Brisbane bucket list: Top 20 food and drink experiences 2015

Breakfast at Gauge

Fans of the fermented black-garlic bread with brown butter and burnt vanilla or sourdough waffles with artichoke custard will confirm it's worth joining the weekend brunch queue. Bonus: the coffee's good, too.

Gauge, 77 Grey Street, South Brisbane, 07 3852 6734; Open for breakfast Mon-Sat from 7am, Sun from 8am.

Have cocktails at the bar with a spa

Pack your swimmers and share a "Liquid Misconduct" cocktail (served in a flaming tiki bowl) with friends in the 15-person spa at this notorious bath-house-turned-bar. Steak frites are on the menu at Les Bubbles bistro upstairs if you work up an appetite.

Les Bubbles Bath House 144 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, 07 3251 6500, lesbubbles.com.au; Open daily 5pm-late.

Meet the maker

Buy ethically sourced, made-from-scratch dinners from local food and drink producers. From chocolate to cheese to pickles, there's a different producer sharing stories, tastings and demos at this free "eat and greet" every Wednesday.

Wandering Cooks, corner Fish Lane and Cordelia Street, South Brisbane, wanderingcooks.com.au; Wednesdays from 5.30pm.

Have a matcha high tea

Matcha bars have spread from Japan to New York, and the powdered Japanese green tea is being feted as the next superfood. Taste for yourself with a high tea ($35), including matcha lamingtons, matcha-pesto cucumber sandwiches and more.

Sinmei Tea Rooms at Scrumptious Reads, Shop 5, 19 James Street, Fortitude Valley, 07 3852 6797, scrumptiousreads.com.au; Open Wed-Fri 10am-5pm; Sat noon-7pm; Sun 10am-5pm.

Eat green at Wild Canary

Take a drive beyond Brisbane's city limits to the green fringe for lunch among the vegie gardens. Chef Glenn Barratt's (ex Restaurant Two) seasonal menu is designed around fresh produce from the kitchen garden.

Wild Canary, 2371 Moggill Rd, Brookfield, 07 3378 2805, wildcanary.com.au

Bare Bones Friday Dinners

Book in for one of these popular Friday night special dinners at this casual cafe owned by former Urbane chef Kym Machin. Themes change constantly and vary from from "AmeriAsian" to contemporary Spanish.

Bare Bones Society, Shop 22, 34 Goggs Road, Jindalee, 07 3715 5571, barebonessociety.com

Indulge in a dego at Urbane

With the share plate trend so prevalent, degustation restaurants are increasingly rare but worth seeking out, as the dego offers a more thorough insight into the chef's food philosophy than a simple entree, main, dessert. Urbane's includes an omnivore or a vegetarian option.

Urbane, 181 Mary Street, Brisbane, 07 3229 2271, urbanerestaurant.com; Thu-Sat from 6pm; five-course $110, eight-course $145.

Hang out at Heya

Pool competitions, live music and late nights are big drawcards at this cool subterranean collective of interconnected bars. An east-west mash-up street food menu that includes a tonkatsu hotdog and the famous cheeseburger spring roll fuels a big night out.

Heya Bar, 351 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, 07 3252 3234, heyabar.com

Try urban winemaking

Join other wine enthusiasts at the annual Craft crush as the Red Hill wine shop hosts a pop-up footpath winemaking event. Wannabe winemakers get to taste the fruits of their labour after it matures in barrels in-store. Sign up to Craft Wine Store's newsletter to be notified of this free event in February.

Craft Wine Store, 196 Musgrave Road, Red Hill, 07 3367 1383, craftwinestore.com

Have a rooftop drink

Brisbane has been busy turning its empty spaces into sophisticated sunset viewing spots. Grab friends and the cocktail list and check out the views from one of the city's lofty drinking nests such as Eleven or Up on Constance.

Eleven Rooftop Bar, 757 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley,
07 3067 7447, elevenrooftopbar.com.au; Up on Constance, 20 Constance Street, Fortitude Valley, 07 3319 7899, uponconstance.com

Drink beer, eat pork

While you can get your share of good cheer at Brisbane's annual Oktoberfest celebrations, schnitzel, pork knuckle and one of the best beer lists in town are found at the German Club year round. The almost legendary in-house musical entertainer, the lederhosen-clad Andrew, makes sure it all adds up to kitschy good fun.

Brisbane German Club, 416 Vulture Street, East Brisbane, 07 3391 2434, brisbanegermanclub.com

Take a food tour of Sunnybank

Take a three-hour tour of one of the city's best suburbs to eat and shop Asian. As well as loads of tips for choosing the best produce, tour guide Tony Ching will offer advice on the key ingredients and some insights into Asian culture. The tour ($68) includes a yum cha lunch and a goodie bag.

Experience Sunnybank Food Tours, 07 3345 7500, experiencesunnybank.com.au

Have a negroni history lesson

Nine different versions of negroni are available at Coppa, with a cocktail list that charts the Italian drink's evolution from its inception in Turin to modern versions. Soak it up with a selection of small "spuntini" or a wood-fired pizza.

Coppa Spuntino, 88 Creek Street, Brisbane, 07 3221 3548, coppaspuntino.com

Beer and brunch, beachside

OK, it's not a real beach, but the Streets Beach at South Bank is as close as we have in the city. This new South Bank Beer Garden overlooks the swath of silver sand and splashing swimmers, and has a breakfast menu that can be paired with breakfast cocktails, or, after 10am, a brew from one of their 16 taps or 20 bottled beers.

South Bank Beer Garden, Stanley Plaza, South Bank Parklands, 07 3844 2866, southbankbeergarden.com.au

Eat saltbush lamb belly at the Foraging Quail

Despite having an equally strong menu offering for herbivores, it's hard to imagine forgoing the lamb belly here, tender beneath the thinnest crisp layer of skin and part of the degustation experience at the hatted restaurant.

The Foraging Quail, 148 Merthyr Road, New Farm, 07 3358 6414, theforagingquail.com.au; Lamb belly dish is included in the six-course ($60), seven-course ($90) or nine-course ($110) degustations.

Become a cheese maker

Graham Redhead has been teaching cheese lovers how to DIY since 2003. After this workshop ($440) you'll be able to take home your own feta, white-mould brie, semi-hard cheddar, mozzarella and more.

Intensive two-day cheesemaking courses are at St James College in Spring Hill, 07 3352 3022; see cheesemaking.com.au for dates.

Take a cooking class at Putia Pure Foods

Join one of these popular cooking classes ($95) on subjects from modern Mexican to basic Thai with Putia chef and owner Dominique Rizzo. There's a choice of hands-on and demo classes.

4/17 Royal Parade, Banyo, 07 3267 6654, putiapurefood.com.au

Cocktails at the Gresham

Test the cocktail skills of the staff and sing along with the rest of the bar to late-night power ballads at the Gresham, winner of this year's Australian Bar of the Year award.

308 Queen Street, Brisbane, thegresham.com.au

Eat T.F.C.

This Taiwanese fried chicken originated with a cart at Taipei's Shilin Night Market. Hot-Star chicken then spread across Asia and has reached our shores. Huge chicken fillets ($8.50) are available in original or crispy, with help-yourself seasonings.

Shop19d Market Square, Sunnybank, hotstarchicken.com.au

Vine and wine Wednesdays

If you're keen to learn more about wine but you're on a beer budget, try one of these free tastings under the guidance of sommelier Andrew Giblin.

Bacchus Bar, podium level, Rydges South Bank, corner Grey and Glenelg streets, South Bank, bacchussouthbank.com.au; Wednesdays at 5.30pm.

What's on your Brisbane foodie bucket list? Let us know in the comments.