Supernormal Brisbane
Andrew McConnell has expanded his Melbourne restaurant to Brisbane, bringing its lobster rolls and Asian-influenced dishes to a prime riverside location.
Overview
If you're familiar with Supernormal in Melbourne, yes, the New England lobster rolls had made the jump north now that Supernormal Brisbane is open. So has the 150-seater restaurant's focus on Asian-influenced dishes, as influenced by Andrew McConnell's time in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. But the aim is to both give the OG Supernormal a sibling and Supernormal Brisbane its own vibe — including by embracing the place it calls home.
Accordingly, from its riverside site next to Customs House — between the Queen Street Mall and Howard Smith Wharves, complete with water and Story Bridge views — Supernormal Brisbane is pairing signature dishes with newcomers, all while paying tribute to Queensland ingredients. You'll spot the former as you tuck into the restaurant's half crispy duck, which comes cured in salt and cooked twice, for instance. From a lineup that spans appetisers, a raw bar, dumplings, dishes to share and more, other menu highlights include claypot sticky pork rib dumplings, baked abalone pastries, and Szechuan and yellow chilli-poached Moreton Bay bugs.
This is the type of spread that you'll want several visits to feast your way through, also featuring mussel and kimchi flatbread, smoked beef with mustard leaf and clam mayonnaise, squid and spring onion skewers, and sour and salty crispy lamb. The same sentiment applies to the four-strong dessert range, where milk gelato with shiso oil, plus apple and sorrel gelato, sit alongside a mix of Valrhona chocolate, caramelised miso, peanuts and sesame; the strawberry, yuzu and pineapple sage meringue; and fresh mangosteen on ice.
Saying cheers to a hefty wine list with almost 400 options is equally a multi-trip quest, with the vino selection favouring family-owned producers both emerging and established. If you prefer cocktails, the libation are taking their cues from Brisbane's subtropical climate.
For those with an occasion worth celebrating, Supernormal Brisbane also features private dining in The Bridge Room, catering to up to 50 people surrounded by sandstone walls.
Vince Alafaci and Caroline Choker of Sydney's ACME have been on design duties for Supernormal Brisbane since it was announced. With creating a sensory experience from the moment that patrons step inside the guiding principle, they've decked out the eatery with an emerald marble maître' d station, green terrazzo floor, carved timber bar that's meant to resemble growth rings on tropical trees, giant columns, bamboo pendant lights, and timber and rattan aplenty.
Those vistas? You can peer at them through floor-to-ceiling glass, giving your meal — lunch, dinner, and whatever suits you across Supernormal Brisbane's daily midday–11pm operating hours — quite the backdrop. Mirrors also feature prominently to ensure that you can see the view, even as a reflection, no matter where you sit.
Images: Earl Carter.
