Breakfast Creek Hotel: Steak, Beer Garden, Hours and History

The Breakfast Creek Hotel is a heritage-listed pub on Kingsford Smith Drive in Albion, about 10 minutes by car from the Brisbane CBD, known for its beer garden where you choose your own steak from a cabinet, its Spanish Garden steakhouse and its beer straight from the wood. It has been trading since May 1890, so a visit is part meal and part history lesson.

There are several places to eat and drink under the one roof, from a casual pizza kitchen and bistro to a rum bar, so what you pick depends on whether you want a quick lunch, a long steak dinner or a few drinks.

The building and its history

The hotel was built in 1889 and 1890 for William McNaughton Galloway, a former Mayor of Brisbane, and opened on 17 May 1890 as a family hotel. It was designed by the architects Simkin and Ibler in the French Renaissance style, with mansard roofs, cast iron verandahs and a recessed centre with a loggia of four arches. It has been on the Queensland Heritage Register since 21 October 1992.

The hotel’s own history page adds that beer garden style dining started in the late 1940s and 1950s, an outdoor kitchen where customers chose their steaks from a cabinet followed in the early 1960s, and the Spanish Garden steakhouse opened in 1968. Floods have also reached the building, including in 1893 and 2022.

Eating at the Breakfast Creek Hotel

Beer Garden: pick your own steak

In the Beer Garden you choose your steak from a chilled cabinet by the breezeway servery. This is the part of the hotel most people come for, so book through the hotel’s website if you are coming for a meal.

Spanish Garden steakhouse

The Spanish Garden is the hotel’s steakhouse, open Monday to Friday from 11.30 am to 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm, Saturday from 11.30 am to 3.30 pm and 5 pm to 9.30 pm, and Sunday from 11.30 am to 3.30 pm and 5 pm to 8.30 pm. Tables are booked online.

Staghorn Bistro and Pizza at the Creek

For something more casual there is the Staghorn Bistro (Sunday to Thursday 11 am to 9 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am to 9.30 pm) and Pizza at the Creek, which makes hand-stretched wood-fired pizzas (Sunday to Thursday 11 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am to 11 pm). The hotel lists some slightly different pizza hours on other pages, so check before you go.

The full menus are on the Breakfast Creek Hotel website.

Drinks and bars

The hotel lists a Public Bar, a Private Bar, the Staghorn Bar and the Substation No. 41 Rum Bar (open daily from 12 pm to midnight), plus Beer Off The Wood. It is the only Brisbane hotel that still serves beer from the wood, according to Wikipedia, and the public bar is named after Paddy Fitzgerald, the Castlemaine Perkins managing director who in 1977 reversed a plan to switch from wooden to steel kegs after a petition.

Planning your visit

• How long: allow 1.5 to 2 hours for a meal.
• Hours: hotel trading hours are Sunday to Wednesday 10 am to midnight and Thursday to Saturday 10 am to 2 am. Actual hours may vary.
• Cost: there is no entry fee; meals and drinks are priced on the hotel’s menus.
• Bookings: through the hotel’s booking page.
• Contact: (07) 3262 5988.

Getting there and parking

The hotel is at 2 Kingsford Smith Drive, Albion, about 5 km by road from the Brisbane CBD, about 10 minutes by car without traffic. The hotel does not publish its parking details or a public transport route, so plan your trip on the Translink Journey Planner or call 13 12 30, and check with the hotel about parking before you go.

Nearby

• Newstead House – a historic house and museum close to the hotel.
• Bowen Hills – the neighbouring inner-city suburb.
• Fortitude Valley – bars, restaurants and live music a short drive away.
• Howard Smith Wharves – another historic riverside spot for a meal.

Browse more restaurants and history and landmarks.

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