An endless summer uniting beatnik kitsch and mod sophistication, perfectly attuned to our subtropical weather with a salute to progressive Brisbane urbanity. Traipse through the maze of two heritage 19th century Queenslanders for a visual feast in settings replete with detail and wonder: catch a coffee from Alfred’s Café; a gastronomic spread from the Vanguard Beer Garden; take an intoxicating jaunt through the White Lighting Tiki Bar or the aural delight of The Tunes Bar featuring a grand piano, a headless mannequin and DJs.
WHERE?On the corner of Alfred and Constance Street, at 132 Constance Street, Fortitude Valley.
HOW?
Take a tour through the complex, sated in detail; from the feature wall of amplifiers adorned by a plethora of aged instruments petering out to a Hammond organ beside the fire place. Note the Brisbane trend featuring a dining alcove, complete with a French cabinet, Spartan radio and cuckoo clock. Order ciders and beers on tap from a timber bar inset with speakers and gilded with an array of lanterns.
Test the Vanguard Beer Garden; a salute to the original owners of these heritage Queenslanders and home to a hefty Josper oven that burns 10 kilograms of Brazilian charcoal a day (for the grass fed beef’s special charred smokiness) and the robust wood fired oven for whole suckling pigs, organic roast chickens and other meat feasts. Dabble in share plates of cow, chicken or pork (complete with crimpling crackling); nourish the non-meat cravings with refined vegetarian options like beetroot or chickpea salads, roasted vegetables and flatbreads; or nosh to prawn cocktails, scotched eggs, counter meals and the A&C bangers and mash: This is polished pub food with an invigorated shake-up to old favourites.
The sweet tooth will be gratified by Alfred’s Café, ‘home to the cone with the curl on top’, and stuffed full with boozy smoothies, alcoholic juices and desserts designed to smother and subdue. While customary alcoholic bevies are on offer, The White Lighting Tiki Bar is the undoubted gem of this rare Brisbane jewel. Gargle on signature Tiki cocktails and shots, from the Pina Colada (abounding in freshly shredded coconut and a pineapple shell) to the lethal Zombie (only one per customer!) and Kava Bowls (to share with a friend) – and really come to understand the tropical taste of light rums.
Keep your sunglasses on here as a protectant against the brilliance of the overly cheery tropical décor, before heading to the smokers’ balcony with a blithe Arr to the welcoming pirate at the top of the stairs, or swagger into the Tunes Bar embellished by a grand piano and the graceful kitsch of Gauche chaises and hanging potted ferns.
The front gallery is a perfect place for pose and posture, while watching the comings and goings from Limes Hotel down Constance Street.
WHO?
Local marvel Damien Griffiths, proprietor of Limes Hotel and Chester Street Kitchen, has really hit the mark, enlisting the incredible efforts of local designer Alexander Lotersztain to ornament and furnish the interior, Jocelyn Hancock to design the menu and head chef David Lindsey to implement it while NY Tiki Bar owner Richard Boccato provides his superior Tiki Bar expertise to the staff. Evidently a project requiring insurmountable minds and talents, the A&C is matchless, while still remaining quintessentially Brisbane.
WHEN?
Alfred’s Café: Monday to Friday, 7am – 3pm
Beer Garden: Wednesday to Sunday, lunch to dinner
Bars: Wednesday to Sunday, 5pm – 1am
