An intoxicating collision of migrant and indigenous cultures gives West End a community vibe unmatched anywhere else in Brisbane. Refreshingly free-spirited and welcoming, the precinct boasts a vibrant café and restaurant scene as well as quaint and quirky shopping centred along Boundary Street. It is also renowned for its high concentration of ethnic and organic grocery stores.
Boundary Street
On Boundary Street, family-owned, generations-old stores sit side-by-side with unpretentious newcomers, while modern European restaurants mix with budget Asian eats and laidback cafés. Explore the weird and wonderful boutiques selling designer and pre-loved clothes, one-of-kind variety shops, inviting book stores and small galleries. Take your time and browse through Avid Reader, where you’ll find the newest titles as well as all-time great reads, then check out Bent Books, named for its somewhat unusual collection of second-hand classics and impressive stack of second-hand hardcover art books. It also has a tempting top shelf of rare first editions. Get the West End style at fashion, gift and home ware outlets like Bella Cee, Athena's, Mona Lisa, E'Klektica Blue and Xenia. At the West End Markets, this groovy neighbourhood’s concession to suburban shopping convenience, you’ll find a supermarket as well as 25 speciality stores.
Montague Road
Not far from Boundary Road lies a less exotic, but well-worth-a-look West End shopping haunt – Montague Road – where retail warehouses and wholesalers dominate the scene, offering some great bargains. Low-cost, recycled bikes can be found at Bicycle Revolution while Reverse Garbage, a not-for-profit workers' co-operative, is the place to go for an amazing variety of high-quality industrial discards, including timber, wire, fabrics, vinyl and out-moded stock. Be sure to check out the co-op’s Echoes Giftshop, which exhibits the innovative works of artists, craft workers and designers who use at least 75% re-used or recycled materials in their work.
Creativity is also high on the agenda at the Art Shed, where Brisbane’s creative community go for some of the cheapest arts and crafts supplies in town. Luggage Direct offers top luggage brands like Samsonite and Antler at warehouse prices. And if you’ve taken the “shop till you drop” concept too literally, have little lie down at healthy beddings centre iSleep, licensed agent for the world-renowned Therapedic range of mattresses.
Vulture Street
The shopping fun continues in Vulture Street, at the end of Boundary Street. Boxvintage specialises in vintage, second-hand and retro clothing and accessories; Shibui Homewares has beautiful ceramics from Japan; and Manna, home to Cool Shirts, stock a large range of plain and printed Bonds and generic crew style T-shirts as well as jewellery, fisherman pants, heat transfers and prayer flags. (They also run a stall at the Valley markets).
For deliciously delicate and decadent lingerie head to Honey Birdette, which also offers a diverse collection of DVDs and books by authors like Anais Nin, fetish items, intimate toys and masks.
Music lovers should head to Relic, lying just off the main strip on Horan Street. You’ll find rare records and CDs as well as classic 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s furniture, retro lamps and various funky fittings from Australian designers and manufacturers.
Also off Vulture Street is Mick’s Nut Store, on Hardgrave Road, where a huge selection of roasted and raw nuts, dried fruits, nut spreads, dried beans and pulses, flours, honey, olives and more can be bought in small to bulk quantities at great prices.
Markets
A West End highlight, The Green Flea Community Market opens for business in Davies Park every Saturday until 2pm. Delightful and totally cosmopolitan, this is a real people’s market with fabulous fruit, vegetables, organic foods, gourmet stalls, plants, herbs, flowers, pre-loved clothing, bric-a-brac, buskers and massage. Not to be missed.
