When Martin Boetz made his return to Brisbane, he didn’t do so to open a restaurant. For the chef – famed for his stints at the helm of Longrain Sydney and Melbourne, and the Cooks Shed on the banks of the Hawkesbury River – the decision to move back to his hometown was driven by a desire for a change of pace, more than anything. “I just needed a break,” says Martin, who has accumulated 36 chefs hats throughout his storied career, in addition to penning two cookbooks. That said, Martin wasn’t eager to hang up his apron entirely – he had a notion for what he would do to occupy his time. “I was thinking about calling something Short Grain,” he recalls, “but maybe doing it as a small corner store, so people could come in and get their curry paste and curry sauce and whatnot.” Martin was firm on those plans until he came across the space – a gorgeous high-ceilinged, brick-encased site in the historical Stewart & Hemmant building, which once housed a clothing factory and an Asian food store. It was spacious. Though too spacious to be a corner store, perhaps – despite boasting a prime corner location between Rosmarino and its pizzeria sibling Etna. When Martin inspected the site, he felt the wheels of inspiration begin to turn and his initial idea expanded and morphed in his mind. “I sat here and asked myself the question, ‘do you want to do it again?'” Fast forward a few months and we have our answer, as Short Grain by Martin Boetz – a casual Thai-inspired eatery and Asian food store – opens in Fortitude Valley.

Short Grain’s L-shaped space is divided into two distinct sections. The restaurant runs along the McLachlan Street axis, with a string of minimally set wooden tables and orange-hued banquettes running beneath the giant street-facing window arches. Aesthetically, Short Grain is an exercise in tasteful minimalism, with Martin, Clui Design and Lowry Group collaborating on a less-is-more interior scheme that emphasises the building’s heritage elements. Exposed brick, dark-timber floorboards, black shelving and cabinetry, and concrete elements are offset by statement artworks from Vicki Lee. Short Grain’s food store will be an ongoing love affair for Martin, who is starting small with a tight range of the goods made in house – think yellow-bean soy dressing, soy mirin dressings, chilli jam and curry paste, the latter available as a cooked-out curry paste with protein or a sauce-only option. Guests will also spy items from The Fermentary range and Gewurzhaus spices, as well as a selection of wines that can also be purchased for take-home consumption. “I really want to concentrate on that shop – I don’t want it to be an afterthought,” says Martin, who is eager to spend most of his time in the retail space, rather than the kitchen. “I want to be present here. The store is really going to grow in the next few months – when people walk in, they’ll say, ‘Wow, I wan’t to buy something in there.'”

Short Grain is launching with dinner services to start, offering a debut menu that showcases Martin’s heralded Thai and South Asian-inspired cooking style across a hit list of Boetz’ best. “I’m going to start with dishes that people know me for and then evolve,” says Martin, who has employed Longtime and sAme sAme alum Daniele Passaretta as head chef, with plans to hand over the keys to Short Grain’s ongoing culinary development. In the kitchen, Martin is instilling a produce-centric approach centred on maximum freshness and making dishes look alive on the plate. This is exemplified by aromatic, herb-filled appetisers like salt-and-pepper cuttlefish with sweet soy and lemon, spiced-cauliflower fritters with coriander, sweet chilli and ginger sauce, and crab with sweet pork, green papaya and betel leaves. The theme continues with share-style mains like yellow curry with Five Founders grass-fed beef, kipflers and cucumber relish, dry red curry with crisp pork belly, salted duck egg and lime leaves, and fried whole market fish with caramelised turmeric, pineapple and fried basil. Short Grain’s wine list is tight, but considered – expect to see wines that complement the punchy flavours of the menu, like fruity white wines (rieslings and pinot gris), light-bodied reds (beaujolais and pinot noir), one amber vino, three different rosés and a very dry champagne. Short Grain also has its own gewurztraminer and a light shiraz on offer, made in collaboration with Delatite Winery from Victoria.

Short Grain is officially open to the public. Head to the Stumble Guide for menus, booking links and other important details.