How To Spend 24 Hours in Brisbane in 2026

Flying interstate this summer? Or back home for the summer and need some inspiration for things to get up to in your hometown? Broadsheet’s city cheat sheets are here to help. From the hottest new openers that live up to the hype, to old favourites that continue to deliver, this is how to make the most of your time in Brisbane.

Where to eat in Brisbane in 2026

Brisbane gets up early, so was perhaps always destined to boast some fine cafes.

One of the very best is The Green, an impeccably designed, light-filled retreat hidden in plain sight behind the James Street precinct. It serves Lebanese-inspired breakfasts such as a sausage and egg muffin with shatta, and shakshuka with smoked labneh. If you’re staying in the city, head straight for Intersection, a three-in-one destination that’s the brainchild of Adam Wang, a local specialty coffee pioneer. Coffee Anthology is his classic outfit, and it serves some of the best morning brews in town. In New Farm, the Anyday Group (one of the city’s leading hospitality operators) recently pivoted Agnes Bakery to become Idle, a bakery with space to dine-in and house-made provisions.  

Urban sprawl has long been in Brisbane’s DNA, meaning you’ll find some true gems in its leafy ’burbs, so don’t be afraid to travel for an exceptional breakfast. There’s beautiful Florence in Camp Hill; Time & Temp from a former Falco Melbourne baker serves some of the cities best pastries; and, over in Coorparoo, Snug serves Korean-inspired brunch classics like omurice topped with butterflied prawns and inventive baked goods. (Several nights a week Snug opens as a wine bar with small plates and small-batch drops – it’s well worth a visit for either service.)

Lunch in Brisbane is best conducted by the river, and Howard Smith Wharves has no fewer than four restaurants parked right on the water.

In 2024, Melbourne’s iconic Asian diner Supernormal opened on the Queen Street bank. The menu shares DNA (a raw bar, dumplings, shared mains) with the Melbourne original and includes Supernormal signatures such as the half crispy duck and those lobster rolls. But the offering is no way a carbon copy of its southern counterpart; instead, it’s led by south-east Queensland’s produce and climate, and by executive chef Jason Barratt.

Best for daytime dining is the fresh and fragrant Greek of Jonathan Barthelmess’s Greca and the precise Cantonese being turned out by star chef Louis Tikaram at Stanley, a fabulous two-storey restaurant housed in the heritage-listed former water police headquarters. (If you’re heading by later in the night, the upstairs space has opened as a Cantonese-inspired speakeasy.)

Or, if you’re doing James Street earlier in the day, match a spot of shopping with Simon Gloftis’s produce-driven Greek at Hellenika (tip: always order from the Fresh Fish Market menu) or his point-and-plate vegetarian at Sunshine, or hit up Bianca for buzzy Italian share plates.

One of 2025’s best new openings was So What Stereo, a wonderfully eclectic Thai vinyl cafe. It also opens three nights a week as Kaseem Sook Social. It’s serving northern Thai specialties day or night.

The sun goes down early in Brisbane – even in the middle of summer – giving dinner in this city a moody, vital and slightly club-like vibe.

On James Street, go for the brilliant plant-driven Middle Eastern food at Gerard’s Bistro, or chef Phil Marchant ’s precise plates at dark and charismatic Essa; neighbouring bar The Nixon Room, which opened with a stellar line-up of cocktails and bar snacks, is worth a look-in too. There’s also the freewheeling, expansive Thai of Same Same.

If you really want to push the boat out, head for the swanky SK Steak & Oyster, where the steaks range up to a $200 9+ Stockyard Kiwami Wagyu sirloin, or check out Sushi Room ’s elevated sushi and sashimi in a one-of-a-kind dining room. Further north in Newstead is E’cco, Philip Johnson’s Brisbane game changer that’s just as good today as it was when it debuted back in 1995.

On the other hand, for something forever approachable, cross Ann Street to brothers Cameron and Jordan Votan’s miniature food precinct. There’s Happy Boy, where the food is inspired by the breadth of China; Snack Man, which does the same in a small-plate package; and approachable French bistro Petite. Together, these three boast one of the best wine cellars in the city.

Brisbane’s CBD is undergoing an exciting revival, where the grand, heritage-listed Donna Chang has been joined by the elegant, mirror-walled and leather-boothed Rothwell’s, and Tim Scott’s precise, artful Exhibition. Newer editions that have made their mark include Central and The Fifty Six, which are both serving exceptional Cantonese food, and two newbies from the Anyday team, Golden Avenue and The French Exit.

Elsewhere, two of Brisbane’s singular night-time dining experiences couldn’t be any more different. There’s the peerless waterside views and luscious Italian of Otto ’s digs at South Bank, and the pure wood fire- and smoke-driven plates of Agnes – book well ahead for both.

Two newbies to the local scene – August, in a beautifully renovated 136-year-old church, and the creative 40-seater Gum Bistro – set tongues wagging in 2024 and are both well worth a visit.

Where to drink in Brisbane in 2026

Daytime drinking is best performed at one of Brisbane’s many brewpubs, which have become treasured community spaces in a city that’s historically lacked more traditional pubs. You can go way out into the ’burbs to hang with families and food trucks at dapper Ballistic Beer Co in Salisbury, have a few bevs at the American-inspired Slipstream in Yeerongpilly, or sink some beers at Scottish behemoth Brewdog Dogtap in Murarrie. Keep with the cool crowd closer to the city at Range Brewing, which boasts tap beers and pizzas, or the almighty Felons at Howard Smith Wharves.

If you’re heading out later in the evening, perhaps a bar crawl is in order? The city’s night-time drinking scene tends to be split into tightly clustered precincts, which means either you can pick a spot and bar hop around, or you could work your way through our list of Brisbane’s best new bar openings.

In the CBD there’s cocktail superstar Death & Taxes and the cleverly designed, DJ-driven Flying Colours, from the Super Whatnot crew. Over on Edward Street and beyond, there’s Dr Gimlette, with its enormous leather booths and Martini carts, and the nearby laneway bar Antico from the same team, plus Frog’s Hollow Saloon, where a bunch of award-winning bartenders are slinging stacks of whisky in a honky-tonk-styled saloon with a heritage frontage.

For a rock’n’roll-fuelled night, late-night whisky bar Alice is open till 3am, seven nights a week. The same owner added Shaman, a tropical-leaning bar with a focus on tequila, rum and beer, to the line-up in 2025. The Alligator Club also opened this year – it’s inspired by New Orleans, has a stage for nightly live music and – like Alice – is open every night until 3am.

Also in the CBD, and nearly next door to Alice, is Milquetoast, a wine bar that sits neatly within the footprint of a CBD car garage, with many Martinis, lo-fi wines and plenty of amaro.

Kicking on? Then the Valley is where to head. Looking for late-night mixed drinks? Savile Row and Finney Isles are among our favourites and both boast enormous spirits and cocktail lists.

Things to do in Brisbane in 2026

When it comes to shopping in Brisbane, James Street is the spot. It has one of the best collections of hip boutiques in the country. Gail Sorronda, Bassike, St Agni, Mud Australia, Sir the Label, Venroy, Assembly Label and Sass & Bide all have a presence here, and that’s barely scratching the surface.

Elsewhere, Paddington’s long, descending high street makes it a pleasant place to hop from shop to shop (though it heats up in the middle of the day, when the summer sun is at its zenith), and the CBD is still the place to go for the big internationals, although it also boasts cracking independent boutiques.

For cultural attractions, you’re not doing Brisbane properly if you don’t spend at least half a day sifting around QAGOMA. The city’s state-run gallery precinct sprawls along the river just across from the CBD. Also on this side of the river is the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), which is home to many of Brisbane’s best stage shows.

Elsewhere in the city, it’s well worth checking out the Brisbane Powerhouse – tie in a show here with a meal at Vertigo, the restaurant that is (quite literally) taking dining to new heights with a dining platform suspended 17 metres above the ground with views over the Brisbane River.

To get in touch with nature, pack a picnic for New Farm Park, right next to the Powerhouse, or seek out one of the city’s many other brilliant green spaces – the best is arguably Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, which rambles across the foothills of Brisbane’s western bookend, its many microclimates lending every bend in the path a sense of discovery.

Finally, one of the Queensland capital’s quirks is how quickly you can get into the country if you head directly west. From the city, drive along Musgrave and then Waterworks Road for 20 minutes and you’ll be climbing straight towards Mount Nebo and then onto Mount Glorious. Make a day of it if you have a car and some runners or hiking boots.