Stanley
Brisbane City
Stanley is a stunning waterfront 2-level Cantonese restaurant in the landmark heritage-listed Howard Smith Wharves building that was built in 1931 as the Howard Smith offices and has also been home to the water police.
Featuring a covered dining terrace out front with sweeping river, Story Bridge and city skyline vistas, inside The Stanley are 3 bars and opulent dining rooms with colonial-oriental-inspired decor.
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With the interior designed by Samantha Leigh Interiors in collaboration with Katie Cameron Interiors, Stanley is one of Brisbane's most gorgeous restaurants, featuring deep jade-toned walls, an original grand staircase with a mural of Hong Kong's Stanley Bay leading to the upper dining level, with pendant lights and wall lamps, old world paintings, plantation shutters and a curved bar decorated with Chinese art in the centre.
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On the lower level is a dining room in lighter colour tones with a view on the kitchen where the chefs work their magic, creating divine Cantonese-flavoured dishes from fresh local Aussie produce, with an emphasis on seafood.
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From the extensive menu, Appetisers include oysters with white rice vinaigrette, Abrolhos islands scallop, white soy, yuzu and radish; sashimi platter of local seafood or vegetarian spicy cold noodles, cucumber, fungi and leek, while a choice of Dim Sum includes the recommended Stanley Signature Dim Sum platter, steamed or baked and fried.
![Stanley Howard Smith Wharves Stanley Howard Smith Wharves](/sites/default/files/styles/mdb_full_width/public/images/stanleyA26I4889.jpg?itok=QeYgDIRw)
A range of BBQ dishes includes free-range pork belly with English mustard; Cantonese roast duck and plum sauce or soy poached corn-fed chicken with shandong sauce. From the small selection of meat dishes, there's 'kung pao' hot & numbing chicken; stir-fried wagyu beef with oyster mushrooms, potato and black pepper sauce; sweet'n'sour free-range pork; Mongolian lamb ribs or 'kangaroo & broccoli' (kangaroo fillet, young gai lan and special soy).
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Much of the main menu is devoted to seafood, ranging from salt and pepper squid or banana prawn with fresh chilli and coriander; steamed Hervey Bay scallops, vermicelli & XO sauce to the the must-try, wok-fried Moreton Bay bug with a choice of Singaporean-style black pepper or chill and garlic.
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There's also Steamed reef fillet fish or whole Rocky Point grouper with black bean and chilli or ginger, shallot and white soy as well as live seafood from the tank - Moreton Bay bug or mud crab steamed or wok fried with a choice of sauces and the option to add egg noodles and fried bread.
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There's also a selection of rice dishes - try the 'Stanley Special Fried Rice' (with prawn, BBG pork & baby corn) or 'Fujian Fried Rice' (Fraser Island spanner crab, white asparagus & trout roe), as well as noodle dishes such as stir-fried duck noodles with shiitake & black pepper or Lobster 'lo mein', garlic butter, trout & garlic chive. Meanwhile, vegetable dishes include steamed organic eggplant, sesame & fish fragrant sauce; stir-fried morning glory, yellow bean & bird's eye chilli or "buddhist mafo Tofu" of zucchini, silken tofu and fermented chilli.
![Stanley Howard Smith Wharves Stanley Howard Smith Wharves](/sites/default/files/styles/mdb_full_width/public/images/stanleyA26I4796.jpg?itok=6FFJBlXy)
Dessert at Stanley is worth saving room for, with delights such as passionfruit white chocolate mousse, lychee, longan & calamnsi crisp; Swiss roll, bergamot, strawberry, macadamia and Neopolitan ice-cream or local baby pineapple, heilala vanilla gelato, lime sago & tropical ice.
Nice to know - For those dining in groups of 4 or more, there's the option of the 10-dish Pak Tai Temple Banquet or the 11-dish Shiu Sin Temple Banquet.
The menu may have changed since our visit.
See our full curated list of restaurants in Brisbane CBD HERE