Overview
Seven years after it was first announced, five since it opened and a year after floating plans to launch in Noosa, too, things are still looking up at The Calile Hotel in Fortitude Valley. Down in the venue's Lobby Bar, part of Head Chef Andy Gunn's menu now comes from above, in fact. Setting up a rooftop garden that grows organic produce to use onsite will do that.
The sky-high patch of greenery doesn't only serve the Lobby Bar — The Calile's function spaces benefit, too — but it's a key force behind Gunn's latest range of dishes. Now that the venue can offer a rooftop-to-table spread, he's gone with a French-themed concept. Think: steak frites paired with rooftop leaves, confit duck consommé with rooftop herbs and baked camembert with rooftop honey.
The garden towers above the James Street hotel, complete with eight wooden planter boxes on the Doggett Side of the building, plus a colony of bees that make honey just for The Calile's guests. Future Wild is a partner in the leafy venture, while architecture firm Richards and Spence has continued its association with the structure — after originally designing it — by lending its skills to the greenery as well.
Boasting its own lofty source of ingredients helps The Calile's commitment to sustainability, with the Lobby Bar working towards a zero-waste goal. "We've designed flexible menus that enable us to replace ingredients where required," advises Gunn.
"Our garden sets Lobby Bar apart from other venues. Guests know ingredients have been harvested directly from the garden and placed with care on their plate and, as a chef, it's an amazing tool and privilege to have."
Earlier in the year, the garden was planted with French millet, buckwheat, mung bean and other legumes, which were then cultivated and composted, resulting in top-notch soil. For the autumn planting, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, garlic and sorrel grace the beds, as do more than 42 varieties of lettuce, plus grapevines.
A veteran of Urbane in Brisbane and Le Cinq at Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, Gunn has assistance in the kitchen from his wife Amélie, who oversees the bar's baked items and pastries. Her approach: adapting traditional skills for a local context; "people don't want heavy cream and butter-rich dishes in Brisbane's climate," she notes.
Accordingly, patrons can tuck into French toast tiramisu, or crepes made with rooftop honey and freshly baked baguettes.
Also new: a wine list curated by the venue's recently appointed sommelier Thibaud Cregut, also favouring French tipples such as Louis Roederer vintage rosé from Champagne and Domaine des Hates petit chablis, plus organic Australian vino.
Find The Calile Hotel's Lobby Bar at 48 James Street, Fortitude Valley — open 6.30am–late Monday–Friday and 7am–late Saturday–Sunday.