Where to eat in Brisbane: local dishes, markets and neighborhoods

Brisbane eats best at breakfast and lunch. The city's strength is produce from the surrounding subtropics — seafood from Moreton Bay, tropical fruit, vegetables from the Lockyer Valley — served in a casual café culture that runs from early morning (check).

For a first visit: breakfast or brunch in West End, New Farm or Paddington; lunch at a market or in the CBD; dinner in Fortitude Valley or South Bank (check). If you have one meal to spend, make it seafood — Moreton Bay bugs or barramundi — because that is what you cannot get as well elsewhere in Australia.

Brisbane's food identity comes from its geography. Moreton Bay supplies prawns, mud crab and the flat-headed slipper lobsters called bugs, usually grilled with garlic butter. Barramundi is farmed and wild-caught across Queensland and appears grilled, pan-fried or in fish and chips. Because the city sits in the subtropics, mangoes, macadamias and tropical fruit show up on menus through summer (check).

The city's everyday food is migrant food, as in the rest of Australia: Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Greek, Italian, Lebanese and Indian cooking are all established. Breakfast and coffee are taken seriously — a flat white or long black is the default order, and cafés open early.

Neighborhood by neighborhood (check): the CBD and South Bank suit a visitor's lunch, with food courts, riverside restaurants and the South Bank parklands. Fortitude Valley is the main dinner and bar district. West End is casual, vegetarian-friendly and strong on Asian and Middle Eastern food. New Farm and Teneriffe are café and brunch territory. Paddington and Rosalie are quieter, with small local restaurants. Sunnybank, south of the city, is where to go for Chinese and other Asian food at suburban prices.

Brisbane sits between Sydney and the smaller state capitals on price (check). A market or food-court lunch is the cheapest solid meal; a café brunch costs more but is the local habit. Dinner in a pub or bistro is moderate; seafood restaurants and fine dining are the expensive end.

Tipping is not expected in Australia. Cafés and pubs usually want you to order and pay at the counter, then take a number to your table. Tap water is safe and free; ask for it (check). Many restaurants are BYO with a corkage fee, but check before bringing wine.