Where to eat on a Queen's Wharf weekend

The resort's conference pages count twelve restaurants and four bars. You will not get to all of them in two days, so we sorted them by where they are, when they open, and whether they take bookings.

Illustration of a riverside dining terrace at night with festoon lights and a lit footbridge — Dinner on a riverside terrace, as we imagine it. Illustration, not a photograph of the hotel.

The building, floor by floor

Where	Venues	Age
Sky Deck, Level 23	Aloria, Babblers, Cicada Blu	All ages
The Star Grand lobby	Sokyo, Lobby Bar	All ages
Level 2, The Star Grand	Hotel breakfast room (à la carte)	Hotel guests
The Terrace, Level 4	Black Hide, Cucina Regina, Azteca, Dark Shepherd, Lúc Lắc, Pompette	All ages
Level 5, inside the casino	Food Quarter, Fat Noodle (and the bars LiveWire and Cherry)	18+ only

The age column matters more than it looks. Food Quarter and Fat Noodle sit inside the casino on Level 5, so the casino's 18+ rule applies to them as well. Travelling with anyone under 18? Plan your meals on The Terrace, in the lobby and on the Sky Deck.

Breakfast

The hotel serves an à la carte breakfast on Level 2 from 7:00 to 10:30 am, last orders at 10:00. Whether it is included depends on your rate, which we confirm when we answer a request. In-room dining runs at any hour and is ordered through a QR code on the television. Babblers on the Sky Deck opens at 7:00 am and does not take bookings. Food Quarter serves breakfast from 6:00 to 10:00 am, but it is inside the casino and adults only. Sokyo's bar in the lobby lists daily hours from 6:00 am, and the Lobby Bar does coffee in the morning.

The Terrace, Level 4

The Terrace is the restaurant row that the Neville Bonner Bridge lands on. Six venues, most of them run by well-known Brisbane groups, with outdoor seating towards the river. At five of them the pages note that The Star Club membership benefits do not apply; most of those five name an outside Brisbane restaurant group behind them.

Black Hide Steak and Seafood by Gambaro

Steak and Queensland seafood from the Gambaro Group, with a cocktail lounge serving small plates. The page does not publish its hours, so check before you plan a late dinner.

Cucina Regina

Italian: hand-stretched pizza, homemade pasta and tiramisu finished at the table. Lunch every day from 12 to 3 pm, small plates from 3 to 5 pm on Fridays to Sundays, and dinner every day from 5 pm. There is a private dining room. The 10 per cent weekend surcharge applies.

Azteca

Latin American and Asian dishes in a 126-seat room with live greenery, brass tables, round semi-private pods and an open-air terrace towards South Bank. DJ sets on weekends. Hours: Monday and Tuesday from 5 pm, Wednesday to Saturday from noon, Sunday from 12 to 3 pm only — note the short Sunday.

Dark Shepherd

Mediterranean cooking with a focus on lamb, grilled over woodfire, with dishes meant for sharing. A sunken dining area, a bar and a private dining room. It comes from Michael Tassis, the restaurateur behind Opa Bar + Mezze and Yamas.

Lúc Lắc

Food from Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore cooked in an open kitchen, a jade onyx bar and a DJ later in the evening. The page names Queensland produce on the menu, including Fraser Isle spanner crab and Moreton Bay bugs. Run by the Ghanem Group.

Pompette

A French-style restaurant with a champagne and oyster bar, all-day dining, three private dining rooms and a leafy alfresco area. Another Tassis Group venue.

In the lobby: Sokyo

Sokyo is The Star's Japanese restaurant, first opened at The Star Sydney and now inside The Star Grand lobby — straight ahead and to the left as you come in from William Street. Executive Chef Alex Yu leads the kitchen, with Tuan Colombo appointed head chef according to The Star's announcements. Dinner runs Wednesday to Sunday from 5 to 9 pm, so it is closed for dinner on Mondays and Tuesdays. There is a semi-private dining room and a kids' menu, and the weekend surcharge applies.

On the Sky Deck

Aloria (lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday, weekend brunch with seatings at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm), Babblers (7 am to 10 pm every day, walk-in only) and Cicada Blu (walk-in for small groups). The Sky Deck page has the full hours.

Inside the casino, 18+ only

Fat Noodle is Luke Nguyen's South-East Asian restaurant, known for a 20-hour pho; it began at the old Treasury more than a decade ago and moved here. Sunday to Thursday 12 to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday until 11 pm. Reservations only for nine or more with a banquet menu. Food Quarter is a walk-in all-day café with Western and Asian menus, a carvery from 11 am to 8 pm and cakes. Both are behind the casino's 18+ entry.

Book or walk in?

Venue	How to get a table
Aloria	Book; the 3–5 pm snack menu is walk-in only
Babblers	Walk-in only
Cicada Blu	Walk-in; groups of 30+ can book
Sokyo, Cucina Regina	Book, especially Saturday
Fat Noodle	Walk-in; bookings only for 9+ with a banquet
Food Quarter	Walk-in

The weekend surcharge

Aloria, Babblers, Cicada Blu, Sokyo and Cucina Regina all print the same line on their pages: a 10 per cent surcharge on Saturdays and Sundays and 15 per cent on public holidays. The other Terrace restaurants did not mention one on the pages we read, which does not mean there is none. On a two-night stay, eating your big dinner on Friday is the easy saving.

How we would eat over one weekend

Friday night, if you arrive early: Azteca or Lúc Lắc on The Terrace, no surcharge listed on their pages.
Saturday brunch: Aloria's weekend brunch, or Babblers if you would rather not book.
Saturday dinner: Cucina Regina or Black Hide on The Terrace after the sunset on the deck.
Sunday breakfast: Level 2 or Babblers before the bridge.
Sunday lunch: Pompette, or Azteca before its kitchen closes at 3 pm.