Meet Bosco, a Rustic Open-Fire Grill in a Newstead Warehouse by the Bar Alto Team

Simon Hill (Bar Alto) and Richard Cotton (Brewbakers) have shared a longstanding partnership. If you’ve dined at one of Hill’s restaurants in the past 14 years, chances are you ate Cotton’s bread.

“We’ve been using Richie’s bread for [a long time], at Alto, then at Ortiga,” Hill tells Broadsheet. After Cotton moved his bakery to a warehouse in Newstead, Hill “started picking up the bread there every morning”.

Now Hill has moved into that very same warehouse to unveil Bosco, an 80-seat grill operating out of the front portion of the industrial space. Brewbakers’ production kitchen continues to operate at the back of the site each morning, before clearing out in time for Bosco’s service. It’s an unconventional arrangement, but the allure of the stunning industrial warehouse makes it worthwhile.

“These big, old, rustic warehouses are becoming rarer and rarer, they keep getting knocked down,” Hill says, adding it was a good opportunity to utilise the whole space.

For the fit-out, Hill enlisted architects Nielsen Jenkins to create a sophisticated and moody venue. There’s lots of dark brick and concrete elements, complemented by large timber tables and dramatic floor-to-ceiling curtains. The overall effect feels like a fusion between a beer hall and a farmhouse.

The focal point of the restaurant is the open kitchen, equipped with a parrilla grill and a fire-powered oven from Sumner Park’s Ember Industries. (Hill also hints that a vintage French gear-driven spit will soon be added.) Bar Alto chef Sajith Vengateri will oversee the kitchens at both venues.

The menu draws influence from the olive oil regions of Europe, such as Spain, Italy and France. Snacks include cannoli filled with duck rillettes, jamon iberico and a gilda-topped flatbread. Small plates include mussels with cider cream and grilled bread, king prawns with prawn head butter, and quail with boudin blanc and burnt apple. Larger mains of whole coral trout with pil pil sauce, a one-kilo mud crab and generous cuts of Black Angus beef round out the menu.

“[Bosco] shares the same ethos as Alto,” Hill says. “It’s about simple things done well. [It’s] deceptively complex. Cooking a whole fish over wood… there’s some skill needed there.”

Hill – who is often regarded as one of Brisbane’s best sommeliers – has curated the wine list to complement the cuisine; there’s a lot of Burgundy, both white and red, along with Tuscan reds, a selection of Spanish wines and a few special drops that he’s been cellaring over the last 15 years.

Bosco Wine Grill
8 Austin Street, Newstead
(07) 3319 7708

Hours:
Wed & Thu 5:30pm–8pm
Fri & Sat midday – 8pm
Sun midday–4:30pm

boscowinegrill.com
@bosco_winegrill