The City Scores A Swanky Restaurant In A Heritage-Listed Building
Eat well at Rothwell’s
By Dinushka Gunasekara | 24th November 2021We all have memories born overseas in a faraway dining room where the food is phenomenal and the vibe even more so. But now you won’t need a passport to reminisce – Brisbane’s latest restaurant is bringing the luxe life to the heart of our city.
Rothwell’s Bar & Grill is joining the sophisticated Edward Street precinct inside the heritage-listed Rothwell’s building. The vision of Dan Clark (1889 Enoteca, Addley Clark Fine Wines) and chef Ben Russell (Aria Sydney and Brisbane, Est Est Est), the restaurant is the result of 25 years spent visiting the world’s most iconic dining rooms and bars to bring their culture and essence home.
The menu focuses on produce-driven cooking, championing the freshest local seafood, the best cuts of Australian beef, and handmade pasta. Favourites include the prawn cocktail, Moreton Bay bugs with cafe de Paris butter, beef wellington, and as-you-like-it grass-fed T-bone steak.
The space already oozes with history and the meticulously curated trimmings only add to the sophisticated ambience. The expensive white Italian marble bar will host jacketed chefs shucking oysters onto custom silver trays that were handmade in London exclusively for Rothwell’s, while the cosy leather banquettes featuring vintage table lamps are the perfect spot for an intimate dining experience.
The 40-seat Foyer Bar is where you’ll find the best martini in town amongst an array of timeless cocktails. Served bracingly cold in a smaller coupe glass with a top up alongside in an iced silver carafe, whether you enjoy your martini shaken or stirred it’s always the perfect temperature.
As well as the private dining room, Rothwell’s cellar houses more than 2,000 bottles of wines chosen by Clark, encapsulating Australia’s best-known producers and smaller, promising names. His very own collection bought at auction from all over the world will also be on sale, such as a cognac from the 1890s. Dress code? Fancy pants.
Rothwell’s Bar & Grill is open from Tuesday to Saturday 12-2.30pm and 5.30pm-late. Book here.
Imagery: Dean Swindell
