Sneak peek at new-look Norths Leagues and Services Club

Published 7:25am 27 August 2021

Words by Kylie Knight

Norths Leagues and Services Club will open its new-look restaurant on Monday. It’s doubled in size and will offer four distinct styles of cuisine.

Moreton Daily has been given a sneak peek of how it’s shaping up as the construction team adds the finishing touches.

Marketing Co-ordinator James Bennett says club members are excited and keen to check out the new décor and menus. Bookings are essential.

“We’ve completely gutted the old restaurant. But we haven’t just removed the front-of-house section we’ve done a whole new kitchen as well, which incorporates a complete prep kitchen in the back and four outlets out the front – Italian, The Grill, Asian and German,” James says.

“The food is remarkable. It’s top-end restaurant-quality food.

“We have really focused on authenticity throughout the menu, sourcing local ingredients, doing everything fresh – fresh pasta, fresh pizza bases right through to the authentic way of doing Asian cuisine which really ties in with the chef’s experience.”

Chef Brock Currey has worked and travelled extensively throughout South East Asia, so the Asian menu is homage to his time there.

The Grill is where you will find steaks, seafood, barbecue chicken and burgers; Italian will offer pasta, risotto, and woodfired pizza; and German is a nod to schnitzels, sausages, pork knuckle sauerkraut and more.

A selection of gelato and ice cream will be available from the bar and there is also a separate dessert menu.

Also at the bar, you will find a huge variety of beers on tap including craft beers, as well as an extensive wine list and barista coffee.

The dining area has essentially doubled in size, now taking in the space previously used as a kids room and beer garden. It seats 340 people and there is now a separate children’s fun zone called The Jungle.

“We’ve enclosed it (the bigger space) so it is airconditioned all year round, but we really wanted to bring the outside in, which is why we’ve got so much glass. The natural light creates ambience,” James says.

“We have these areas where you can sit and feel as though you’re in an outside area, you can feel that space, but you’re comfortable.”

The modern, warm colours used in the décor flow right through to the serving plates and even the team’s uniforms.

“When we say it’s been a complete renovation of the dining room, it really has – it’s the front-of-house through to the back-of-house, to the menu, to the kitchen, to the uniforms – nothing hasn’t been thought of,” he says.

Photo gallery

Why renovate now?

“COVID was a really interesting time for us as a club, but since reopening (after lockdown last year), it really showed us that people aren’t travelling internationally, or at all, there’s a lot more people who want to have that experience but close to home,” James says.

“What we’ve found is a really localised market has come into play. There’s a lot more people coming to the club from the local area.”

He says food truck festivals held years ago were really popular, and that’s inspired the concept of offering different styles of cuisine in a new way

“We thought, ‘can we provide that level of experience, but also make sure we can maintain that really high level of quality of food as well?’ It’s something we’ve wanted to do for the past 24 months and it’s grown from there.”