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Essa Restaurant, Fortitude Valley, AU-QLD

Essa Restaurant

4.7 (777)
$41 to $100
Wine Bar
181 Robertson St, Fortitude Valley, AU-QLD 4006

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 16 times today
Experiences are available.

About this restaurant

  • Good for special occasions
  • Great for fine wines
  • Innovative
ESSA provides a destination to escape the expected.

Just like the raw interiors in which we reside, our work is simple but considered.

The ethos in the kitchen embraces collaboration with local farmers, hunters and providores, promoting an environmentally conscious approach to the menu. Harvest driven dishes provide the creative parameters for our ever evolving dining experience.

ESSA is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5pm till late and Friday and Sunday lunch from 12pm.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $41 to $100
  • Cuisines
    Wine Bar, Modern Australian, Modern European
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Fri, Sun 12:00 pm–4:00 pm Dinner Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (07) 3177 1011
  • Website
    http://www.essa.restaurant/
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress

Featured in

Experiences

  • Five Chefs, Five Plates

    Multiple dates available
    Wednesday Nights An experimental series taking over Wednesday evenings, providing the younger chefs, guest chefs and local producers with a platform to showcase fresh ideas and menu offerings. The dishes change weekly so no two weeks are the same! Please note on Wednesdays this is the only menu available and dietary requirements cannot be catered for. ALSO - WE ONLY TAKE YOUR CREDIT DETAILS TO HOLD THE BOOKING AND DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING UNTIL YOU'RE IN VENUE, ON THE DAY OF THE BOOKING [even though it looks like we do, we don't!]
    Five Chefs, Five Plates photo

  • $68 Friday Lunches at ESSA

    $68.00 per person

    Multiple dates available
    Friday Lunch $68pp It’s Friday at Essa, time for an express or long lunch Every Friday join us for our $68pp lunch + add ons The Nixon Room is open from 3pm for cocktails to finish the day ALSO - WE ONLY TAKE YOUR CREDIT DETAILS TO HOLD THE BOOKING AND DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING UNTIL YOU'RE IN VENUE, ON THE DAY OF THE BOOKING [even though it looks like we do, we don't!]
    $68 Friday Lunches at ESSA photo

  • Leave it to us SET MENU

    Multiple dates available
    A staple dining experience at ESSA. Enjoy a produce-focused set menu celebrating fresh, seasonal ingredients from long-standing suppliers and friends. Expect bold and creative flavours, crafted intently using the wood fire. $108pp, matching wine pairing available $98pp Contact the restaurant with any queries. *Please notify us of any dietary requirements or special requests in the notes section when confirming your reservation. ALSO - WE ONLY TAKE YOUR CREDIT DETAILS TO HOLD THE BOOKING AND DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING UNTIL YOU'RE IN VENUE, ON THE DAY OF THE BOOKING [even though it looks like we do, we don't!]
    Leave it to us SET MENU photo

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 777 people are saying

Essa Restaurant reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.5Value

Noise • Energetic

Loved For

  • Brisbane

    Best Ambience

  • Brisbane

    Innovative

  • Brisbane

    Great for fine wines

  • Brisbane

    Romantic

  • Inner Suburbs

    Best Food

  • Inner Suburbs

    Best Ambience

  • Inner Suburbs

    Innovative

  • Inner Suburbs

    Great for fine wines

  • Inner Suburbs

    Romantic

  • Inner Suburbs

    Good for special occasions

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Essa Restaurant offers a consistently exceptional dining experience with "amazing food and incredible service." Patrons rave about the "creative and delicious" dishes and the "moody and intimate" atmosphere. The Sunday School set menu is a standout, with "superb" food and wine pairings. While some service hiccups are noted, Essa remains a "favourite restaurant in Brisbane," praised for its "fine dining with casual vibes" and "beautiful venue."

777 Reviews

  1. Louise

    London2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Amazing food and the best service. Moreton bay bug was the highlight

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  2. Alexander

    Brisbane4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 10 May 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Its my 4th time to Essa and its fantastic as always. The food is incredible, the wine superb and the atmosphere is moody and intimate without being too dark. Would always recommend.

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  3. Vincent

    Brisbane1 review

    5.0

    Dined on 2 May 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Staff were great, food was delicious and looking forward to going there again!

    Is this helpful?

  4. Donna

    Brisbane6 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 27 April 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Booked in for my partners birthday & participated in “Sunday School” which was a relaxed set menu all delicious, a great music playlist in the background very enjoyable. Sommelier helped us choose a cracking wine. Recommended.

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  5. Brock

    Sunshine Coast13 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 27 April 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Wonderful relaxed Sunday lunch. The Sunday School set menu was fabulous.

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  6. Jane

    Brisbane2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 24 April 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent all round. Such good food. Interesting, delicious and superbly cooked food. Well presented.

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  7. Matthew

    Brisbane1 review

    3.0

    Dined on 23 April 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The servers were lovely, but unfortunately the food was nothing special.

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  8. Rachel

    Gold Coast1 review

    4.0

    Dined on 19 April 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    Great fried chicken and wine however very average service

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  9. Dan

    London7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 19 April 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Essa remains to be our favourite restaurant Food was excellent, the service is top notch and great value for the quality of food and drink

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  10. Carly

    Melbourne1 review

    3.0

    Dined on 16 April 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    A good reminder that dining is about so much more than just the food. Every plate was delicious and so carefully prepared by a talented team of chefs but unfortunately the quality of the food was let down by overall experience. The 5 plates menu is promoted online and even has the weekly menu listed on socials for $66 per person, but when we arrived it was $76pp, with no explanation as to the change. This immediately left me feeling like I’d be lured in at one price and it was too late to change when we got there. If there was an explanation I’d have been ok with it but it just felt wrong. Service was fine but it didn’t feel like anyone was excited to share the food with us. We asked questions about the menu, out of interest in the food the work of the chefs they were profiling on the night and were given yes or no answers. I had to get someone’s attention to order a drink after waiting quite some time, despite it being a quiet night and literally sitting at the bar. It all just felt a bit mis matched. An attempt online to sell a menu for a fixed price and celebrate new and upcoming chefs but when we got there it didn’t align with that we were sold. That said, food was great and it’s a nice setting but the experience left me feeling like they really didn’t care about how we felt.

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Essa Restaurant is rated 4.7 stars by 777 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

  1. Home
  2. Australia
  3. Brisbane
  4. Inner Suburbs
  5. Fortitude Valley

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 16 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Essa Restaurant

181 Robertson St, Fortitude Valley, AU-QLD 4006

Additional information

  • Area
    Fortitude Valley
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Fri, Sun 12:00 pm–4:00 pm Dinner Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Price
    $41 to $100
  • Cuisines
    Wine Bar, Modern Australian, Modern European
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    None
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Wheelchair Access, Wine

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