Best Special Occasion Restaurants in Brisbane

by Broadsheet Editors

Updated October 30th, 2023

For a certain kind of person, the best part about birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations is the excuse to splurge at a top-tier restaurant. Even if that's not you, nearly everyone can appreciate the experience of settling around a table to enjoy the company of friends and family for several hours while all your whims are catered for. In short: you bring the occasion and leave it to these top Brisbane venues to supply the special.

Gerard’s Bistro
Restaurant
The Moubment Group’s best-regarded restaurant delivers innovative Middle Eastern cuisine in a texture-rich dining room.
Otto Ristorante
Restaurant
This elegant Italian restaurant lives in the former Stokehouse Q site. It's a perfect fit – one of the city’s best restaurants deserves one of its best locations. Whether you're here for the main event or the more casual Otto Osteria, you're in for some superlative drinking and dining .
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Aria
Restaurant
Australian fine dining at its best.
Bar Alto
Restaurant
Italian eats with a riverside view.
GOMA Restaurant
Restaurant
Edible works of art are the hallmark of this fine diner.
Essa
Restaurant
Via a long marble bar, this moody 60-seat restaurant puts guests up close and personal with its woodfire grill, used to cook an ever-changing menu that might include Black Angus short rib or pickled kohlrabi.
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Rosmarino
Restaurant
Housed inside an 1890's brick building, this moody Italian wine bar lists more than 150 sustainable drops from Sicily and beyond. House-made pastas and antipasti sidle refined mains with a traditional twist.
The Golden Pig
Restaurant
One of the city’s favourite cooking schools has evolved over time into one of its best pan-Asian eateries. There's an extensive menu of punchy and flavourful dishes, plus multiple banquet options for groups dining. The ever-popular cooking school still runs Sundays and Mondays.