Day Tripping In Fortitude Valley

By Jodi Panayotov

For years the Valley has worn the seedy night tag of Brisbane's after dark entertainment precinct and seen as thin on the ground with daytime offerings. Yet while debate rages on rejuvenating the one time retail hub of Brisbane to lure day visitors back into the historical inner city fold, those who care to spend a day will find plenty to fill it with a neighbourhood of careworn character buildings that are home to a sprinkling of top art galleries, funky eateries, cafes and bars and some of the best indie shopping to be had in Brisbane.

The Outpost

The once proud shopping precinct that was Brunswick St the Valley may no longer have the big name retailers like Overells, Waltons, TC Beirnes, McWhirters and Myers that once drew a well-dressed shopping crowd but tucked away in gritty little pockets are some of the best indie boutiques in Brisbane.

Starting with Brunswick St itself, Fallow does not have a street presence, just a sign on the footpath pointing to the 1960's staircase which leads to its antler handled door. And these are stairs well worth climbing for hidden away in a basement style upstairs chamber and curated by Natalie Denning and partner, is arguably the finest his (mostly)'n'hers fashion and accessories store in town.

Fallow Curiosities and Cloth

Also on the same strip of Brunswick St is the cute and dandy Heidi Go Seek and Incube8r, the outlet for beautiful hand made things by Australia's top crafters.

Around the corner in Ann St, where the indie fashion boutique set first moved in, there remains a great sometimes revolving line-up starring Akira, veterans Blonde Venus, Mai-occhi, Dogstar and gorgeous gown salon Babushka Ballerina while across the road in one of the valley's oldest remaining shops Downes Shoes and Doc Martens stockers have been in residence for over a century.

Take a turn from Ann onto Winn St and to one side is the Valley's cutest little laneway. Flanked by Flamingo Café, Tym Guitars and The Outpost, the go-to boutique for unique urban gear, the rest of the lane is home to a cluster of charming postage-stamp-sized shops – Atavist Books, Sunday Social (vintage), and come and go pop up shops that are always worth a look.

Flamingo Cafe

Meanwhile on the Ann St corner of the Chinatown mall Trash Monkey is a must visit for lovers of everything retro and vintage inspired gear under the sun, from rockabilly, steam punk, tiki & surf gear, to mod, pin up, Lolita, nautical, glam rock and Victorian.

Art Galleries

A few blocks from the Brunswick St mall towards New Farm are four of Brisbane's best galleries, the oldest and most famous of which is one time Barry Humphrey's fave Phillip Bacon. A foray into the cool Cox Rayner designed interior will invariably find an exhibition by a leading artist and an encounter with the works of national treasures such as Margaret Olley, Charles Blackman and Rupert Bunny. Next door is another art scene stalwart Jan Murphy whose stable of award-winning artists guarantee that there'll always be something of interest hanging on her gallery walls.

Closer to the mall and downstairs behind the Judith Wright Centre the edgy little Institute of Modern Art is free to enter and is well worth checking out for its often confronting and cutting edge installations from around the world. And across the street the artisan design gallery/shop M'Art & Gallery Artisan is not just the go-to place for stunning and unique artisan-crafted gifts, homewares and collectables but its gallery houses revolving multi-media exhibitions featuring the best of design in sculpture, fashion and technology.

IMA

Eating & Drinking

Those who like their food with a side serve of people watching may find the cafes strung out along the mall to their liking (the Cosmo and Fat Boys being the long-serving institutions) or head eastward along Brunswick St to pocket-sized gourmet hotdog bar G-Doggz, cosy brick coffee house Reverends Fine Coffee or to funky little Flamingo Café on Winn Lane.

For cheap hearty ethnic eats, the base of old art deco department store McWhirter's is a bit of a multicultural food hall with Malay-Chinese Old Town Kitchen and Indian curry and sweet shop Maha Latchmi the best of the bunch. Or get a taste of Japan in the sunken Brunswick St corner beer and dumpling bar Harajuku Gyoza.

G-Doggz

For something spectacularly different, head away from the main action to the back streets, where the quirky milk bar and beer garden of icon-in-waiting Alfred & Constance dish out top class nosh daily.

Cloudland, Brisbane's very own post-modern hanging gardens of Babylon, may be party central by night but by day it makes for a surreal oasis to dine, have a drink and suss out the extraordinary decorative detail that gets lost in lights at night.

Meantime The Elephant and Wheelbarrow, the darkened English style pub in the Richard Gailey designed Prince Consort Hotel has a funky little beer garden in its midst, just made for a lunchtime beer.

Cloudland

Chinatown

The Chinatown mall (with feature fish sculpture) has one of the Valley's best kept secrets – the Ll Arts Décor Tea Gallery, where punters can enjoy a delicate cup of tea and some delicious Asian morsels from a terrace overlooking the mall. On the other side, at the entrance to the TCB arcade, another tucked away eatery Wagaya blends Japanese tradition with technology with all orders done from iPad screens in the dining booths.

Downstairs in the mall, Thai Wi-Rat is renowned for its cheap Laotian – Thai dishes and Burlington Supermarket and Yuen's are great places to stock up on Asian groceries.

Facing off the Wickham St entrance to Chinatown is grungy looking Chopstix arcade and those who enter will be rewarded at the end with 2002 Cyber City, a slightly surreal mega size budget Chinese eatery, bar and games room rolled into one, where the karaoke starts at 12pm daily.