Agnes in Fortitude Valley is one of Brisbane's best restaurants - Eat Out

Apr 30, 2024

She's still got it.

If you ever needed proof that the Fortitude Valley is the beating heart of Brisbane’s food scene, look no further than Agnes. The almost dazzlingly dark restaurant space mirrors the central concept of the three-level venue: every dish is cooked, at least in part, over a wood fire hearth. The soot-black walls and dim lighting give one the impression of scorched earth, funnelling focus directly to the alchemy coming out of the kitchen.

At Agnes, the focus of the menu is the creative and challenging use of wood fire. The open kitchen, which spills into the dining space, boasts no electricity, no gas, just fire. A commitment to the cause which many would have compromised on or given up entirely. Executive chef and co-owner, Ben Williamson has been guiding his team at Agnes, as well as the adjoining wine bar and rooftop space, since opening in August 2020.

Despite the obvious hurdles that 2020 threw at restaurants across Australia, Agnes has gone from strength to strength. After all, there’s nothing trendy about wood-fire cooking, it’s what we’ve always known.

The waitlist – which stretches from weeks to months – is warranted. Smoked tomato, nectarine, and whipped bottarga on toast is as balanced as every dish on the menu – salty, sweet, and acidic with a satisfying bready crunch. Most importantly, there’s smoke. Wrangling smoke into every dish is enough to make even the most seasoned chef baulk, and leave diners anticipating a cliched American rib joint.

Williamson’s team deftly avoids the smoke over-kill, instead flirting in the dessert section with a sabayon of charred mandarin, a peck on the raw beef with soured cream and murri in the starters, and going in for the goodnight kiss with charred ribeye, slow-roasted garlic and smoked mustard.

Clever cooking can only take a kitchen so far though, which is why reading the Agnes menu is like a who’s who of quality produce. Chicken hails from Elgin Valley, Bangalow pork chops shine, tiger prawns are caught off Skull Island and your salad leaves are grown with care at Falls Farm.

An impressive collection of low-intervention local and international wines is in constant rotation, the list designed to be enjoyed with smoke or by itself on the Med-style rooftop among the olive trees and rosemary bushes.

Agnes is located at 22 Agnes Street, Fortitude Valley. To book head to the restaurant’s website.