Anyday Group’s Third CBD Venue, Le Royale, Opens Tonight With Cocktails and Cheeseburgers

The French Exit, Golden Avenue, Le Royale. Anyday Group is looking at a royal flush.

If Tyron Simon, Ben Williamson, Bianca Marchi-Simon and Frank Li are tired, they’re not letting it show. Le Royale, the group’s third opening in seven months, opens today.

It’s just upstairs from The French Exit in the same heritage-filled building, but this time the focus has shifted from fancy French brasserie fare to good tunes and good booze. Music is at the core of the experience with three rotating house bands putting jazzy spins on pop music from Thursday to Sunday.

“In one word, Le Royale is fun,” said co-founder Tyron Simon in a statement. “You might walk in thinking you will go in just for one drink, but stay because the band starts playing... the whole energy of the room just pulls you in.”

As is typical for Anyday, the fit-out comes courtesy of Tamsin Johnson. The 120-seat space is indulgent. A carved giallo Sienna marble bar anchors the space. The lights are low, but mirrors and silk moiré walls make the whole room shimmer.

Johnson describes the space as “rich [with] textural collision and intensity.” It’s transportive: “a total and utter escape from the familiar light-and-bright Brisbane,” she said.

The beers are exclusively Aussie – and the backbar is stocked with spirits from local distributors. The cocktail list focuses on “rarely seen” combinations. Take the I Wanna Dance, I Wanna Win, for example. It combines mango, Jin Xuan tea, Anyday house gin, and champagne for a fizzy and elegant experience. Or Mr Wolf, with Kastra Elion Greek olive vodka, papaya, vin jaune and tomato. The cocktail names (and one dish) are all references to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

If wine’s more your thing, then you’re in luck. Le Royale has access to a plethora of high-end bottles from Anyday’s reserve wine cellar list.

Although drinks drive the offering here, food is far from an afterthought. Expect steak tartare with pommes gaufrettes, chicken liver parfait piped into an éclair, and a signature burger, aptly named Le Royale with Cheese. To finish, there are made-to-order madeleines served with burnt butter whipped cream, and house-made soft serve topped with olive oil and sea salt.

On Friday and Saturday nights, the kitchen will serve food until 1.30am. (A far better option than that sneaky early morning kebab.)

Le Royale

Level 2,169 Mary Street, Brisbane City

(07) 3473 2078

Hours:

Wed & Thu 5pm–late

Fri & Sat 3pm–late

Sun 5pm–late

anyday.com.au/le-royale

@le.royale.bar