The Milk Factory

Located in a corner of South Brisbane that gentrification forgot, The Milk Factory Bar & Kitchen has been trading for more than a century.

The heritage-listed building was first known as The Coronation, and more recently as The Joynt. Mal Gill and Bec Saul took over the property in 2014, adding a third venue to their mini-empire, which also includes Lady Marmalade and Shady Palms.

The nostalgia-themed restaurant and beer garden doesn’t stray too far from the area’s working-class roots and dive-bar history. Asher Blackford (ex-Survey Co) commandeers the kitchen and a ‘floating menu’ that changes every three months.

But he doesn’t buy into the trendy version of seasonality: one menu was built around unapologetically old-school British Indian fare such as chicken parma, pub pies and chips with curry sauce.

Serving tinnies and XXXX draught is Gill and Saul’s way of tapping into the “anti-craft beer” trend, they say. Meanwhile, award-winning barman Daniel Gregory (ex-The Black Pearl, Shady Pines Saloon) has returned home to captain the front bar.

Notable mentions of his evolving cocktail list include a Pusser’s watermelon, pineapple and crushed ice syrup; and a daiquiri made of coconut water and Salad Burnet.