Plenty of small-town operators have tried and failed to take on the big smoke. Newstead’s Bar Monte shows how to do it right.
How do you take a restaurant group from a tourist town to a city? It’s not easy.
There’s a different style of diner, of course, and more competition.
But also different produce, different suppliers, different landlords, different staff.
Australian food and beverage is littered with stories of small-town stars who took on the big smoke and swiftly had their backsides handed to them.
But if you had to bet on anyone making it work, it’s Arcade Agency, the hospitality “collective” best known for Light Years, which originated in Byron Bay. And perhaps it already has, opening a Light Years in Perth in April; thus far, that restaurant has been a hit.
Now comes Bar Monte in Brisbane. It’s the second Bar Monte after the Gold Coast original, which opened in December.
“One thing that’s really convinced us to open in Brisbane was the impact Light Years has had in Perth,” co-owner Lorenzo Toscani says.
“The vision with Light Years before I was with them was always to be in coastal towns – start in Byron Bay and then obviously move up to the Gold Coast, and then Noosa. And then right in the middle of COVID they came up with Newcastle, which was a big step-up in terms of capacity.”
This gradual approach has served Arcade Agency well, and it’s taken place against the background of a food and beverage scene where – since the pandemic, in particular – the ties between the cities and the regions, between farmers and producers and the city eateries they serve, have become stronger and stronger.
“When we opened on the Gold Coast we already had Brisbane in mind, as well,” Toscani says.
“Brisbane is growing so fast at the moment, there will be the Olympics.
“As an Italian who landed in Australia in 2012 and his first city was Brisbane, when I went back a couple of years ago, I really fell in love with how much it had changed. We saw the opportunity and wanted to be part of it.”
Bar Monte opened mid-September in the Longland Street tenancy previously occupied by Allonda.
The bones of the place are the same, with the staircase to the right of the long bar that faces the entrance and laneway that runs between Longland and Wyatt streets.
The fit-out by Studio Plenty is moodier and more intimate and playful than Allonda, with dark tiling and marble counters, timber panelling and clever feature lighting. The treatment is modern but nostalgic, and suits the restaurant’s slightly hidden location.
“[Bar Monte] is ‘neighbourhood Italian’, so we wanted to make it look a little bit retro but with a trattoria feeling – that Italian feeling,” Toscani says.
The menu is similar to the Miami original, with engaging twists on familiar Italian items, particularly when it comes to snacks and entrees.
A burrata entree is spiked with nduja and cashew pesto, Ortiz anchovy toast is given a glow-up with smoked tomato butter, and there’s a mortadella bun with pickled green chilli and limoncello aioli that’s become a minor star at the Miami restaurant.
The pastas are all unctuous numbers that range from a cacio e pepe and prawn and chilli linguine, to mezze maniche served with pork sausage and Tuscan kale, and a vodka paccheri that tosses in nduja and is finished with a liberal dose of stracciatella.
There’s also a short menu of mains that spruces up classics such as bistecca, veal cotoletta, and a diavola chicken.
For drinks, there’s a fun, savoury-focused cocktail menu (caprese martini, celery margarita, that kind of thing) and a 100(ish)-bottle wine list compiled by award-winning sommelier Andrea Martinisi that focuses on Australian, Italian and French drops.
In short, if you’re going to add to Brisbane’s packed market of Italian restaurants, Bar Monte is a good way to do it.
“In coastal towns there’s a lot of competition, too, but because they get so busy during certain periods, especially during school holidays – you know you’re going to be full no matter what,” Toscani says.
“With the city, you need to bring your right game. It’s about creating that consistency.”
Open Wed-Sun 12pm-late.
17 Longland Street, Newstead.
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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.
