Corbett & Claude

Corbett and Claude is a charming and very cool laneway bar and eatery in Brisbane’s CBD that pays homage to the historic Corbett Chambers building whose basement it occupies.

One time hub of the Commercial Traveller’s Association, the building was designed by prominent Brisbane architect William Claude Chambers, who was behind other iconic Brisbane buildings including Perry House and Finney Isles & Co Building, and who created it as a HQ and clubhouse for commercial travellers.

Today Corbett and Claude makes a splendid convivial retreat for today’s weary traveller, shopper and city worker – an ambient high-ceilinged subterranean dining space with arched brick windows, central tiled bar, open kitchen and lounge nook – in lieu of the ‘handsome dining hall and bar’ that once accommodated travellers on the floor above.

In the long-held traveller’s spirit of connecting over food and drinks, the thoroughly modern food menu is designed to share and revolves around delicious wood-fired pizzas, rustic ‘Build Your Own’ cheese and charcuterie boards and delicious comfort plates such as the must-try pan-fried gnocchi with house made pesto, Mrs D’s Crispy Chicken Bites with Chipotle Aioli, Goats Curd with Flat Bread or Grilled Haloumi with to-die-for peach and muscatel chutney.

Must try are the Build Your Own boards packed with delish deli items such as Persian fetta, buffalo mozzarella, vintage cheddar, goats curd and Swiss gruyere cheeses, smoked ham, salami and prosciutto and muscatels, chutneys and pastes from premium providores and producers.

And don’t leave Corbett and Claude without trying one of their signature gourmet pizzas, with toppings such as thinly sliced potato, prosciutto and rosemary, pesto with fetta and baby spinach. Corbett and Claude meatballs with caramelized onion, crispy prosciutto and BBQ sauce, Margherita with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil or the special Dessert Pizza with Nutella, hazelnuts and strawberries.

In addition there are daily salad selections with prawn, chicken or meatballs and for Dessert, as well as the Nutella pizza there are heavenly waffles with toasted honey ice-cream, honeycomb and salted caramel.
Corbett and Claude is also one of the city’s best small bars, with a small selection of wine and beer on tap, draught beer from local boutique breweries including Green Beacon, Newstead Brewing Co, Byron’s Stone and Wood, 4 Pines Kolsch and Corbett and Claude’s own house lager.

Bottled craft beers come from both local breweries (Green Beacon Pale Ale) and further afield including Kosciusko Pale Ale, Mornington IPA while cider is Broderick Apple Cider. As well as the Skuttlebutt and Wither Hills wines on tap, the small select wine list incorporates whites from WA, Vic, SA and NZ and Sparkling wine from the Loire Valley, Yarra Valley, French champagne and Italian Prosecco.

A small boutique range of spirits include Spiced Rum (Sailor Jerry’s, Shipwrecked and Kracken), Whiskey (Jamiesons, Crown Royal and Canadian Club), Vodka (Ketel One, Grey Goose and Belvdere), Gin,Tequila  (Patron Café XO, Don Julio Repo and Calle 23), Bourbon, Apperitifs and Digestifs.

Corbett and Claude’s cocktails are a real treat, coming served in an eclectic range of retro enamel cups and tall glasses. Try one of the house signatures such as the refreshing barmaid – ketel one, lime juice, vanilla and passionfruit pulp or a Jazzy Collins (Tanqueray, lemon juice, mandarin juice, thyme and soda) or stick to a classic such as Espresso Martini.

Nice to know – By night there’ll be seating for 40 in the laneway, with plans to create a pergola style roof with hanging plants and fairy lights.

Need to know – Adjacent to Corbett and Claude is its tiny espresso bar sibling Mr Claude’s, which opens from 7-4 weekdays for coffee, hot chocolate, house made sodas, bakery items, lights salads and rolls to eat in or takeaway.