Brisbane loses only fully certified organic restaurant

Organic Char in Brisbane's CBD is closing its doors. Attached to Cha Cha Char, the upmarket steakhouse on the Eagle Street Pier, Organic Char opened in July 2011, but owner John Kilroy admits the organic, share plate restaurant didn't work.

"Our clientele here is mainly corporate and they just don't like to the share idea. It gets awkward – who's going to take the first bit of food, who's going to take the last? Weekends were OK because it was a different crowd but during the week, diners would just tend to order off the Char menu anyway," he says.

The 50-seat Organic Char, which featured all organic produce and sustainably caught fish, was the only fully certified organic restaurant in Brisbane. According to Mr Kilroy, it will become a private dining area for functions.

"It's a shame it didn't work but I think you can do this kind of thing in the suburbs but not in the CBD. The last 18 months have certainly been a learning experience for me."

Organic Char will honour its current bookings before a new fit out and change over to a function space.

Another surprise closure has been the popular Blue Angel in Noosaville which closed its doors a few weeks ago.