Hitting the Town for Brisbane Festival? Here’s Where (and What) To Eat Before or After a Show

It’s been described as a “love letter to Brisbane”. And with more than 1000 events and performances, there’s plenty of love to go around at this year’s Brisbane Festival. As ever, the massive event features a range of headline music acts (this year, it’s artists like Amy Shark, Lime Cordiale and Grinspoon) alongside world-class art installations, dance performances, theatre shows and more.

With three weeks of events to pack in from September 5 to 27, Brisbane Festival is going to be hungry work. If you’re heading along this year, you’ll want somewhere close and convenient to refuel – somewhere like The Star Brisbane. With so many feature events taking place at Queen’s Wharf – like Baleen Moondjan, a contemporary dance ceremony set amongst giant whale bones floating on the Brisbane River, and Skylore, a drone show featuring hundreds of mesmerising lights in the sky over the wharf – The Star Brisbane is right in the middle of all the action.

Whether you’re grabbing a pre-show bite or a late-night snack, here are the best Brisbane Festival dining options on offer.

Sokyo

With experience under Chase Kojima at Sokyo Sydney and at Melbourne’s Yugen Dining when it opened to acclaim, executive chef Alex Yu has elevated Brisbane’s iteration of Sokyo to one of the city’s premier Japanese restaurants. And its latest set-menu offering is designed for the pre-theatre slot. Available from 5pm to 6:30pm each night, the $55 spread features salmon tataki, fried quail, a tempura roll and a bowl of miso soup.

Aloria

While the events of the festival will take you on a tour of the city below, Aloria is all about the view from above. Up on the Sky Deck on level 23, Aloria has forged a reputation for snacks and cocktails against the sunset backdrop of the city skyline. This September, the restaurant is offering a $49 special of share plates for two, with small bites like fried bread with salsa verde and bresaola, smoked carrot tartare, heritage pork rillette, and king prawn pancakes. Find yourself a cocktail to match and enjoy the view before it’s time to get back to the festival.

Cucina Regina

Despite the regal name, there’s nothing stuffy or elitist about Cucina Regina. Here, the focus is Italian comfort food, with simple dishes done well – hand-stretched pizzas, antipasti and classic pastas. For its Brisbane Festival special, the team is doing exactly what you’d hope for: a $49 set with focaccia Romana (shaped like a pizza), San Daniele prosciutto and mortadella, alongside two Aperol Spritzes.

Babblers

Another Sky Deck sweetheart, Babblers skews a touch more casual than its sky-high neighbour, Aloria. While there’s a more substantial lunch and dinner menu if you’re truly famished (with options like full or half roast chickens and crumbed pork tomahawks), Babblers is leaning into the festival pick-me-up angle with a charcuterie-board special. For $49, you’ll get a fully loaded spread of cold cuts, cheeses and accoutrements, plus a Chandon spritz each for you and a festival companion.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with The Star Brisbane.