Sydney’s iconic Italian restaurant is branching out and heading north. Helmed by former long-term sous chef Will Cowper, Otto Brisbane will be loosely inspired by the Italian south, while maintaining the original’s focus on fresh, seasonal Australian ingredients. delicious. takes a look inside the Tonkin Zulaikha Greer-designed space on Queen Street.

Otto Brisbane will also include a casual eatery and bar just across the way from the restaurant proper, which will operate for breakfast, lunch and after-work drinks, enjoying views above Adelaide Street to St John’s Cathedral.

The Otto Brisbane menu is loosely inspired by the southern regions of Italy and will include dishes such as white anchovies with fennel, muscatels and pine nuts; zucchini flowers filled with ricotta and pecorino, tomato confit and eggplant; carbonara spaghettini with smoked ham hock and pecorino; vongole with chilli, garlic and cannellini beans; and some butterflied spatchcock with pancetta, chargrilled lemon, rosemary and crispy potato chips.

“We were looking to take the Otto brand outside Sydney and felt that Brisbane would be the perfect home,” says John Fink, creative director of the Fink Group, which is behind the expansion.

“It goes without saying that diners can expect the same fresh, seasonal, produce-driven offering, with ingredients that speak for themselves, and that wonderful and seamless, quality of service we dish up down in Sydney.”

Diners can also expect several Otto signature dishes, such as beef carpaccio with truffle dressing, aioli, capers, parmesan and rocket; black and white tagliolini, moreton bay bugs, cherry tomatoes and basil (pictured); and baby burramundi fillets with salsa verde.

“Brisbane has a great upfront dining scene,” Fink says. “If you know where to look there is a really cool thing happening under the surface. Nooks and crannies, basements and laneways: it is worth seeking out. It reminds me of the underground jazz scene in Krakow about ten years ago, or the artistic community in East Berlin.”

Taking inspiration from heritage listed Woolloomooloo Wharf, Brisbane diners will be surrounded by natural materials such as slatted timber walls and ceiling, marblo resin and naval brass. The restaurant also features an open kitchen and private dining room.

Otto Brisbane’s pasta will be available for takeaway in lunchboxes designed by Saatchi & Saatchi while local Brisbane roasters Blackstar will be behind its coffee offerings. “There’s a youthful buzz and hum going on in Brisbane,” Fink says. “It is really inspiring, and I like being a part of that.”