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The Ultimate Guide To Brisbane’s West End Restaurants
From vegan eateries to steakhouses, we’ve found all of the best West End restaurants that you need to book.
The best restaurants in West End include IPPIN for refined Japanese yakitori, August for French, Italian and Spanish dishes inside a converted heritage church, Pilloni for fire-cooked Sardinian cooking, and Bar Francine for a neighbourhood wine bar serving European-inspired seafood and vegetarian plates. Known as one of Brisbane’s most eclectic neighbourhoods, West End doesn’t just offer a diverse mix of shopping destinations and cultural experiences. Home to a melting pot of cuisines, West End is one of the best suburbs in Brisbane to taste your way around the world.
From casual BYO bites to upscale degustations, there’s an abundance of dining destinations for every occasion. Here’s our pick of Brisbane’s best West End restaurants…
Best West End Restaurants for Fine Dining and Special Occasions
Rich & Rare
Rich & Rare has entered the chat to offer premium fare without any pretentiousness. This Manhattan-inspired, 150-seat restaurant offers up a menu of fifteen different steaks, sourced from Australia and Japan, each boasting a unique flavour profile. But if you’re not craving a steak, you can dine on briny fresh oysters (opened on order), lobster or line-caught kingfish. The beverage menu brings its own bevy of delights, with whiskey, wine and spirits to choose from to wind down after a long week.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: Steakhouse, Seafood
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Group dining
IPPIN Japanese Dining
Showcasing the best of Japanese cuisine, IPPIN‘s menu is packed with yakitori grill specialty dishes featuring wagyu beef or chicken. For the seafood lover, the recommendation has to be their signature toothfish or tempura cuttlefish. For the foodie who’s tried it all, we recommend the lobster popcorn for a flavour sensation.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: Japanese, Yakitori
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Group dining
August
Step into an old heritage church on Dornoch Terrace, and find yourself in one of the most beautiful new restaurants in Brisbane. August has retained the original pitched ceilings and stained glass windows of the building, adding to the charm with a mix of new artwork and decor.
Turn to the menu, and you’ll find dishes inspired by France, Italy & Spain and a carefully curated drinks list to round out your dining experience.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: European, French, Italian, Spanish
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Group dining
Best West End Restaurants for Group and Shared Dining
Pilloni
Pilloni celebrates Sardinian cooking and culture with its delicious menu, where almost every dish has been touched by fire. Provenance is their priority, with produce from local growers, hunters, and small-scale producers featured throughout the menu. As for the focaccia and fresh pasta, it’s all made in-house daily. An extensive wine list rounds out the offering, which is best experienced via the incredibly well-priced chef’s menu.
Start your meal with a drink at the ivory-coloured Sardinian marble bar before making your way outside to dine alfresco on the terrace with a classic fifties-style aesthetic.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: Sardinian, Italian
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Group dining
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Take A Euro Trip To The Best Greek Restaurants In Brisbane
Lefkas Taverna
Each dish on Lefkas Taverna‘s menu is an ‘edible story’, inspired by a moment in Greece.
Operating since 1991, this wholesome Greek restaurant in West End has a traditional village vibe, and owner John Theoharis boasts that the restaurant serves the very same food he has eaten his whole life.
Sitchu Tip: Planning a solid catch-up with the gang? BYO wine nights are Wednesday & Thursday each week, with an $8 corkage fee.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Greek
Best For: Families, Group dining, Locals
Caravanserai
Dishing up a mix of modern and traditional Turkish fusion treats, Caravanserai is an energetic and colourful restaurant that effortlessly brightens your day with its delectable meals. Think moreish mezze platters, spiced dips scooped up with pide bread and filo pastry cigars stuffed with hearty vegetables.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Turkish
Best For: Group dining, Outdoor dining, Locals
Best West End Restaurants for Date Night
Layla
Melbourne-based chef and restaurateur Shane Delia has brought his flair for bold, Middle Eastern flavours to the culinary hub of West End, where hungry diners can expect an unrestricted spice journey at his first-ever Brisbane venue.
Layla welcomes diners into a moody main dining room and sunny outdoor courtyard. Head Chef Simon Palmer (formerly of Black Hide by Gambaro, Urbane, Gerard’s Bistro and E’cco Bistro) has worked closely with Delia to craft a spice-forward, modern menu with widespread global influence.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Group dining
Bar Francine
From the team behind El Planta comes a cosy neighbourhood wine bar that will easily become your new favourite local. Bar Francine serves delicious natural Australian wines, European-inspired seafood and vegetarian dishes, making it an excellent dinner spot for date night, special occasions… or just because.
Sitchu Tip: Book a table on Wednesday evenings for the mid-week tradition of Neighbourhood Nights, a $49 set menu that allows the Bar Francine team some creative freedom to curate a menu of dishes and drinks inspired by the places they love, whilst giving a nod to the neighbourhood they call home.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: European, Wine bar
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Group dining
Yamas Greek & Drink
Yamas means “a toast to good health” in Greek, and you’re encouraged to do so while you dine here! Open for lunch and dinner, you can dine to your heart’s content on nothing but the freshest fish, meats and produce that’s designed to be shared, as Greek food is as much about the meal as the people you share it with.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Greek
Best For: Group dining, Locals, Weekend plans
Best West End Restaurants for Casual and Vegan Dining
Vegan Restaurant West End
Craving honest, authentic Chinese food that’s entirely vegan? This restaurant is about to become your new favourite! Adored by West End locals and the vegan community of Brisbane, this unassuming restaurant goes by the simplistic moniker of “Vegan Restaurant”.
Ideal for a midweek casual dining experience, you’ll enjoy hearty share plates of lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork, dim sum and so much more from the generous menu.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Chinese, Vegan
Best For: Families, Group dining, Quick bite
Covent Garden
A Sunday session at Covent Garden is a surefire good time. Inspired by its London namesake, this gorgeous gin bar and restaurant houses an incredible 700+ gins, so you can sample something new and find a brand new favourite G&T concoction. It’s also one of Brisbane’s very few entirely gluten-free and coeliac-friendly venues, from small bites to share plates.
Suburb: West End
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Wine bar, Cocktail bar
Best For: Date night, Families, Group dining
Now that you’ve dined at your favourite West End restaurants, why not move on to the next suburb? We’ve wrapped up our favourite South Brisbane restaurants here. Or if you’re full, pop by one of Brisbane’s best bars for a nightcap.
IPPIN, August, Pilloni and Bar Francine are the standout picks for West End dining. IPPIN showcases the best of Japanese cuisine with yakitori grill specialties featuring wagyu beef or chicken, alongside signature toothfish, tempura cuttlefish and lobster popcorn. August occupies an old heritage church on Dornoch Terrace, serving dishes inspired by France, Italy and Spain beneath original pitched ceilings and stained glass windows. Pilloni celebrates Sardinian cooking with a fire-touched menu and in-house focaccia and pasta, best experienced via the well-priced chef’s menu. Bar Francine rounds things out with natural wines and a European-inspired seafood and vegetarian menu.
Rich & Rare, IPPIN and August cover West End’s fine dining and special occasion scene. Rich & Rare is a Manhattan-inspired, 150-seat steakhouse offering fifteen different steaks sourced from Australia and Japan, alongside fresh oysters, lobster and line-caught kingfish. IPPIN brings refined Japanese yakitori to the table, with wagyu and chicken skewers, toothfish, tempura cuttlefish and lobster popcorn. August sets the scene inside a converted heritage church on Dornoch Terrace, with original pitched ceilings and stained glass windows framing a menu inspired by France, Italy and Spain. All three suit a special occasion or a big night out.
Pilloni, Lefkas Taverna and Caravanserai are built for sharing. Pilloni’s Sardinian menu is best experienced via its well-priced chef’s menu, with focaccia and pasta made in-house daily and a wine list to match. Lefkas Taverna has served traditional Greek food in a village-style setting since 1991, with BYO wine nights on Wednesdays and Thursdays for an $8 corkage fee. Caravanserai rounds things out with Turkish fusion fare, including mezze platters, spiced dips scooped up with pide bread, and filo pastry cigars stuffed with vegetables. All three suit a long table and a shared, unhurried meal.
Layla, Bar Francine and Yamas Greek & Drink are West End’s top date night picks. Layla, from Melbourne chef Shane Delia, serves a spice-forward, globally-influenced menu in a moody main dining room with a sunny outdoor courtyard. Bar Francine is a cosy neighbourhood wine bar pouring natural Australian wines alongside European-inspired seafood and vegetarian dishes, including a $49 Wednesday set menu called Neighbourhood Nights. Yamas Greek & Drink serves the freshest fish, meats and produce designed to be shared, built around the idea that Greek food is as much about the company as the meal.
Vegan Restaurant West End and Bar Francine are the two to know. Vegan Restaurant West End serves honest, authentic Chinese food that’s entirely vegan, with hearty share plates of lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork and dim sum, ideal for a casual midweek dinner. Bar Francine takes a different approach, with a European-inspired menu built around seafood and vegetarian dishes, including a plant-forward, pescatarian-friendly spread alongside its natural wine list. Between a fully vegan Chinese kitchen and a wine bar with a genuinely plant-forward menu, West End caters well beyond a token meat-free option.
