“Supporting local artisans, producers and farmers and sharing their stories with our guests is key to what we do at The Balfour Kitchen. We aim to cook food that is full-flavoured with minimal wastage and a focus on provenance. We only minimally change the ingredients we use from their organic form. We also have a rooftop edible garden, which includes beehives that provide us with superb honey. And we care deeply about ensuring all of our guests have a completely unique and memorable dining experience.”

Chicken terrine with green shallots, sauces and leaves; sweet, sour and hot beef short ribs with sugar snap peas, radish and cabbage salad; oyster mushrooms with mushroom velouté and sea grapes.

Balfour may have a city fringe location – but housed in a boutique hotel in a genteel Queenslander complete with wrap-around veranda overlooking a lush garden – the experience feels more like dining in the country.

Honey comes from rooftop beehives, the meat used is ethically produced, seafood sustainably sourced and a Sunshine Coast forager provides much of the greenery that pretties the plate and adds extra freshness to Chef Nick Stapleton’s confident Vietnamese-inspired menu.

Pescatarians, vegetarians and vegan dishes are given equal menu space, with the fragrance from a yellow tofu curry as it’s being ferried to a table enough to momentarily distract the staunchest of omnivores from their plates of hot and sour beef brisket or twice-cooked pork ribs.

A cocktail menu has drinks named for Brisbanites of note and there’s a clever, spice-friendly wine list. Or notch up some karma with a cup of their own ‘Glossy Black’ coffee blend – all proceeds go to protecting the habitat of the endangered glossy black cockatoo.

“The Balfour Kitchen is a tranquil and charming oasis amidst the bustle of the inner city, a bit like some of the tropical retreats you can find in the hurly burly of Vietnam. But I can guarantee you’ll find Nick Stapleton’s creations a uniquely Queensland approach to Vietnamese cuisine.” –Food, Wine, Travel