Whether you fancy some retail therapy, indulging in morning or high tea decadence, meeting some of Brisbane Arcade’s famous fashion and jewellery designer identities in person or for the beauty aficionados, treating yourself to some beauty treatment bliss, there is plenty of diversity on offer to create and collect your very own cherished Brisbane Arcade experiences and memories.

Here we have some tips and a suggested itinerary for a morning or day spent in Brisbane’s oldest and grandest shopping Arcade, Brisbane Arcade…

First, coffee

You’re ready to embark on a morning adventure in Brisbane Arcade, but first, let’s pause and fuel up for this adventure. Pop by L’s Espresso Cafe, which has gained a loyal following for its wholesome cafe experience. Grab a coffee to go or sit down and sip away. Breakfast? It’s all made fresh onsite. We can’t go past the sultana scones, which are said to be the very best you can find.

Hit the shops

With a coffee fix ticked off, you are ready to experience the #uniquetoBrisbaneArcade and #madeinBrisbaneArcade shopping experiences.  Browse fashion, accessories, jewels, beauty, gifts and other unique wares. For the full store directory see here. 

Meet the designers

Brisbane Arcade is where you can truly meet the faces and identities behind the design and craftsmanship that is so prevalent in Brisbane Arcade.  Where you can be styled in-store by the very fashion designer who has designed and produced high end garments such as Brad Webb (Darb Couture), Bronwyn Smith (Irma J Smith House of Fashion), Deanne Mayocchi (Maiocchi), Pia du Pradal (Pia du Pradal Fashions) or Julie Tengdahl (Tengdahl Australia).

OR, meet with some of the best jewellery designers in the country to discuss your next treasure piece including Ashley and Doug Tester (Ashley Douglas – Gallery Level), Ferdinand Woolley (Ferdinand Woolley Jewellers – Gallery Level), Mark Sneddon (Girls Love Pearls – Gallery Level), James Tyler (James Tyler Jeweller – Gallery Level), John Stone (John Stone Designer Jeweller – Gallery Level), Phil and Kim (Kimmison Jewellery – Gallery Level), Con (Kosta Gold and Diamonds), Hannah and James White (Robert White Jewellers), Stephen and Lisa Dibb (Stephen Dibb Jewellery) or Paul Stone (Stones Diamond Ring Specialists).

Pause for tea with all the trimmings

In an age of modernity, fast food, master chefs, hipsters and fancy cuisine, Brisbane Arcade is home to some quintessential old school daytime dining establishments which offer perfect sanctuaries away from the city bustle to rest and sip on fancy teas, feast on high tea or grab a delicious lunch.

Named by Vogue Living as one of the top five high tea venues in Australia along with a string of other awards and accolades, Room with Roses – on the Arcade’s gallery level – is a step back in time where olde worlde elegance, tradition and class is at its best.  Visitors are met with charming interiors, freshly homegrown roses and welcoming service.  Room with Roses pays homage to the famous recipes of the Country Women’s Association where everything is lovingly made and baked in-house including all their jams and preserves while only real butter, cream and eggs are used.

Served with tea and coffee (or sparkling or raspberry punch), a Room with Roses high tea includes delightful sweet and savoury delicacies such as dainty ribbon sandwiches, savoury tartlet, mini corncake, ginger and raspberry scones, lemon curd tarts and more.  High tea is offered at Room with Roses for a duration of two hours and available anytime between 9am and 11.30am or 1.30pm and 3.30pm Monday through to Saturday.  Room with Roses also has an extensive lunch menu and regularly offers themed menus at different times throughout the year.

Keri Craig Emporium is arguably one of Brisbane’s high tea originals and has been presenting and perfecting high tea since the early 90s and dining in Keri Craig Emporium is an experience fit for royalty.  A haven of old school glamour, From the opulent lamps, oak panelling, thick carpet and luxuriant clothing to the old-fashioned toys and the soft crooner background music, Keri Craig Emporium is nostalgia at its best. 

A scrumptious Keri Craig Emporium High Tea is always served with a glass of bubbles or orange juice together with the three tiered stand of dainty ribbon sandwiches, scones, petit fours plus tea and coffee.  Keri Craig Emporium also offers a Children’s High Tea where little people can also take home a special high tea gift souvenir.

For lunch, it’s hard to go past Keri Craig Emporium’s signature famous (and always freshly and locally sourced) sandcrab or Mooloolaba prawn sandwiches served with cracked pepper and lime juice.  Another menu favourite is their salmon rosettes filled with crab and served with avocado, fresh asparagus, goats cheese, roasted capsicum and rocket.

Finish up with a pamper session

Brisbane Arcade has some very lovely pamper experiences for some truly unique nurturing. Instyle Glamour Beauty Salon will look after eyebrow threading, waxing, facials, massages, henna tattoos, ear candling, manicures, pedicures, and Brazilian or body treatments. Skin Beautiful Beauty Therapy covers all aspects of beauty therapy from Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Mesotherapy and Omniluxa Combination Light Therapy. Issada’s Brisbane Arcade concept store is where you can have a full professional mineral makeup makeover with a qualified, experienced Issada Makeup Artist for $95 redeemable on product purchases.  

Oh, and before you leave

Make the most of your time in Brisbane Arcade by stocking up on favourite treats. Chocolate Moments is a chocolate lover’s heaven, and for good reason. Chocolatier and owner Gerrard Gosens works with the finest chocolate from around the world to create mouth-watering treats. He tempers, experiments with flavours, and hand-makes each chocolate to produce sweet creations that rival Willy Wonka. Alongside his creations, you’ll also find celebrated chocolate and confectionary brands ready and waiting for your tastebuds.

What goes perfectly with an afternoon chocolate fix you may ask? Tea, of course. The Tea Centre stocks an extensive range of loose-leaf teas guaranteed to delight your senses. Ethically sourced from tea gardens around the world, these teas are designed to entice tea newbies and impress the connoisseurs. From herbals or full-body black teas to refreshing greens, pick your flavour for special at-home sipping.