Flames flicker and coals glower in the kitchen, creating mood and intent at the dimly lit Agnes, forged from a restored late-19th-century brick warehouse. Designed around cooking over an open fire, the restaurant has earned national acclaim for its ambience and innovative creations that might include coal-roasted crab tartelette, scorched crimson snapper and wood-roasted duck. The flagship of Brisbane’s wildly successful Anyday Group is joined by sister Valley venues – Italian Biànca, Southeast Asian sAme sAme and Japanese-influenced hôntô – with a move and expansion of Agnes Bakery and several new CBD establishments expected this year. 22 Agnes St, Fortitude Valley. anyday.com.au/agnes-venue-page

A smokehouse lunch at The Apollonian, named for the Greek god of music and theatre, is the gastronomic reward that awaits anyone who ventures beyond the beaches and boutiques of Noosa Heads to the tiny hinterland hamlet of Boreen Point on Lake Cootharaba. The classic Queenslander housing this popular hotel dates from the gold rush days and was moved here from Gympie in the 1980s. Nab a table in the shady garden and enjoy the regular musical entertainment and prime people-watching opportunities while dining from the please-all pub grub menu that includes cuts of beef from the owner’s own farm. 19 Laguna St, Boreen Point. apollonianhotel.com.au

In the small town of Boonah, south-west of Brisbane, Blume is an homage to the Scenic Rim and the growers and makers who inhabit it. Diaphanous white curtains diffuse the luminous country light in the petite dining room, while pressed tin walls and timber floorboards reference the building’s heritage. The seasonal menu draws on ingredients from the fertile region, and tables are set with bespoke earthenware and flowers gathered from ‘Aunt Jen’s’ garden next door. With staff who genuinely seem to love what they do, Blume is one the finest exemplars of dining in regional Queensland. 5 Church St, Boonah. blumerestaurant.com.au

After blowing up on TikTok, this social media sensation has become one of Brisbane’s most successful bakehouses, with customers coming from across the world just for a taste of its signature cookies. Flavours like the classic NYC choc-chip, red velvet and Nutella – plus limited edition varieties like Oreo cheesecake and a special cookie/croissant hybrid known as the crookie – create queues that stretch down the street. Owner Brooke Bellamy has become a star in her own right, with a bestselling cookbook, collaborations with global brands and new store openings also selling the brand’s brownies, cakes and macarons. 15 Marshall St, Fortitude Valley.

A visit to Bundaberg Rum’s distillery is engaging for rum novices and aficionados alike. The tourism experience gives visitors a new perspective on a distillery that produced its first rum more than 130 years ago. Check out the museum, representing not only the history of the brand, but the region, or take a tour of the back-of-house, including the barrel-ageing rooms, finishing with a tasting. And if you’ve ever fancied your chances as a distiller, there’s the opportunity to blend your own rum, with an expert-led experience that also gives you your own bespoke blend to take home. Hills St, Bundaberg East.

Produce-focused restaurants, artisan makers and growers and more than 50 vineyards make the Granite Belt a getaway par excellence for gourmands, and one of Australia’s most unexpected wine regions. Winemakers here are known for their love of colouring outside the lines, experimenting with varietals like tempranillo, barbera and saperavi. An influential local figure is Angelo Puglisi, who swapped growing table grapes for wine grapes in the late 1960s and opened a cellar door a few years later. A visit to his family-owned Ballandean Estate Wines for a tasting and cheese platter in the atmospheric Barrelroom is an essential stop. Granite Belt.

You can’t get closer to the water, nor eat fresher seafood, than dining aboard the pair of refurbished 1970s wooden fishing trawlers that together make up Holy Ship. You’ll find Austral Eagle and FV Havana bobbing among the sleek pleasure cruisers moored at Marina Mirage. Seafood is sourced daily, with the menu featuring oysters five ways and ceviche, scallops and generous platters of Moreton Bay bugs and prawns straight from local trawlers. It’s perfect Queensland fare enjoyed in the open air with a cold beer, glass of crisp pinot grigio or, if you’re out to impress, a bottle of Veuve. Marina Mirage, 74 Seaworld Dr, Main Beach.

Over the past decades, James Street has cultivated some of Brisbane’s best venues. Perch at the marble-topped bar for a ‘Calile Spritz’ or feast like a Greek poolside at The Calile, the hotel that gave James Street national status. Meanwhile, Biànca conjures a relaxed Italian trattoria in an irresistible peachy palette, and neighbouring SK Steak & Oyster is proof that hedonistic ’90s-style dining lives on. Settle into a booth for old-school oysters Rockefeller, lobster or a hefty steak. After, enjoy a spot of beautiful-people-watching at Cru Bar. Perfectly imperfect newcomer ēmmē signals that the strip is as relevant as ever. James St, Fortitude Valley. jamesst.com.au

Originally best known for their cooking school amid gardens flush with Southeast Asian produce at Oak Beach, chef Ben Wallace and front-of-house manager Rachael Boon have transferred operations to their restaurant, Jungle Fowl. There, the harvest is put to good use across a largely Thai menu, from fragrant prawn-topped betel leaves to herbs in the Thai mojito. Dishes like tiger prawn noodles, short rib rendang and spiced blue swimmer crab toast showcase local suppliers, as diners sit amid murals painted by Boon and a profusion of plants, or on the pavement with views across to Trinity Inlet. 2/28 Wharf St, Port Douglas.

Before it was taken over by regenerative The Falls Farm, the Mapleton Tavern wasn’t much more than a stop-off on the spine of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Thanks to the husband-and-wife farmers, Mapleton Public House is now cause for a detour itself, with former Spicers group executive chef Cameron Matthews in the kitchen. Between the farm and his relationships with local producers, Matthews has the pick of the best. Settle on the shady veranda and dine on dishes like coal-roasted octopus, half-shell scallops with ‘nduja cream or butter-poached snapper with shellfish and celeriac puree. It’s posh food at pub prices. 2 Flaxton Dr, Mapleton.

Drinks on The Terrace, classic dining in The Brasserie, cocktails at Club Félix upstairs and modern Chinese on the top level are all on offer at the gloriously restored Naldam House, nestled amid the towers of the CBD. The heritage-listed 1888 building that once housed the Polo Club reopened mid 2024, with The Brasserie given a striking makeover by designer Anna Spiro; its new menu spanning oysters and beef tartare, fish meunière and a beef cheek bourguignon pithivier, all backed by a European-focused wine list. The Fifty Six features contemporary takes on traditional Cantonese dishes. 33 Felix St, Brisbane City. naldhamhouse.com.au

Idyllically situated just metres from the Coral Sea, dining at this restaurant is a primer into the possibilities of the produce of Far North Queensland. From melaleuca-smoked fish to coconut roast pork rib, barbecued roo, crispy prawn legs with Mungalli ricotta, mud crab laksa and rainforest honey and macadamia tart with Daintree vanilla ice cream, Nick Holloway’s menu is a testament to his creativity. The rustic interior is adorned with dangling ferns and bunches of green bananas and flows on to an open-air patio overlooking the palm-fringed beach. It’s a one-stop shop to sample the best of the tropics. 1 Veivers Rd, Palm Cove.

Starting as a subscription service that grew a cult following, this bakery found a permanent home in the former 85 Miskin Street restaurant space. Now the charming cottage attracts lengthy queues of devotees, who wait each morning to stock up on everything from the signature olive sourdough to made-to-order sandwiches, meat and vegetarian sausage rolls, as well as out-of-the-box sweet and savoury pastries like mortadella, pickled chilli and burrata croissants or pumpkin pie danishes. Grab and go or dine in, with Coffee Supreme brews to go alongside some of the best, most creative bakes in the state. 85 Miskin St, Toowong.

As much an attraction as the waterfront restaurants or the cableway up to the nearby Atherton Tablelands, Rusty’s markets in downtown Cairns is a giant, shed-shaped treasure chest bulging with the produce of the tropical north. More than 180 stalls hold a vast sea of fruit and veg rarely seen down south, including mounds of lolly-pink dragonfruit, persimmon, rambutan, mangosteen, sapote, durian, custard apples, towers of Asian greens and lengths of sugarcane. Stock up or join the queue at one of the vendors around the periphery, including must-visit Annee’s Vietnamese coffee and Filipino pastry shop Jambo. 57/89 Grafton St, Cairns City.

Featuring everything from long lunches and camp cookouts to beer workshops, cocktail masterclasses and the now-famous Winter Harvest Festival, Eat Local Month is one of Queensland’s premier culinary events. Held throughout June, the annual festivities bring together the award-winning growers and producers of the Scenic Rim, just an hour outside of Brisbane, to celebrate their wares. That could mean camel milk from Summer Land Camels, sheep cheese from Towri Sheep Farm or carrots from Kalbar. With activities for all ages, guests are encouraged to take a day trip to the region, or make a holiday of numerous events. Scenic Rim.