Now Open: Clarence Levels Up at Its Swish New Fish Lane Home

“Matt [from Neighbourhood Farm] grows really fucking good stuff,” says Clarence co-owner and chef Ben McShane. He’d know. Most weeks, he and fellow chef-owner Matt Kuhnemann are out in the fields with farmer Matt Bakker, harvesting produce that will land on the table later that day.

“We’re able to have that relationship where we can have real interactions with the farm,” McShane says. “There might be spinach in a bed, but I want it bigger for our creamed spinach, so we’ll leave it. We’ll pick salads on Tuesday, and it gets served [at the restaurant that night].”

It’s this connection to local farms and suppliers – including Sunnybank Fish Market, Falls Farm and Echo Valley Farm – that’s set Clarence apart since it opened in Woolloongabba in 2022. While plenty of venues talk about being “produce-driven”, few walk the walk like Clarence. And now, after relocating to a sleek 40-seater on Fish Lane, McShane and Kuhnemann have the space to take things up a notch.

Designed by Alkot Studio – the team behind Pilloni and Emme’s stunning fit-outs – the new dining room feels grown-up without being stuffy. An open kitchen takes centrestage, wrapped with counter seating, while light-green banquettes run along the walls. High ceilings and wide glass windows flood the space with natural light, making it just as appealing during the day as it is at night.

The move has also put Clarence closer to the action. With Marlowe set to open across the laneway and the Ghanem Group’s takeover of the Fox, this end of Fish Lane is buzzing.

“Where we were [in the Gabba], people had to go out of their way,” McShane says. “They’d sit down and have three courses, because there was no other reason to go to that area. Here, you have pre-theatre, late-night venues, people live upstairs – they can have a main and go home.”

That flexibility runs through the menu. You can settle in for a few hours and order up big or drop in for a snack before a show at QPAC. To start, there are Neighbourhood Farm crudités with whipped cod roe; Hervey Bay scallops with tiger milk, caper and radish; and smoked and glazed house-made ham with green bean chutney. You might follow with pig head schnitzel, served with celery, apple and wasabi green goddess sauce, or potato gnocchi with caviar and dashi cream. Mains include dry-aged duck with witlof and a cumquat yuzu kosho, and wild-shot venison rack with blueberry and beetroot.

Large-format options include coral trout meunière with new potatoes and Neighbourhood Farm leaves; a 450-gram O’Connor grass-fed sirloin with bordelaise sauce, duck fat potatoes and creamed spinach; and apple tarte tatin with Tommerup’s jersey cream.

“You can come in, have half a coral trout with potatoes, salad and a glass of wine, and it’s a really great, proper dinner,” McShane says. “If I lived upstairs and there was a place doing that downstairs, that would be unreal.”

The wine program, overseen by restaurant manager Zoe O’Mahoney, remains all-Australian with close to 100 bottles, but there’s now more emphasis on cocktails. Options include a Pickleback, a rhubarb gin fizz, and a Martini made with fresh bergamot oranges from Falls Farm.

Clarence
51 Fish Lane, South Brisbane
0452 655 996

Hours:
Mon to Thu 5pm–10pm
Fri & Sat midday–11pm
Sun midday–10pm

clarencerestaurant.com/
@clarence.restaurant