Overview
If catching public transport was your regular mode of transport back in your teen days, then you might remember a golden rule: no eating on the school bus. However engrained that directive might be all these years later, Da Biuso wants you to ignore it. How else are you going to tuck into a degustation dinner in its meals-on-wheels setup inside a mobile coach?
Due to hit the road across Brisbane before 2022 is out, the unique eatery hails from head chef Biagio Biuso — a veteran of Fortitude Valley's Casa Nostra Ristorante — with his wife Sarah and their son Joseph. The aim: to pair top-notch fine-dining degustations with regularly changing locations, all in the kind of venue that the city truly doesn't already have. Another big motivation: nodding to Brissie's old tram services.
"Brisbane has never experienced something like this," said Biagio. "Our menu specifics remain a surprise for now, but Da Biuso is about great food, fresh and beautiful ingredients, and good wine."
"Most importantly, Da Biuso is about providing a truly warm and beautiful experience for our customers, to be there with them to celebrate life's beautiful moments," he continued.
"This is why we only want to have a small venue, so that we can spend the time nurturing our customers and bringing the connection and the comfort back to dining."
Small genuinely does mean small, although the fact that Da Biuso will call an old bus home – an old school bus, in fact — gives that away. It'll seat 12, serving up Mediterranean-inspired meals made with seasonal produce, and with the Sicilian-raised and -trained Biagio and his family on hand at every service. Sarah will take on the lead sommelier and maître d' gigs, while Joseph also in the kitchen beside his father.
Alongside the menu, exactly where in the inner city Da Biuso will pop up hasn't yet been announced, pending council approval. But, to answer the key question, the eatery will remain stationary during meal service.
Set to be decked out with an elegant fitout, it'll also be available for private functions, and for catering.
Da Biuso is set to launch sometime before the end of 2022. We'll update you with an exact date when it is announced — keep an eye on the venue's website in the interim.
Images: Morgan Roberts.