Located on the site of Brisbane’s brand spanking new international cruise terminal in riverfront Hamilton, Portside combines apartments, shops and restaurants. This formerly ugly, heavy-industrial site has been transformed.
It’s not often that a centre for dining and shopping is created from scratch (although the 2004 development of Emporium does come to mind). There’s still some building work taking place at Portside and this will continue as further stages of the popular residential apartments are constructed.
There are a few dining options at Portside, all of them with direct river views from outdoor seating. When a cruise ship is docked, the view and atmosphere should be quite lively. Once you’ve finished browsing through the clothes, gift and shoe shops at Portside, you can relax with a coffee and decadent pastry at Cream, Patisserie, Boulangerie.
For more ‘serious’ dining options, there are currently four restaurants to choose from, with more to come in the not too distant future. All of them have outdoor dining under large white umbrellas and most have chosen clean, sleek tables and chairs.
Restaurant Manx seats approximately 100 people both inside and out. This is the second restaurant for Paul MCGivern – the man behind the very popular Restaurant Rapide. The menu is European influenced and they offer smaller meal options on their bar menu.
Wilson’s Boathouse (with a sister restaurant at Manly harbour) offers diners a fine seafood selection. From 12pm daily you can enjoy the oyster and beluga bar that has a wide range of freshly shucked Australian oysters. There is something about sitting beside a body of water, even if it is the Brisbane River, which inspires people to eat fish or prawns. Strange but true.
A more casual seafood option is to pick up fish and chips at the Fresh n Wild Fish - part of the international fresh food market at Portside. There are the usual fish, calamari and chips meals and you can also buy fresh seafood. There aren’t a lot of outdoor public seating options at the Portside complex (at least not when ourbrisbane.com visited in early September) to eat your take away by the water, so best to sit at the communal timber tables.
For a cosy and decadent dining experience, go to Byblos Bar and Restaurant. The menu is a fusion of Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisines and there’s a dramatic looking bar as well as velvety lounges. Not sure if the water pipes are actually for use or just decoration!
For a traditional Japanese experience, you can't go past the authentic Sono. If the name rings a bell, you're probably thinking of Sono in the Tattersalls Building in the CBD - and yes, the Portside one is owned by the same people.
From Portside it's is a ten minute walk to the Kingsford Smith Drive end of Racecourse Road – where you’ll find more dining options.
If you're thinking of driving, there's undercover and curb side parking for 260 cars.
Portside is also easy to get to using public transport. A footpath along the riverside connects Portside to the ferry terminal, about five minutes walk away and there's a bus stop close by. See Transinfo for the public transport options.
