Forget champagne breakfasts – brunch with cocktails is where it’s at.

Gauge in South Brisbane, owned by Jerome Batten, is leading the charge, taking advantage of the old saying, “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” by introducing a short but well-made and keenly priced range of boozy concoctions to their new weekend brunch menu from 10am.

That means, as you’re slicing into thick, buttery brioche toast topped with spicy, sobrassada-laced pork mince and a runny-centred fried egg, you can sip on Aperol infused with watermelon and lemon myrtle. This fire and ice combination may just be the perfect way to start a Saturday – or recover on a Sunday from a raucous night out.

The “bacon sanga” with barbecue sauce on housemade sourdough holds plenty of appeal, especially when paired with the venue’s play on a gin and tonic, where gin is infused with hibiscus tea for a just-sweet, candy pink, floral sipper.

Three lunch-style dishes – mackerel with buttermilk, flank steak, and a buckwheat spatzle – are added to the offering from 11.30am, with the blushing pink steak elevated by pearls of oyster sauce, a koji cream and shavings of mushroom.

Sides are required to make this into a meal, and the cheese-topped fried sebago potatoes should be compulsory for their golden, shatteringly crisp skin and pillowy centre lavished with malt vinegar cream. But the slick of seaweed paste under the Caprese salad pushes the salt boundaries a bit too far.

Getting the attention of waitstaff can be a little tricky when the cosy, Scandi-style space fills up, but the kitchen and bar team remain on their game, pushing out food and drinks quickly.

Whether it’s to cure a hangover or start one, cocktails for brunch have never been more fun.