3 nights in Brisbane was a tease that had me wanting more. Gluten free brunches, gluten free naan and gulabjamuns (my fellow Indian coeliacs rejoice – for those who don’t know it’s like a syrupy fried donut) and the most relaxed but boujie atmosphere… Let me tell you more!
Where to Stay
We arrived at around midnight so I’m discounting this night as we went to sleep pretty much immediately and didn’t see much of Brisbane except the pretty twinkling lights in an Uber down the highway. We stayed at Capri by Fraser, not due to any particular gluten free-ness, just for proximity to other gluten free options. Staying in the general area here I think was a good base to explore as we walked to most places. Plus the hotel had a little pool, sauna and gym which we usually look for in case we want to exercise.
Day 1: Bakery, shopping and cocktails
Breakfast
So day 1! First thing on our list was breakfast. We meandered down to Nodo in south bank which is a 100% gluten free cafe. It was such a pretty walk and passes the Brisbane sign so you can stop for an iconic picture.
I ordered a waffle and my partner ordered an eggs benny. Then we got a couple of donuts to try as well for good measure and for instant satisfaction while we waited for our real breakfasts to be made. The donuts were very good. Not the best donut I’ve tried, see my post about LA, but very very good.
The mains were great too, and this place was busy which was understandable once I bit into my food. The overall atmosphere of this cafe was 10/10 to be honest, I love to people watch and it’s right next to the most pretty path by the river. I could picture myself living there, going for a leisurely breakfast on the weekdays by south bank watching the world go by over my coffee and gluten free waffle.
Nodo is a 100% recommendation from me, I went back to a Nodo every morning I was there.
Shopping and Lunching
One thing we really wanted to do on this trip was do some shopping so we done this next, and around south bank is really good for this. There’s a mixture of different type of shops for different budgets.
For lunch, I was meeting a friend by the river (I really do love being by the water). We headed to Riverbar & Kitchen along the City Reach Boardwalk. There were quite a few restaurants here with gluten free options, I didn’t go but next door there was a greek place that my friends said were good. So I’d recommend this area in general for a spot to eat.
Alas, we went for pizza and burgers. I got a gluten free proscuitto and burrata pizza which was a salty, saliva inducing deliciousness. I also got a gluten free beer to wash it down. This was a great place for a casual lunch or family get together. This restaurant is not certified gluten free so do let them know you have coeliac disease before ordering.
Bar Hopping & Snacking
We went to a few bars afterwards, one worth a mention was called Miss Demeanour as it had fantastic cocktails but as well as that it had an abundance of gluten free options in it’s menu including things like croquets and burgers, vegan options also available! You can walk up along the City Board Walk until the Story Bridge to Mr. Percivals (which was very busy in the evening).
For dinner this night we went to Grill’d for healthy burgers. I actually thought this was really decent for a fast food chain and you can even get a gluten free crispy chicken burger, which is on the rarer side to find! They do state on the menu that gluten is also handled, so double check they can make your burger in a coeliac friendly way before ordering. I had no problems.
Day 2: Exploration and a Curry
Morning Movement
We decided we’d explore a bit of Brisbane by foot this day and so set out on a run along the river. You could also walk or rent bikes and circle the route we took and is for the most part not on roads so you can relax and take in the surroundings.
We followed the Brisbane River Walk (a footpath built literally over the river) until the end, then followed Griffith Street to the walkway through Merthyr Park and onto New Farm Park. The complete loop back to Brisbane was just over 10km from where we were staying in the City and was so pretty, once you get to the parks it has a very suburban vibe with families having picnics and walking dogs.
On the way back, we crossed story bridge and took in the other side of the river through Kangaroo Point Riverwalk. There were some cool places here that if we had more time would have been nice to try, for example, there’s a couple of beaches/lidos on this side and rock climbing.
We planned our route so that we would end up at Nodo in Southbank again, obviously. And so had brunch here. When I tell you guys it was so good we didn’t even bother to try find another breakfast place I mean it.
Dinner – GLUTEN FREE NAANS!
That night, I had found a place online that done gluten free galbjumans!! I have never seen this before, have you? They also offered gluten free bread. The dream. It was a little bit further out from the City, in Paddington, so we got an Uber.
The whole ethos of It’s Mirchi, is that it’s healthy, organic and caters to quite a few allergens.
We got a spinach onion pakora (you know I can’t resist a gluten free fried option), a chicken tikka masala, eggplant and potato, rogan josh, a gluten free and vegan naan and then to top it all off, a gluten free gulabjamun!!
It was perfect. The naan is not too similar to a traditional naan as it’s made with chickpea flour so a lot more flimsy like a pancake, however still brilliant to have a bread to use instead of just rice.
The curries were all fantastic. And the gulabjamun was so so tasty! A highlight of this trip.
There were really great vegetarian and vegan options here too.
Day 3: Kangaroos and Rooftop Views
Breakfast – Back at Nodo
This was our last day so we managed to pack in quite a bit. First up was breakfast at Nodo (shocker) we did try a different establishment this time though, in Elizabeth Street, as they offered a sausage and egg muffin. It was incredibly messy to eat, but sooo good. There’s not too many seats here as it’s in the city so more of a grab and go place.
Koalas and Kangaroos!
With full bellies, we got an Uber to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Here you can see an abundance of koalas just chilling, well mostly sleeping, in trees. Did you know there is relatively little nutrition in eucalyptus leaves so they spend more than 17 hours sleeping in a day!?
There is also a big enclosure full of kangaroos here and you can buy food to feed them. We spent a couple of hours here as there’s loads of other animals too and it was a very unique experience as I honestly had not seen koalas or kangaroos before, let alone feeding kangaroos!
Rooftop Views and River Dining
I love going to rooftops when I’m in cities to get a view of the skyline. For this, we went to emporium hotels where you can go in and catch the lift up to the rooftop restaurant. There’s a terrace where you can sit outside and grab a drink or something to eat. Or sit inside and just go outside for photos.
There were many gluten free options on their menu which sounded great, though a bit expensive, but we didn’t order food here and instead opted for just a sunset drink.
For dinner, we then wandered to Popolo. This is an Italian restaurant with plenty of gluten free options, including bread, pasta and gnocchi. The wine here was great, though we were outside I loved the fires they had and the views to the river and the pasta was delicious too. Such a beautiful setting for a date!
Our final activity here was going to Lightscape in City Botanic Gardens. We were lucky enough to be here during Brisbane Festival and booked tickets online to a light show in the park. It reminded me of Christmas in London where you can walk through parks to see twinkling light installations. If you’re here for this, definitely go! It’s so pretty and some segments light to music.
But if not, no fear! Brisbane is a lovely city full of lights all year round anyway.
If you are going to other places in Australia and found this useful, why not check out my blog post on Sydney! I hope you enjoy your aussie travels!
Round-up!
Hotel:
Restaurants:
1. Nodo – Breakfast / Brunch 100% GF Cafe (10/10)
2. It’s Mirchi – Indian restaurant with gluten free naan and gulabjumans (9/10)
3. Popolo – Italian with gluten free bread and pasta as options (7/10)
4. Grill’d – healthy burgers, mostly gluten free with a fried chicken option too (6/10)
5. Riverbar and Kitchen – casual eatery on the river, GF pizza and burger option (7/10)
6. Miss Demeanour – cocktail bar with extensive gf options in snack menu
Other restaurants I didn’t go to:
1. Donna Chang – fairly fancy Chinese restaurant with good GF options
2. Uncle Wang – Chinese restaurant with good GF options on the menu
3. Dovetail Social – breakfast that states they are coeliac friendly on the menu
4. Flour leopard – 100% coeliac friendly breakfast
Activities:
1. Walk/cycle/run Brisbane River Walk path
3. Rooftop views from Emporium Hotel
4. Fireworks and Lightscape light show (if there in September during Brisbane Festival)
5. Shopping
Other activites I didn’t do:
1. Rock climbing at Kangaroo Point
2. See a theatre show
3. Netherworld cocktail bar & arcade
Thanks for reading all the way down here, if you do any of these activities or eat at any of these places then I’d love to see you enjoying these places, share your experiences in my facebook page, tag me on Instagram or TikTok!
