Jade Buddha

Jade Buddha is a bar and casual dining restaurant located at Eagle Street Pier. Open from 11:30am until late each day, it offers restaurant food with a pan-Asian flair, along with casual drinking in the Jade Lounge. Their menu offers a range of options. Outside views encompass the Brisbane River, whilst inside, the design and decoration features sculpture and decoration befitting Feng shui principles. There is even a large golden Buddha to greet you. Formerly City Rowers, the venue had a significant overhaul in 2005. They have a varied array of activities on each week, including Speed Dating, Buddha Night and themed menus.

Above Jade Buddha is the Shadow Lounge, which offers a unique, intimate, club-like venue with open views over the river. The main focus is cocktails and champagne, with a wide array of exotic concoctions available. The seating is definitely casual, and if you're lucky you can get into one of the deep sofa chairs which are just great to melt into. The venue is also available for corporate and private functions. Go to their web site if you want to see it in all its glory.

As part of one of the premier dining areas of Brisbane, Jade Buddha is perhaps better visited at lunch time rather than dinner, particularly on Friday or Saturdays. That's when the party crowd is out and about, so your more likely to experience surly bouncers and drunken party-goers. Depending on what scene your into, this can either be really cool, or a bit disappointing. As I'm getting older, I'm more accustomed to a relaxed drink rather than po-go slam dancing like I used to when I was young. The Shadow Lounge upstairs is particularly good for that relaxed drink!

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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