Bar Alto

Bar Alto at the Powerhouse is the most relaxed and beautiful place to go and have a drink and a snack or a light meal. A lovely breeze, the Brisbane river, lots of room on the huge deck overlooking the river, never too crowded, and easy to get to. Courteous, friendly and polite staff, great food. And housed in our wonderful Powerhouse. Highly recommend any day of the week.

My best friend invited us for dinner before a show at the Powerhouse. Had always avoided because I suspected it was one of those restaurants with the very fancy menu, even fancier prices, where reality is usually an expensive let down. Sadly, yet again I was right ☹️. Ordered the recommended special of Whiting and warm green salad. Came with a comment about May contain the odd small bone. Well, it was basically inedible. Every mouthful had remnants of bone and I spent 5 minutes per bite carefully manoeuvring bones to politely remove by hand. I would have sent back but friends were paying. The warm green salad was 5 beans cut in half. One of the table had the octopus. Not sure why it was on the mains list! One miserable tentacle that should have been a starter but on a ‘fancy’ menu they feel it’s okay. Limited beer menu that had none I actually like. Service was professional but a bit stiff and formal. Not relaxed or happy staff. Overall, overpriced and not once asked how the meal was. Probably just as well.

Last night, 17 May,, we purchased drinks and meals at 6.05 pm prior to attending a 7 pm show. They were busy but I was assured that we had left plenty of time for 3 small bar food snacks. The buzzer went off to say the food was ready about 1 1/2 minutes before the announcement to proceed into the show. There was no time to eat it so we just gave it away! The couple seated next to us outside had to do the same thing. They know their capacity and the time limits they have to work with in that venue. It’s just not good enough to accept orders if you can’t deliver.

Wonderful location on the river with plenty of outdoor seating. Had a bite to eat before a show and the pizza was tasty. Not a huge selection of beers on tap, service was quick though. The Italian sausage pizza was a bit dry and flavorless but the prosciutto pizza was yummy. Overall a good place to come of you’re already at be powerhouse

Yeah like so this is a nice place. Great view. Confident menu. I would say their wine list is a highlight, and they sure have a lot of pigeons a lot (though none on the menu as at May 2019!) I went here with my daughter and my wife. Pleasingly, they did not have a microwave to heat up my daughter’s food, which was mildly inconvenient while admirable in that they Cook Their Food Well. The peppers were a recommendation from the waitress and were quite good. I don’t like croquettes, but their salt cod croquettes held up very nicely. I thought the octopus was a bit tough - it was probably the most disappointing dish. Both pasta mains held up, though the gnocchi was a touch too delicate. Good service, good atmosphere. Enjoy!