As our very own Elliot Baker said last year, Brisbane is on the rise. We’ve seen it in the way interstate groups flock north to get in on the action, we’ve seen it in the quality of new openings over the last six months, and it’s definitely evident in the following dishes (and drinks).

Here are the six best dishes – and two best drinks – our team enjoyed in Brisbane this year so far.

Scorched ricotta, txistorra sausage and potato flatbread from Agnes, Fortitude Valley

I’m bending the rules here by picking three dishes from the new menu at Agnes, but they need to be ordered together: scorched ricotta with extra-virgin olive oil and aged sherry vinegar, txistorra (a Basque-style pork sausage) and fermented potato flatbread. The creamy, slightly sharp ricotta against the smoky paprika-laden snag works brilliantly, while the flatbread is there to pile high with cheese or mop up all the juices left in the cast-iron pan. Consider it the golden trifecta. – Elliot Baker, senior contributor

À la minute madeleines with chamomile cream from Venner, West End

It’s been a few months since Venner opened its doors and I tried their bite-sized madeleines, but I’ve been fantasising about them ever since. I was lucky enough to nab a table with a direct view of the kitchen, so safe to say I was enthralled by the time dessert arrived. Happily, the petite French cakes were everything I’d dreamed they would be – crisp on the outside, pillowy and soft within and, best of all, deliciously warm from the oven. Paired with a dusting of powdered sugar and a delicate chamomile cream, they were the perfect bite. – Jess Larmer-Barallon, campaign manager

I Don’t Remember Asking You a Goddamn Thing at Le Royale, Brisbane CBD

Despite their increasing prominence on drinks lists, I usually find non-alcoholic cocktails either disappointing or forgettable. Too often they’re watery and one-note, without the richer texture you get from booze-based classics. So this non-alc spritz from Anyday’s new Pulp Fiction-inflected bar, Le Royale, is a marvel to me. With blood orange and grilled peach, it’s got tart and sweet covered, and there’s a hint of saltiness in there, too. Plus, it’s lightly carbonated for a spritz – I could drink these all night. – Kit Kriewaldt, subeditor

Ramen at Supernormal Brisbane, Brisbane CBD

When you think of Supernormal, you think of the view, the swish fit-out and of course those lobster rolls. You don’t necessarily think of ramen. You should. The winter special is hearty, rich and the perfect antidote for the seasonal blues. The servings are impossibly generous for just $24, filled to the brim with springy noodles, grilled chicken, a soy-marinated egg with a perfect runny yolk, and a couple of floating prawn and chicken dumplings added to the mix. – Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor

Signature Birria Boy tacos at Birria Boy, Woolloongabba

If you’re going to name your venue after the iconic tacos from Jalisco, Mexico, you’d better deliver. Yes, I should have ordered the signature goat version from the pop-up-turned-permanent spot that’s ideally situated for a substantial snack before a game at the Gabba or a concert at Riverstage. But reader, I did not.

Instead, I hoovered up two house-made masa corn tortillas, their exterior boasting a ’70s-era suntan thanks to a lengthy bask on the grill’s flat plate. Inside, 15-hour slow-cooked Wagyu beef cheek makes a cosy throuple with a zippy jalapeno salsa and lavish coriander. The star of the show? The consommé, conjured up from the cooking liquid drained from said Wagyu. It’s rich, it’s drippy, it’s decadent. It’s not for the faint-hearted – but then again, neither is a throuple. – Gemma Crisp, head of audience growth

Breakfast Martini from Winnifred’s, Fortitude Valley

Breakfast Martini, where have you been all my life? Winnifred’s serves these on Sundays in its champagne bar. Basically, it’s an ice-cold Martini made with your choice of gin or vodka, finished with a drop of orange or fig jam. A warm crumpet with whipped butter arrives alongside. Here’s the play: wait until you’re nearly done, then scoop up the remaining jam from the bottom of your cocktail glass and slather it on the crumpet. Trust me, just try it. – Elliot Baker, senior contributor

New Zealand nanyou kinmedai nigiri from +81 Sushi Kappo, West End

If I could, I’d choose the entire omakase meal I had at +81 for this list. But this is the dish I’m still talking about months later. As you enter the restaurant, you see head chef Ikuo Kobayashi grilling a fillet of kinmedai (golden eye snapper) over an open fire of straw. When the fish reappears a few courses later, it’s silky, buttery and somehow almost beefy. Is this sushi’s answer to rare steak? Clearly, further research trips are required. – Kit Kriewaldt, subeditor

Moreton Bay bug toast at Supernormal Brisbane, Brisbane CBD

I went to Supernormal for the ramen, but this tiny snack nearly stole the show. The crisp base came topped with buttery bug smothered in sesame. The whole thing is only about two bites big – three if you ration – but you’ll wish it was big enough to make a main. – Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor