The Apo

Remember Ryan Squires' Buffalo Club? Or Simon's Hill's interpretation of a contemporary Spanish bodega, Ortiga? Sadly they proved to be before their time.

As recently as five years ago, the drinkers and clubbers frequenting the Valley wanted nothing more than food that they could pay for with a fistful of change in the early hours.  

But times and the urban landscape are a-changing and a little patch of Fortitude Valley has been gentrified, with bars such as Lost Boys, Treehouse and Heya, Kiosk cafe and laneway favourite Longtime replacing the drinking dens and restaurants of old.

The Bowery Bar has stood sentinel here for 13 years, class among the chaos, bringing Brisbane's bar scene and our talented bartenders to national attention.

Now new neighbour The Apo, has, (no pun intended), lifted the bar even higher.

This old apothecary hall has been given a stylish makeover, but the exposed brick and grey concrete remind us that this is still the Valley, where even a genteel veneer of grittiness is expected.

The hard edges of the industrial decor are softened by a pop of cobalt blue cushions and a neat row of similarly hued bar stools, while sunny tunes are on the playlist. Along the back wall is an open kitchen; out the back a handful of al fresco tables look onto Bakery Lane.

"Go famished or go often" should probably be the Apo diner's mantra, because you'll want to graze through the extensive menu. Chef Braden White (ex Hatch and Co, Newstead) most recently headed the kitchen at Ricky's at Noosa. He's come back into the fold, rejoining Hatch's owners, the Moubarak family, in this new venture – and seems to have found his groove.  

The menu starts small and moves onto large plates designed for two. It's presented as food as art, but with nothing extraneous.

A duo of Moonlight Flat oysters share their shells with daubs of vivid watercress emulsion and salty little explosions of crunchy ice plant.

Suckling pig is cooked sous vide with brown butter; and has its skin heat-blasted to order. It's served with a parsnip puree, aerated Greek yoghurt and a golden parsnip crisp imitating the pork's own crisp crackling.

Confit Fremantle octopus tentacles are seared on binchotan charcoal and set atop chickpea puree, then topped with almost translucent slices of pork jowl and a garnish of foraged elderflowers.

A small bowl of pure chicken stock is delivered to the table to be mixed with a confit egg yolk as a sauce for a clever chicken liver pate eclair seasoned with a little charcoal salt.

And there's so much more. Lobster brioche, sweet and creamy and Cloudy Bay surf clams in the shell, diced, folded through creme fraiche with house-made bottarga, French golden shallots and beach herbs. A whole baby snapper, so delicate and clean tasting, is lightly grilled with a spiced butter and garnished with foraged purslane.

The menu will change every few weeks but I predict the suckling pig and chicken liver eclair will become mainstays by popular demand.

As for desserts, of course there's something made with nitrogen, because honestly, if we had the opportunity, wouldn't we all want to play around with cool science equipment? Alchemy is used to bring back a passionfruit curd that has been allowed to split, coaxing it to compliance with butter and whipping it mercilessly in a robot coupe until it's absolutely silky smooth.

Condensed milk and cream aerated and frozen with nitrogen form milky shards that are mixed with sweeter pieces of dried meringue, the whole thing garnished with brilliant yellow petals. With smoke rising from it as it's delivered, and out your nostrils as you swallow, it's a Hogwarts version of an Eton mess.

Upstairs, the bar is overseen by Pez Collier, who's been collecting awards for more than a decade.

Naturally there's a cracking cocktail list, but don't get too attached; drinks change every second week, although the house cocktail, an Apothecary Bloody Mary (vodka, porcini and wild mushroom, herb, spice and tomato) is a stayer.

There's also a creative wine list with a focus on interesting varietals – a Sicilian albanello-zibibbo, a Spanish albarino, a French gamay and an Australian malbec – all generously available by the glass, half-bottle or bottle.