RFK Rankings · Brisbane
Best Restaurants With a View in Brisbane 2026
Restaurants with a view · Brisbane · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published September 2, 2025 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Brisbane's view is the river and the ridge. The Brisbane River bends through the centre under the Story Bridge, and most of the best rooms line the water at Howard Smith Wharves and South Bank, with one lookout high on Mount Coot-tha over the whole city. The hazard is the riverside pontoon that sells the water and serves a short bar menu. The six rooms below earn the view with a kitchen, from a Cantonese room under the bridge to a new restaurant perched ten metres above the river. Most are best at dusk, when the city towers light up across the water.
1.Stanley
Louis Tikaram's Cantonese room under the Story Bridge at Howard Smith Wharves; book a terrace table and order the duck ahead.
Stanley sits under the Story Bridge at Howard Smith Wharves, a 210-seat Cantonese room with floor-to-ceiling glass and a terrace over the Brisbane River. Head chef Louis Tikaram, who cooked at the acclaimed E.P. and L.P. in Los Angeles and has led the kitchen since 2019, runs classic Cantonese, the Peking duck that takes days to prepare and live pippies in XO on crisp noodles, with most dishes A$30 to A$60. The river view, boats and the bridge above, is the headline alongside one of the city's best kitchens. Book a window or terrace table at dusk, and order the duck ahead when you reserve.
Reserve direct; terrace at dusk, duck ahead.
2.Stokehouse Q
A glass riverfront pavilion on the South Bank facing the city skyline and Story Bridge; book a window table at dusk.
Stokehouse Q stands on the South Bank riverfront in a glass-fronted pavilion, the dining room turned to the Brisbane River with the Story Bridge upstream and the city skyline across the water. The kitchen runs a modern Australian menu strong on seafood, with a bombe Alaska a long-running signature, and mains in the A$45 to A$65 range. Rebuilt after a 2014 fire, its unobstructed river-and-skyline view is the best on the South Bank promenade, and the room is built for an occasion. It is Brisbane's polished riverside dining room. Book a window table at dusk, when the city towers light up across the river, and ask for the upstairs room over the casual bar.
Reserve direct; upstairs window at dusk.
3.The Summit
A heritage lookout at the top of Mount Coot-tha over the whole city and the bay; book a terrace table for sunset.
The Summit sits at the top of Mount Coot-tha, a heritage 1920s building with a terrace and dining room looking down over the whole of Brisbane to the bay and the islands beyond. The kitchen runs a modern Australian menu across breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the chargrilled steak among the orders and mains around A$40 to A$60, and the panorama, the city skyline laid out below with the river threading through it, is the broadest view in town. It is the classic Brisbane lookout table, away from the river rooms downtown. Book a terrace table for sunset or after dark, when the city lights spread out below, and allow time for the drive up the mountain.
Reserve direct; terrace at sunset.
4.Greca
Jonathan Barthelmess's Greek taverna by the river at Howard Smith Wharves; book the river side for the wood-fired seafood.
Greca is Jonathan Barthelmess's Greek taverna at Howard Smith Wharves, a 210-seat white-washed room open since 2018 under the Story Bridge with an outlook onto the Brisbane River. Barthelmess, also behind The Apollo and Cho Cho San in Sydney, cooks a Mediterranean menu of wood-fired seafood, grilled meats and saganaki, with mains around A$30 to A$55. The riverside setting, olive trees and the bridge overhead, pairs the water with one of the wharf precinct's best kitchens. It is the relaxed riverside counter to Stanley next door. Book a table on the river side at dusk, and come hungry for the whole fish and the shared plates.
Reserve direct; river side at dusk.
5.Supernormal Brisbane
Andrew McConnell's pan-Asian room on the river at Howard Smith Wharves; book a window table and start with the lobster roll.
Supernormal Brisbane brings Andrew McConnell's pan-Asian menu to the Brisbane River at Howard Smith Wharves, a sleek room open since 2021 with floor-to-ceiling glass framing the water and the city skyline. The kitchen runs the dishes that made the Melbourne original, the lobster roll and the prawn dumplings among them, with most plates A$20 to A$45. The river-and-skyline view through the glass is the draw alongside a kitchen with a serious pedigree, McConnell's Trader House group. It is the polished pan-Asian room on the wharf strip. Book a window table at dusk, when the city towers light up across the water, and start with the lobster roll.
Reserve direct; window at dusk, lobster roll.
6.Stilts Dining
Queensland's first bridge restaurant, ten metres over the river on the Kangaroo Point Bridge; book the balcony for the city lights.
Stilts Dining opened in February 2025 at the city end of the new Kangaroo Point Bridge, the first restaurant on a bridge in Queensland, perched ten metres above the Brisbane River. The glass room and alfresco balcony give a near 360-degree view of the CBD, the Story Bridge and the Kangaroo Point cliffs, and the kitchen runs Queensland steak and seafood, the Moreton Bay bug linguine and a 28-day aged sirloin among the orders, with mains around A$45 to A$70 and a list of more than 180 wines. The over-water view is the newest in town. Book the balcony at dusk, and time it for the city lights coming on across the river.
Reserve direct; balcony at dusk.
Avoid for a view
The bar, not a restaurant
Mr Percival's, the pontoon bar floating off Howard Smith Wharves, has a fine river view but a short bar menu, not a full kitchen. Go for a drink on the water, then book one of the dining rooms on the wharf above.
Great kitchen, no view
Agnes, the wood-fire room in Fortitude Valley, is one of Brisbane's best kitchens, but it sits in a windowless laneway building with no view. Book it for the cooking and take the river another night.
Reservation strategy for a Brisbane view table
Brisbane's view is the river and the ridge. Most of the water rooms cluster at Howard Smith Wharves under the Story Bridge, Stanley, Greca and Supernormal side by side, with Stokehouse Q across the river on the South Bank promenade and Stilts ten metres above the water on the Kangaroo Point Bridge. The Summit sits apart, at the top of Mount Coot-tha, with the city laid out below. For the river rooms, the prize is a window or terrace table on the water side, and dusk is the hour, when the city towers light up across the river.
Book the Howard Smith Wharves rooms ahead for a weekend evening, since the whole precinct fills, and reserve Stilts early while it is the newest table in town. For The Summit, allow time for the drive up the mountain and book the terrace for sunset.
Frequently asked
What is the best restaurant with a view in Brisbane?
For the kitchen, Stanley at Howard Smith Wharves, Louis Tikaram's Cantonese room on the river under the Story Bridge, or Stokehouse Q on the South Bank riverfront. For the broadest view, The Summit at the top of Mount Coot-tha looks over the whole city. Book a window or terrace table at dusk, when the towers light up across the river.
Which Brisbane restaurants are on the river?
Howard Smith Wharves holds most of the river rooms, with Stanley, Greca and Supernormal side by side under the Story Bridge, Stokehouse Q across the water on the South Bank promenade, and Stilts ten metres above the river on the Kangaroo Point Bridge. All are best from a table on the water side at dusk.
Where is the highest view restaurant in Brisbane?
The Summit at the top of Mount Coot-tha gives the broadest view, the whole city and the river laid out below to the bay beyond, from a heritage 1920s building. Stilts Dining sits ten metres above the river on the Kangaroo Point Bridge for a near 360-degree view of the CBD and the Story Bridge. Both are best booked for sunset.
How much does a view dinner in Brisbane cost?
Plan on A$40 to A$70 for mains at the riverfront rooms, with Stilts and Stokehouse Q at the upper end and the Howard Smith Wharves rooms, Stanley, Greca and Supernormal, spread A$20 to A$60. The Summit runs A$40 to A$60. The water-side and balcony seats carry the demand, so weekend evenings are as much about booking ahead as cost.
When should you book a Brisbane river table?
Ahead for a weekend evening at Howard Smith Wharves, which fills as a whole precinct, and early for Stilts while it is the newest table in town. Dusk is the hour for the river rooms, when the city towers light up across the water. For The Summit, book the terrace for sunset and allow time for the drive up Mount Coot-tha.
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