Overview
A great meal should satisfy your tastebuds and your stomach. When Vertigo opens in Brisbane, it'll also get your blood pumping and pulse racing. A brand-new addition to the River City's iconic Brisbane Powerhouse, this soon-to-launch eatery is joining the sky-high ranks, but with a difference: it isn't just located on top of the riverside New Farm venue, but hangs off of the site's industrial facade.
Forget just living on the edge — this is dining on the edge, and literally. Obviously, the views will be spectacular. Given that you'll be climbing out to your seat while donning a safety harness, then eating four stories (and 17 metres) up, so will the thrills.
An Australian-first vertical dining experience, Vertigo will start serving up — and levelling up — dinner with a view from October, with bookings now being taken for dates from Thursday, October 12 onwards. Once open, it'll operate four nights a week, from Thursday–Sunday, welcoming in tables of two.
The one caveat: naturally, this adrenaline-pumping restaurant will be at the mercy of the weather, which will certainly play a factor over Brisbane's stormy summers. If it's only lightly raining, however, the night's sitting will still go ahead.
The other key point: if you're not fond of heights, this won't be for you. But if you're fine with towering not just atop but over the side of an old power station-turned-arts precinct that dates back to the 1920s — whether you're a Brisbane local or a tourists — you'll be in for quite the unique experience.
A third caveat: you can't head up if you've been drinking, with everyone breathalysed first and required to return a 0.00-percent blood alcohol reading.
Brisbane Powerhouse's Bar Alto downstairs will be providing Vertigo's food across its eight tables — and each reservation's two-hour sitting — with the two-course menu featuring local ingredients to go with what's certain to become a local attraction. Unsurprisingly, a visit here won't come cheap, costing $250 per person.
While you need to be sober to climb over the edge, a matched glass of wine will be served with dinner. You'll also get a post-descent champagne, beer or soft drink.
To make the evening even more dramatic, diners can also choose to come back to earth post-meal via dropline down the facade. Or, if that's too much adventure for you — especially after eating — you can just head back to the ground through the venue.
"Vertigo is unlike anything else in the world, it is an unexpected combination of adventure tourism and fine-dining on a heritage site," said Brisbane Powerhouse CEO/Artistic Director Kate Gould, announcing the restaurant.
"Stepping off the roof of Brisbane Powerhouse to take a seat suspended at your table, four stories above the ground, will be the ultimate thrill. Experience silver service dining — albeit one with unbreakable crockery and cutlery attached to the table!"
Atmosphere Photography
"We are creating a uniquely Brisbane dining experience, at height. You will be on the edge of your seat in the open air before descending via an unforgettable exit," added Riverlife creator and co-founder John Sharpe, with the outdoor tour operator partnering with Powerhouse on the venture.
"Vertigo will inspire fear but with the knowledge that safety is the priority of our experienced team of adventure tourism guides."
If star chef Luke Mangan achieves his dream of setting up a restaurant on the Story Bridge, too, Brisbane might need to rename itself the Sky-High City.
Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons
Vertigo is set to open at Brisbane Powerhouse, 119 Lamington Street, New Farm, Brisbane from Thursday, October 12 — head to the venue's website for further details and bookings.