Overview
When Brisbanites initially stepped inside Naldham House in the 1800s, they weren't greeted by a brasserie and terrace, then a supper club upstairs. In a building with history across three different centuries, that's firmly a 2024 experience. Behind its white facade on Felix Street, this heritage-listed former shipping office is now all about drinking and dining — and, decor-wise, about strikingly rich colours adorning every surface, with a huge 1110 different hues used.
It was back in June that the venue's latest guise was announced. Venturing to the Eagle Street side of Brisbane's CBD has long meant being dwarfed by gleaming skyscrapers, but this is the building that predates them all. Although the year listed above its entrance is from four decades back, the structure was first built 140 years ago. The site began its life as a shipping office, then underwent major renovations in 1988. From there, it became the Brisbane Polo Club from 1994–2015. Now, since mid-July, it's the River City's newest drinking and dining destination — still under the name Naldham House.
Thank DAP & Co to transforming this patch of the inner city into a three-venues-in-one hub. The hospitality group co-owned by Andrew Baturo, Denis Sheahan and Paul Piticco, which is also behind The Gresham, Popolo Italian and Walter's Steakhouse and Wine Bar, has launched the first two of those venues together, with the other to come in spring. So, while you wait to hit up the site's third level, you can still be hang out at Naldham House Brasserie & Terrace on the ground floor, plus supper club-style cocktail bar and lounge Club Felix on the second storey.
Part of the Waterfront Brisbane project that's revamping this area of town, the new Naldham House is a project four years in the making. DAP & Co can't be accused of holding back, be it on ambition for the site, on multiple experiences at one address or, via that plethora of jewel tones, on colour in the fitout by interior designer Anna Spiro. How do you put so many hues to use? They've been deployed to ensure that each level has its own identity and vibe.
Naldham House Brasserie & Terrace takes its cues from both European brasseries and grand hotel lobbies around the globe. If you can't be elsewhere, pretend, basically. The markedly old-school atmosphere extends to the pianist playing the grand, and also the service, whether you're among the 95 people that the venue can cater to inside or the 120 outside on the terrace with its own bar.
Meal options in the brasserie include hand-cut beef tartare, chicken liver parfait and a beetroot tart among the snacks, then oxtail ragu pasta, crumbed rock flathead and noisettes of lamb from the mains. You can also share a pork tomahawk, the market fish or rib steak, then finish up with a berry mille-feuille — aka a vanilla slice — plus crème caramel, three cheeses and a chocolate Paris-Brest. Outside, the terrace menu sports the likes of crispy chicken skin with whipped cod roe and caviar, smoked mortadella and potato croquettes, steak frites, a wagyu cheeseburger and a king salmon gravlax sandwich.
Whether you choose to get comfortable indoors or out, a 28-page drinks list awaits, filled with European and Australian wines both by the glass and the bottle, beers both local and international, and a hefty array of spirits. The cocktail selection hops from spritzes to signatures, and then from classics to zero-alcohol sips. A mandarin spritz might take your fancy, or a Yuzito made with gin, orange curacao and yuzu soda — or perhaps a negroni or the non-boozy Watermelon Sugar.
Head upstairs after 5pm Wednesday–Saturday for Club Felix and you'll be greeted by an oak timber bar that came with the building, a big focus on blue, a French-heavy menu, a covetable champagne list, and capacity for 150 standing and 110 seated. While the aim is for Naldham House Brasserie & Terrace to become an after-work hangout for both dinner and drinks, Club Felix is taking the fun into the night with a 2am closing time — and the space can also be used for weddings and parties.
Here, small plates and charcuterie accompany the libations, so snacking on salumi with gnocco fritto, a jamon and comte toastie, fried whiting sandwich fingers, salted cod and potato croquettes, and caramel profiteroles will line your stomach. Then, beverage-wise, expect rich tastes from the cognac- and Madeira-based Brulee Flip with chocolate bitters and grated chocolate, and from the Raspberry Tea Julep with black tea-infused bourbon — among other cocktails. French wines, including dessert tipples, are also a drawcard.
As well as Baturo, Sheahan and Piticco, Naldham House boasts Executive Chef Douglas Keyte (ex-Grill Americano in Melbourne), General Manager Christian Green (ex-Rockpool, The Botanical, Aria, Chin Chin, and Longrain) and Restaurant Manager Steven Ham (ex-Soho House Group in London) at its first two venues.
Start looking forward to what's to come when the third space launches, with details still scarce — other than that it'll sit atop its siblings and, as they do, possess its own unique look and feel.
Find Naldham House at 33 Felix Street, Brisbane City, with Naldham House Brasserie & Terrace and Club Felix now open. Naldham House Brasserie & Terrace's brasserie operates from 11.30am–3pm and 5–10pm Monday–Saturday, and its terrace from 11.30am–11pm Monday–Saturday. Club Felix trades from 5pm–2pm Wednesday–Saturday. Head to the Naldham House Brasserie & Terrace website and Club Felix website for more information.
Images: Dexter Kim.