Fortitude Valley · Brisbane
Gemelli James St
Real Italian food on James Street. Woodfired pizza, pasta rolled each morning, every single thing made by hand, and a cellar worth staying for.
Hours
Mon–Wed 5–9pm
Thu–Sun 12–3pm & 5–9pm
Sittings
Ask us about banquets and the private dining options for corporate bookings.
Benvenuti
Brisbane,
the Gemelli way
Our fourth room opened on the corner of James and McLachlan in 2021. The ivy-clad one with the fairy lights, the first outside the Gold Coast, and the one with the deepest cellar.
Timber frames, terracotta paving that opens onto the street, and a custom Forni Valoriani woodfired oven at the back. Spaghetti vongole, the eight-hour oxtail and pork shin ragu, a misto di mare built for the middle of the table, and bread, sauces and desserts all made in the kitchen out the back. The cellar runs 200 bottles, from an easy Nero d'Avola to Sassicaia and Ornellaia, and there is a proper cocktail list behind the bar. Finish with the Nutella bomba. Lunch Thursday to Sunday, dinner every night.
As seen in
- Broadsheet
- Urban List
- Must Do Brisbane
- Brisbane Food Guide
“This 120-seat restaurant stands out among the precinct’s statement dining.”
“If you’re looking for Gemelli, just head to the ivy-clad building adorned in fairy lights. This dark wooden wonderland serves up pizza and pasta like no other.”
“An institution among pizza and pasta lovers on the Gold Coast, Gemelli Italian has finally made its way to Brisbane, and brought its Nutella bomba dessert with it.”
- Urban List: 11 Best James Street Restaurants
- Urban List: 45 Best Fortitude Valley Restaurants
Inside
See it
for yourself
Ten seconds inside Gemelli James Street, straight from our Instagram.
About the room
Gemelli James Street: Italian restaurant in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
Real Italian food at 15 James Street. Our fourth restaurant, and the first outside the Gold Coast.
Gemelli James Street opened in September 2021 at 15 James Street, Fortitude Valley. It was our fourth restaurant and the first one in Brisbane, after ten years of cooking on the Gold Coast. The brief didn't change on the drive north: handmade pasta, a woodfired oven, a salumi board, and a wine list worth sitting with. "Gemelli" is Italian for twins, James and Alec, and with Paul, our older brother, the three of us grew up with sauce and salami days with Nonno. This is that food.
The woodfired pizza list is the longest in the family, eighteen of them. On San Marzano tomato: the Margherita, a Diavola with Calabrian chilli, the Salina with Messina anchovies and capers, the Pescatore with no cheese and prawns and calamari, L'Amante with mild salami and 'nduja honey, and the Griffiti with 24-month Prosciutto di Parma. White bases include the Roma with prosciutto and burrata, a Funghi with truffle oil, the Golosa with taleggio, hot salami and potato, and a Primavera with prawns. There's a Vegana with no cheese and a garlic crust with rosemary.
Pasta is made each morning. The rigatoni ragu is an eight-hour oxtail and pork shin ragu; the spaghetti pescatora has local prawns and Queensland spanner crab; the vongole has clams, prawns and zucchini flowers. There's a carbonara with guanciale, ravioli della casa with spinach and ricotta, gnocchi al forno and a gnocchi quattro formaggi with walnuts and truffle oil. Gluten-free pizza bases and rigatoni are available.
Antipasti include gamberoni al forno, Queensland king prawns from the woodfired oven with parsley, capers and garlic, alongside Mt Tamborine burrata with San Daniele prosciutto on focaccia, Riverina beef carpaccio, grilled Queensland calamari, SA octopus salad and fritto misto. The salumi board is Prosciutto di Parma, capocollo, inferno salame, mortadella, buffalo mozzarella and gorgonzola. Secondi: a 350g scotch fillet, veal saltimbocca in 24-month prosciutto, the misto di mare and the fish of the day.
The cellar is the reason people stay for a second bottle. From the cantina: Sassicaia, Tignanello, Ornellaia, Gaja Barbaresco, Aldo Conterno's Cicala Barolo, Chiara Boschis's Cannubi, Quintarelli Valpolicella, Costanti Brunello di Montalcino, and Torbreck's RunRig for the Australians. By the glass there's Taittinger, a Tornatore Etna Bianco, Le Caniette's Veronica and a Crittenden Pinot Noir. House cocktails include the Palermo Old Fashioned, Breakfast in Bologna and the Margarita Siciliana; the James St Bliss and a Rosso Rosso are on the alcohol-free list, and Birra Rolando is on tap.
Dolci are gnocchetti, a Nutella bomba, tiramisu, pistachio semifreddo, pannacotta, crème brûlée, cannoli, gelati, affogato and a Sgroppino.
Hours are Monday to Wednesday dinner only, 5 till 9pm, and Thursday to Sunday lunch 12 till 3 and dinner 5 till 9pm. Set menus are available for groups and corporate bookings. Call (07) 3741 7990 to talk to the team. Takeaway is online for pickup.
Good to know
The fine print
- Groups
- Talk to us about banquets and corporate bookings.
- Dietary
- Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are marked on the menu. Gluten free pizza bases and rigatoni available. We handle nuts, shellfish and gluten in the kitchen.
- The cellar
- Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino and the Super Tuscans are all on the bottle list. Ask the team for the full carta.
- Takeaway
- Order online for pickup.
- Gift cards
- Digital gift cards for Gemelli James St.
Gemelli James St · Fortitude Valley
Fifteen
James Street
Dinner from 5pm, seven nights. Lunch Thursday to Sunday from midday.
15 James Street, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 · (07) 3741 7990