Depot Emporium

Ph: (07) 3666 0188; Shop 31, 1000 Ann St, FORTITUDE VALLEY 4006 www.thedepot.com.au

Tapas, $$ -
Open Mon-Sat 7am-late Sun 7am-3pm; Licensed; AE DC MC V EFT, Seats inside 140, Outside seats, Kids welcomed
Chef Emma Baxter (10-12-08) Owner Sam Lngham-Myers, & Brent & Mitchell Ogilvie (10-12-08)

Mietta's Review
Apart from breakfast Depot's offering revolve around the refigerated cabinet from which come its salads, dessert selection and other snacky things. There's are more substantial cooked things available too. However, it's all very stylish. The food is well prepared and the atmosphere smart enough to make it one of the Valley's hot-spots. It's all very laid-back Queensland. Mains in 06 averaged $26.

Other published opinions

Courier Mail Food and Wine Guide 2009 Queensland Score: 14.5/20 "It kicks off with gratifyingly good breakfasts served to early birds and brunchers, morphs into light lunches, then continues without pause to evenings where young things fortify themselves with a cocktail and something from the Frank Camorra (Movida in Melbourne) designed tapas menu"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "Emporium in Fortitude Valley has blossomed as Brisbane's answer to LA's Rodeo Drive smart restaurants sit by upmarket boutiques in this swanky development. Watch the passing parade from Depot's corner location with a sherry and a tapa designed by Frank Camorra of Melbourne's MoVida - maybe a baked scallop with jam6n and potato foam"

Brisbane Times Score: 13/20 "No, you're not in Melbourne. Yes, those tapas are familiar. That's because Frank Camorra, the genius behind bleak city's superb tapas bar, MoVida, has written the rules on what gets served on small plates here"

Courier Mail Lizzie Loel, 08-4-2008 Score: Food: 16 Wine: 15 Service: 16 Ambience: 15 "DEPOT is a fresh open-air venue that, when the weather is good, is perfect for a weekend breakfast or a leisurely lunch. Both menus focus on clean, light dishes. There are many salad-based favourites for lunch, and a breakfast visit can be as abstemious or as indulgent as you like. But it is after 3pm that the joy really kicks in and that is because Melbourne's Frank Camorra, from celebrated restaurant MoVida - is a consultant here and his tapas and racion is a great way of sampling fabulous flavours"

Courier Mail food and wine guide Queensland 2008 Score: 14.5/20 "Depot looks and feels like the main bar and restaurant at a five-star beach resort. Overhead fans, high ceilings, tropical greenery and a clever design blur the line between outside and inside"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "Under cantilevered roofs with blinds and sliding wall panels which control the effects of the elements and frame the frangipani, Depot offers a dual dining experience"

Brisbane News Dining Out Guide 2007 "Named after the bus depot that once inhabited the Emporium site, this restaurant is renowned for two things: great breakfasts (try the ricotta pancakes); and sensational tapas designed by Frank Camorra of Movida, Melbourne, and overseen by head chef Nigel West"

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Australian Restaurant Guide "Cleverly designed around an island bar, Depot works primarily as an outdoor restaurant, with a fixed roof and drop-down sides in the rare case of nasty Queensland weather. It does phenomenal numbers for breakfast at the weekend, too. Sandwiches and salads are the main game at lunch but you'll find more hearty fare in the way of salmon cakes with tarragon yoghurt, tomato salsa and apple and pecan salad or the stalwart eye fillet with Parisian butter and fries."

Brisbane News Tony Harper, 20-10-06 Food 7.5 Wine 7 Service 7.5 Ambience 7.5 "The tapas theme makes sense. Depot is an outdoor restaurant/bar/cafe with a fixed roof and weather-ready drop-down sides. It has a fairly prominent island bar, which, I must admit, is a favourite haunt of mine, being close to my place of work and very capably serviced. The point is, it's relaxed and informal and suits prolonged sessions of perching at the bar, or around a table, sipping your way through a few glasses and munching on tapas. ... It's a little too easy to undervalue the service at Depot due to the casual nature of the place. It's an exceptionally well-run establishment and, despite the chameleon nature of the business, is beautifully pitched to manage its varied clientele."

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 2006 "This is a busy city venue with the heart of a beachside bistro. Open on all sides, the clever design of the place has a holiday feel with a square mosaic bar outside that services the many colourful banquettes that back onto lavender and gardenia-planted garden boxes."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide "The division between outside and inside is blurred at Depot, making the most ofthe elements without letting them dominate. Park yourself alongside the weekend crowd at the outdoor mosaic bar for drinks and a series of casual tastes, or linger over a sun-soaked breakfast with the full complement of newspapers."

Brisbane News Eating Out Guide 2006"Set on a wide corner of Emporium's main building, Depot has gained a reputation for good food and wine, and efficient service. It's also a great place to people-watch, and bring the kids."

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 05 "The newest hotspot in the Emporium complex attracting a crowd of gorgeous young things hanging out at the mosaic tiled bar outside the SJB-designed interior space. Melbourne-born chef Cameron Campbell has created a menu that appeals to a wide audience at all different times of the day."

Courier Mail Goodlife Lizzie Loel 07/12/04 " Sitting at Depot, the newest Emporium hotspot in Fortitude Valley, makes you feel like you're on holidays. Maybe it's the gentle wafts of frangipani, the tropical-striped banquettes to lounge on or the fact that the bar is outdoors that subconsciously makes you say "daiquiri" to the waiter when you meant to say "latte". Food 15, Wine 14, Service 14, Ambience 17"