Where to wine and dine in sustainable style
From locally focused plant-based diners to ethics-driven, waste-free watering holes, these are the dining destinations and wineries putting sustainability on a plate – where deliciousness and sustainability go hand in hand. Discover the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and winery locations doing good and producing forward-thinking fare across Brisbane and its regions.
Groundbreaking breakfast and brunch spots
Felix for Goodness, Brisbane City
A Brisbane City gem, Felix For Goodness is the place to start your day on a virtuous (and caffeinated) path. With a focus on locally sourced produce, veggie-heavy dishes, and a ‘from scratch’ ethos, this cafe is one you’ll want to become a regular at. You can even purchase housemade, seasonal preserves in the café.
Picnic Real Food Bar, Tamborine Mountain
Further afar, on Tamborine Mountain you’ll find a cafe worth travelling for. Part of an eco-conscious, architecturally designed food, art and nature precinct, Picnic Real Food Bar packs picnic boxes filled with delicious take-aways so you can enjoy your breakfast with a mountain view. It also specialises in natural wine, craft beer – perhaps for a little later in the day – and speciality coffees.
The Hideout Coffee House, Narangba
It’s not hard to imagine why this Moreton Bay cafe has become a popular hub among locals. Each morning, Narangba’s The Hideout Coffee House pours its locally sourced speciality coffee and prepares a seasonal menu of wholesome eats. With a farm to table approach there the menu also offers meat-free dishes on the menu for those looking to eat more plant-based dishes.
Little Tree Bake and Brew House, Samford
In leafy Samford lies Little Tree Bake and Brew House, an environmentally aware restaurant and bar that is committed to cooking with local, in-season produce – and, everything is made in-house. The menu changes according to seasonal produce availability to ensure the highest quality and ethical dishes are served.
Sustainable lunch locales
Putia Pure Food, Banyo
Part cooking school, part pantry and part cafe, Putia Pure Food is all-parts appetising. Teaming up with local growers, fishers, producers, artisans and providers to bring its visitors the freshest fare, the Putia Pure Food kitchen serves up meals worth writing home about. A prawn ravioli, vegetarian moussaka and housemade arancini are particularly noteworthy.
Grown, West End
West End’s popular Grown cafe is beloved for its menu that celebrates the best of the Sunshine State’s produce. In its lunch offerings, expect to spot Noosa-grown tomatoes, Queensland pumpkins, Gympie bacon, and a plethora of ethically grown and gathered ingredients. Its delicious dishes are complemented by locally brewed coffee, and Australian-made wines, beer and spirits.
Wild Canary Botanical Bistro, Brookfield
Home to an organic kitchen garden from which it sources many of its ingredients – including an impressive array of vibrant edible blooms – Wild Canary Botanical Bistro in Brookfield has a menu that’s filled with local producers’ ingredients. From Good Growin Mushrooms to Woombye cheeses, and from Alive Foods beetroot kraut to Adam’s meat range, the Wild Canary menu is as community minded as they come. Better yet, you can pick up a picnic hamper of local products to go.
Crystalbrook Vincent dining, Howard Smith Wharves
Fiume and Mews, the two restaurants operating out of the Crystalbrook Vincent hotel have officially begun to label their menu items with climate calorie information. Through the climate calories initiative, you will be able to understand if your food is locally sourced, sustainably grown or caught, culturally considered, supplied in eco-friendly packaging or if the whole ingredient is used.
Ethical dining destinations
Patina at Customs House, Brisbane City
Patina at Customs House not only presents a refined, paddock-to-plate dining experience, but its team also grows its own mushrooms in its humid, sandstone cellar. In the heritage-listed space, guests can order Brisbane Valley Quail, Mooloolaba Prawns, Brisbane Valley quail and many other local ingredients in well-crafted dishes.
The Boom Boom Room, Brisbane City
The Boom Boom Room is an underground Japanese restaurant and bar that serves up an exciting and innovative menu showcasing local producers. Its vegan banquet is a triumphant demonstration of what talented chefs can create from fresh, plant-based ingredients, while its omakase options allow the restaurant’s chefs to bring you the best in seasonal repast.
Vintaged Bar & Grill, Hilton Brisbane, Brisbane City
As far as locally sourced ingredients are concerned, you can’t get much more local than your own rooftop. Above Vintaged Bar & Grill on the Hilton Brisbane’s rooftop are approximately 200,000 pollinators producing the restaurant’s own honey. Aside from its hyper-local honey, you’ll also find plenty of local, seasonal ingredients incorporated in the restaurant’s Italian-inspired offerings.
Detour, Woolloongabba
A conscientious ethos informs the menu at Detour that features biodynamic, organic and Australian natural wines, plant-based dishes and sustainably sourced omnivore selections. Come for the Gooralie Farm Hot & Sour Pork Belly, stay for the Coal-Roasted Broccoli and linger longer for the Nitro Meringue and cocktails. This is a welcoming venue for those wanting to learn more about sustainable dining and wineries.
Carmen Tequileria, Fortitude Valley
James Street’s own purveyor of tequila and mezcal, Carmen Tequileria is on a mission to design a cocktail menu that is as close to zero-waste as possible. With sustainability in mind, the ethos-driven menu has reduced its carbon footprint and is continually investigating new ways to upcycle its ingredients.
Howard Smith Wharves
The restaurants sitting along the riverside at Howard Smith Wharves all partake in sustainability initiatives to work towards a zero-waste dining precinct. Partnering with the likes of Goterra, local farmers, Healthy Land and Water, Simply Cups and OzFish the chain of restaurants have been able to hit a goal of 96% diverted waste from landfill. So you can sip on their local brews, curated cocktails and delicious eats while overlooking the river, guilt-free.
Sustainable Wineries
Sirromet Winery, Mount Cotton
In a wildlife-abundant pocket of Mount Cotton lies Sirromet Winery, where wallabies frequent lavender fields and wine lovers watch the sun slowly set over the valley. A lesser-known fact about this scenic spot is that the winery is home to a waste treatment facility, to ensure its wine-making waste is as minimal as possible. Each year, the treatment facility transforms its waste into nourishing fodder for the winery’s worm farm. And this is just one of the many actions the winery has taken to become more sustainable. We’ll drink to that!
Witches Falls, Tamborine Mountain
In a picturesque setting on Tamborine Mountain, Witches Falls’ winery is taking great care of the environment it operates on. This sun-powered winery practices sustainable winemaking where nothing goes to waste. Leftover grape skins and stems are used as compost on a local farm, and all materials are recycled. Its red wines and ciders are also vegan-friendly and delicious.
Ocean View Estates, Ocean View
Hand-crafted wines lovingly produced by a family team, a dining menu that stars locally sourced ingredients and an incredible view over lush Moreton Bay landscapes: what’s not to love about Ocean View Estates? On the Estate you’ll spot four varieties of grapes growing: Viognier, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Ruby Cabernet. Verdelho and Merlot grapes are sourced from the South Burnett region. When it comes to sustainable dining and wineries, it seems you can have your cake (wine) and eat (drink) it too.
Planning a wining and dining itinerary when you #VisitBrisbane? Discover Brisbane’s best wine bars.
