Blume is one of Queensland’s best regional restaurants, Milquetoast one of the city’s best bars. Now, the talent behind both are opening a 60-seater in a much-loved spot.
If you had to rank the best south-east Queensland regional restaurants, Blume would be close to the top of the list. Jack Stuart’s little dining room has been a minor sensation since it opened in Boonah in 2022, packing out most weekends with day-trippers from Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
It made sense, then, that when Stuart started thinking about a follow-up, he looked towards the city.
“Blume is a destination venue,” Stuart says. “To have another venue in Boonah would be tricky.
“I live in The Gap, and I commute out to Blume. Brisbane is my home, I guess … so to have something that’s closer to home and potentially allows me to get off the tools eventually and have some chefs under me – have more of a business focus – would be the next step in my career.”
It also made sense that Stuart would link up with James Horsfall – who worked front of house at Blume in its early days – and George Curtis, Horsfall’s business partner in popular CBD wine bar Milquetoast.
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Later this month, the trio is opening Venner in the charming West End premises recently vacated by Gum Bistro on Boundary Street. Venner is a Scandinavian word for “friends”, and that Nordic theme extends to the menu, which will be big on preserves, ferments, and utilising protein by-product. It’s a style of cooking Horsfall and Curtis were taken with during their time working together at Elska, Nathan and Freja Dunnell’s New Farm fine diner, which closed in 2023.
“Nathan was incredible at drawing flavour out of everything – using every part of the meat, the fish, even the way the vegetables were treated,” Curtis says. “It was real attention to detail, and it unlocked a different style of dining that I could really get around.”
“Nordic cuisine is more of a philosophy rather than meatball subs from IKEA,” Stuart adds. “It’s about capturing the seasons. Seasonality can be about what’s in season at that moment, but you can also capture seasons and preserve them, then use them later.
“In winter, nothing grows in that part of the world for months and months, right? So they do as much as they can in the summer [and preserve it].”
Stuart is yet to finalise his first menu, but diners can expect a selection of snacks, and medium and large plates that include dishes such as a redclaw yabby and Dutch cream potato roll with a green garlic emulsion; Stuart’s take on a classic Danish egg and caviar-topped smorrebrod; and barbecued Brisbane Valley quail that, in draft form, will come served with a fig leaf vinegar jus and pickled walnut.
“Nordic cuisine is … about capturing the seasons. Seasonality can be about what’s in season at that moment, but you can also capture seasons and preserve them, then use them later.”
Venner co-owner and chef Jack Stuart
For drinks, Horsfall is compiling a 60-bottle, sustainability-focused wine list that will tap both old and new-world drops for something that’s a little more traditional and dialled back than the funky rare finds he often peddles at Milquetoast.
There will also be a focus on aquavit, the popular Scandinavian spirit characterised by its earthy, herbal flavour profile.
“It’s Scandinavian gin, in a way, except instead of juniper, you’re using caraway and fennel and dill, so it’s a much fresher, herbaceous spirit,” Curtis says. “We’ve imported about 15 aquavit directly from Europe, and a few more from Australian suppliers.
“We’ll be offering a house aquavit sour, and there’ll be various other drinks as well. It will be the main show of the bar, which is really exciting.”
Overseeing the design and fitout themselves, Curtis, Stuart and Horsfall are extending the kitchen to create counter dining for a chef’s table-style set menu.
But in keeping with the restaurant’s theme, there has been a lot of assistance from close friends and loved ones. Curtis’ partner, Becca Wang, is looking after the decor; Horsfall’s wife, Amie Horsfall, is producing art for the venue; and Stuart’s father, Tony Rice, is hand-making the plates.
“These are all people who are close to us and making it a whole friends and family affair,” Curtis says. “That’s the point of the venue, really.”
Venner will open at 137 Boundary Street in West End in late February.
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.
