So Apparently This Is the Coolest Street in Australia? Here’s What We Think
West End goes global
By Kiri Johnston | 23rd November 2025Move over Sydney and Melbourne — Brisbane continues to have its moment. According to Time Out’s annual global ranking, West End’s Montague Road has officially been named the sixth coolest street on the planet in The 31 Coolest Streets in the World 2025 list — outranking New York, Berlin, Rome, London, Paris and Tokyo. A dramatic call? Maybe. But as someone who lives just off this very stretch, I can confirm: it makes more sense than you’d think.
Each year, Time Out asks its global network of editors, culture writers and city insiders to nominate streets that define the pulse of their cities — shaped by independent businesses, neighbourhood rituals and real community. After comparing submissions from around the world and ranking them on food, drink, culture, fun and social spirit, their 2025 list was finalised… and somehow, wonderfully, Montague Road landed in the top ten. So, what exactly does this street have that the rest of the world missed?
Creative energy
Montague Road stretches roughly 3km from South Brisbane into the heart of West End — a long, leafy spine linking two of the city’s most culturally charged neighbourhoods. Once an industrial corridor of workshops and warehouses, it evolved quietly as West End became Brisbane’s most eclectic, free-spirited suburb.
Life here feels grounded and breezy. The street is walkable, shaded and surprisingly calm for an inner-city stretch. The people? Young professionals, creatives, long-term locals, students, families, international communities and fitness devotees — all stitched together by that distinctly West End warmth.
And while Montague Road is having its global moment, it sits alongside West End icons — Boundary Street, Vulture Street, Hardgrave Road and Melbourne Street — all of which built the suburb’s identity. Montague is simply the one the world finally noticed.
Culture everywhere
A riverside stroll from Montague Road sits QAGOMA, and the State Library of Queensland — two cultural anchors that influence the entire district. Their presence gives the neighbourhood its expressive, thoughtful, globally aware energy without feeling exclusive.
Further along Montague, culture becomes more local. The beautifully restored Thomas Dixon Centre, home to Queensland Ballet, brings world-class artistry to the precinct, while Queensland Theatre continues to push Australian storytelling forward. Smaller independent spaces like Vacant Assembly and Milani Gallery add grit, experimentation and grassroots creativity, the kind West End protects fiercely. It’s culture woven into daily life: layered, accessible and authentic.
Saturday ritual
If Montague Road has a weekly heartbeat, it’s the West End Markets at Davies Park. From sunrise, stallholders set up under the giant fig trees while grills spark to life, musicians warm up, and locals wander in with coffees and tote bags.
By 6am, more than 150 stalls line the river: fresh produce, handmade ceramics, flowers, vintage finds, boutique fashion and a world tour of street food — paella, tacos, dumplings, bao, pastries, empanadas, brisket, juices and more.
For locals, it’s not just a market. It’s a ritual: grab a coffee, choose breakfast by smell, browse the stalls, bump into someone you know, buy a plant you didn’t plan to buy. A very West End morning.
Coffee culture
Time Out crowned Coffee Mentality in South Brisbane as Australia’s best brew — fair call. And just up the road, the coffee options keep coming.
Montague Road is packed with familiar favourites: Cheeky Bean Espresso, the everyday go-to; Veneziano Coffee Roasters for anyone who loves a proper, dialled-in pour; Uncommon Ground for a slower, quieter start; and Ash + Monties just off the strip, known for their sharp espresso. Also not to mention, Good Thing, home of Brisbane’s best Mont Blanc coffee.
Along Montague, grabbing a coffee is a all part of the routine for locals and workers. People have their café, their order, their barista. It’s a small thing, but on this stretch, it’s the kind of daily ritual that gives the neighbourhood its heartbeat.
Food with character
Montague Road’s food scene is full of personality — authentic, diverse, and completely unpretentious. Café culture runs deep: Cordeaux Social Club, a relaxed brunch spot that also dabble in Supper Club evenings; Tom’s Kitchen is where fresh flavours, local produce, and easy-going energy come together. Both are perfect for locals who prefer their mornings grounded and familiar. Superthing is your go-to for fresh sourdough or and buttery crossaints.
On the dining side, Montague Road keeps things warm and real. La Lupa brings Italian with soul, Layla serves refines modern Middle Eastern fare, and newly-opened Olive & Zaatar offers homestyle Lebanese cuisine. Broken Hearts Burger Club handles smashed-patty cravings, BK Pizza keeps things wholesome with their Eastern European dishes, Lantern & Lotus delivers bright Vietnamese, Kor Dak fuels the late-night Korean crowd, and Ramen Works stays busy with comforting bowls loved by locals.
And when the night winds down, La Macelleria is the go-to late-night gelato run — open late, always a good idea.
After dark scene
Montague Road’s nightlife is relaxed, real and confidently low-key — built around good people, good drinks and venues that feel genuinely local. Together, they give Montague Road an after-dark identity that’s varied, inviting and unmistakably West End.
Come To Daddy adds the colour: an inclusive LGBTQ+ bar with DJs, drag shows, open-mic nights, fun cocktails and dog-friendly outdoor seating — cheeky, vibrant and always welcoming. And then there’s Aizome — a 10-seat Japanese cocktail bar glowing deep indigo, built on precision, ritual and hand-carved ice. Small, meticulous, and one of Brisbane’s most impressive drinks experiences. The Montague Hotel (known as The Monty) anchors the strip with cold beers, generous spaces, footy on screens and a reliably solid pub feed. Further up, The Raven Hotel brings a more intimate, cosy pub feel — warm and easy to settle into with a hearty meal.
Wellness is everything
Somehow, Montague Road has become Brisbane’s unofficial wellness strip — unintentionally, but very convincingly. Science of Fitness brings evidence-based training and a strong local community, while Inertia Fitness offers one of the most welcoming setups on the street with strength and conditioning, Pilates, yoga and recovery all in one space. For those who prefer movement over machines, Power Moves keeps the hot-Pilates crowd thriving, Bend + Fly adds a playful mix of aerial and yoga, and Urban Climb brings a dose of grit with its bouldering and rope walls.
Further up the road, ATORA has expanded into a bigger, purpose-built space offering structured strength training, performance-based coaching and open gym access. Next door, TH7 delivers next-level recovery with saunas, ice baths, red light therapy, compression and contrast plunges.
Rounding out the wellness scene, Aura Aesthetica blends advanced skin treatments, cosmetic procedures and body contouring to give Montague Road its beauty-meets-wellness edge. Sweat, stretch, recover, glow — that’s the Montague rhythm.
A real community
What truly makes this strip special are the people building it — the owners, makers, creatives and entrepreneurs shaping it from the ground up. Yes, major developers have played their part: Aria Property Group continues to introduce next-level residential buildings throughout the precinct. Pradella Developments has delivered key destinations including Montague Markets, and their latest project The Lanes — a sculptural, design-led residential centrepiece rising above the Markets on the corner of Montague and Ferry Roads.
But the real character comes from the locals who show up here every day. The café owners who know their regulars. The restaurateurs rolling dough before sunrise. The shopkeepers lifting their shutters as the street wakes. The market stallholders woven into everyone’s Saturday ritual. The fitness founders building loyal communities. The artists turning old warehouses into something new.
It’s a neighbourhood shaped as much by ambition as by warmth — and that’s its heartbeat.
The global title
Is it wild that Montague Road beat New York and Berlin? Absolutely.
But for anyone who lives here — or has spent a single Saturday morning wandering it — the title lands with a quiet, confident finally. This stretch is lived-in, loved and layered. Every café, pub, gallery, studio, market stall and local helped build this moment.
It’s cool precisely because it’s never tried to be. The world’s just catching up.
