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Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya

Boom! Shake the room – an inner-city bar transforms into a moody underground izakaya

As many hospitality operators adapt to the demands of pandemic life, many restaurants, bars and cafes are evolving to meet the new normal. Fortunately for us foodies, many of these moves have produced incredibly tasty results. The venue formerly known as The Boom Boom Room has been given a new direction and a (slightly) different name. Introducing Boom Boom Room Izakaya – a concept blending Japanese-inspired morsels and cocktails with a luxurious jazz-bar aesthetic.


Never one to be complacent, the Ghanem Group, which boasts some of Brisbane’s most beloved establishments including Blackbird Bar & Grill, Byblos Bar & Restaurant and Donna Chang, has followed on from its dark kitchen concept with another culinary pivot. This time the shake-up is taking place at The Boom Boom Room. Initially envisioned as the moody counterpart to the glamorous blush-hued fine-diner Donna Chang, the Ghanem Group are reimagining the basement space as a standalone Japanese-inspired bar and eatery called Boom Boom Room Izakaya, tweaking the venue’s chic subterranean aesthetic to suit a dining-oriented experience. Signature aspects of the venue like the eye-catching bar (and it’s gorgeous arches), the velvet-draped private rooms (former bank vaults previously used when the heritage-listed building was the Queensland Government Savings Bank) and the Timothy Oulton ‘Rex Dining Table’ in the Trumpet Room remain, with only some furniture changes and smaller design tweaks applied to shift the layout.

Executive chef Jake Nicolson and beverage director Aaron Clark have shaken up The Boom Boom Room’s offering to suit the directional pivot, designing a selection of mouth-watering snacks including miso-glazed toothfish with bonito mayo and shichimi pepper, barramundi katsu bao burgers with bacon, Kewpie tartare, pickled jalapeno and sriracha, Yarra Valley salmon-roe gunkan, chicken-thigh yakitori, fried silken tofu and wood-roasted cauliflower. Boom Boom Room Izakaya will still serve a killer libation list, headlined by new cocktails such as the Reiki Master (a twist on a classic penicillin mixing Suntory Toki whisky, umeshu, pickled ginger, honey, lemon juice and smoke) and the Hana, which blends cherry blossom with Haku vodka, lychee and green-tea soda.

Boom Boom Room Izakaya will officially open to the public on Friday October 2.

The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Brisbane dining guide with more than 2400 places to eat, drink, shop and play.



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