributors. If wine’s more your thing, then you’re in luck. Le Royale has access to a plethora of high-end bottles from Anyday’s reserve wine cellar list.

Although drinks drive the offering here, food is far from an afterthought. Expect steak tartare with pommes gaufrettes, chicken liver parfait piped into an eclair, and a signature burger, aptly named Le Royale With Cheese. To finish, there are made-to-order madeleines served with burnt butter whipped cream, and house-made soft serve topped with olive oil and sea salt. On Friday and Saturday nights, the kitchen will serve food until 1.30am, making it the perfect spot for a nightcap.

Never Enough, Fortitude Valley

When it came to naming their new Fortitude Valley restaurant, couple Tyla Dombroski and Trad Nathan (who also own Crowbar, across the road on Ann Street) looked to food, wine, music and good company – four things they can never get enough of.

The new bar sits inside the heritage-listed Apothecaries Hall, a two-storey building which has previously been home to Uh Oh Spaghettio and The Apo. Dombroski and Nathan have stocked the space with around 300 records and Audio-Technica turntables. DJs also perform on Friday and Saturday nights.

In the kitchen, Trent Lymn (formerly head chef at The 203) has put together a menu including fried artichokes with white beans and salsa verde, tempura zucchini flowers with tomato spice, and fried chicken tenders with caviar and crème fraîche. There’s also a dry-aging program, turning out dry-aged beef tartare with fermented chilli and waffle chips, and a 21-day dry-aged cheeseburger with tarragon mustard and champagne onions. Expect steak specials too, with cuts sourced from top producers like Copper Tree Farms, Chauvel and Riverine.

Sunnyside Sandwiches, East Brisbane

Mack Bowers and Charline De Conto opened the first Sunny Side Sandwiches in 2021 with the hope they could foster a sandwich scene in Brisbane to mirror Melbourne’s. Now the couple have opened their third store in East Brisbane.

The new venue is significantly larger, with around 40 seats. It’s a noticeable shift from the predominantly takeaway-focused format at the other locations. The fit-out sticks to Sunny Side’s signature yellow branding, paired with stainless steel and timber. A viewing window into the kitchen allows customers to watch the cafe’s shokupan being made.

The East Brisbane menu follows the same formula as the other stores: a tight seven-sandwich offering with rotating monthly specials. Mainstays include the bestselling schnitty sandwich with panko-crumbed chicken schnitzel, shredded lettuce, bread-and-butter pickles and herb mayo; a breakfast sandwich with soft scrambled egg, streaky bacon, caramelised onion and kimchi mayo; and a fish-and-chips sandwich with panko-crumbed snapper, fries, shredded lettuce, pickles and tartare sauce.

Venner, West End

New Nordic cuisine was all the rage in the early 2010s. It began with the launch of the New Nordic Food Manifesto in 2004, followed by the global success of Scandinavian restaurants like Noma, Relae and Faviken. Soon, it spread around the world, including to Brisbane via restaurants like Esquire, Gauge, GOMA Restaurant and Urbane. The best example was  Elska, an ambitious 12-seat fine diner, which closed in 2023.

Now Venner is here to fill the Elska-shaped hole in our local scene. It opened in the former Gum Bistro space in late February under Elska alumni George Curtis and James Horsfall (also behind CBD wine bar Milquetoast), and Jack Stuart of Blume. 

The menu focuses on Nordic techniques. Expect buckwheat crackers topped with Spanish mackerel and cucumber; kangaroo pastrami draped over cultured cream with fried onions; yellowfin tuna with a sour green tomato and seaweed dressing; grilled Murray cod with bisque and charred greens; and a barbeque deer loin with cavolo nero and warrigal greens sauce.

Plus, two pivots:

• Los from Anyday group has changed its tune to become a Mexican Thai fusion joint, with head chef Arté Assavakavinvong at the helm.

• Agnes has lived many lives. On May 25, it entered a new era with 25 new menu items from co-owner and culinary director Ben Williamson.

Additional reporting by Elliot Baker.