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Star chef Matt Blackwell is set to part ways with Pneuma restaurant, which he co-owns with fellow chef Dan Arnold. Blackwell’s last service will be on July 6.
“I just wanted to [take] this opportunity to personally let you know that I have made the difficult but necessary decision to step away from Pneuma,” Blackwell wrote in an email to guests via the restaurant’s Seven Rooms account on Monday morning.
“To everyone who dined with us, supported us and believed in what we were building – thank you. Your kindness and encouragement meant more than you know.”
Blackwell’s departure essentially means the end of Pneuma, given he was the creative force behind the restaurant. Dan Arnold confirmed to this masthead via text that he will retain the premises but intends to use it for a new concept.
Speaking over the phone later on Monday, Blackwell was philosophical about his decision to call time on Pneuma.
“It’s really, really sad, to be honest,” Blackwell said. “I had a chat with Dan … It’s pretty heartbreaking.
“It’s definitely not what I wanted. I put everything [I had] into it for the last nearly two years – like, everything. Having to call it was really, really hard, but I know it needs to happen.”
Blackwell wouldn’t be drawn on the specifics behind his reasons for leaving, simply saying the current direction of the restaurant no longer aligned with his own vision for the venue.
“Where we’re at now, the restaurant is operating great,” he said. “Day to day, it’s all going well … but the direction it’s going is not where I’m wanting to be at the moment. So it makes sense to call it now.”
Arnold responded to requests for comment with a written statement.
“I want to thank Matt for his time and dedication to Pneuma these last few years – breathing life into this project and really making it his own,” he said.
“When we first opened Pneuma in late 2023 as a pop-up we never thought it would become the restaurant it has become today, and I am proud of what we have been able to achieve in those few short years.”
Arnold intends to close the restaurant after the July 6 service but keep the site and “commence its next chapter in the coming future”.
Pneuma opened in November 2023 in the light-filled CBD heritage space previously occupied by Greenglass. Blackwell and Arnold were and remain two of the city’s most high-profile chefs, the former celebrated for his work at GOMA Restaurant; the latter known for La Cache a Vin and the award-winning Restaurant Dan Arnold.
Pneuma immediately turned heads with its seasonal menu, which utilises different proteins in bold and clever ways. In its short life it has won numerous plaudits, including being named one of Queensland’s best restaurants in the 2025 Good Food Guide.
Blackwell says he will take some time away from the kitchen before making a decision about his future.
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Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
