In his Travel Playbook, Maxwell shows us what’s brimming underneath Brissie’s quiet demeanour, sharing some of the city’s most underrated creative hangouts.

Brisbane

"QUIVR is a queer-owned DJ booth and school, and they've just become a bar as well. When they opened, it was a little room with decks, and you could hire it out. Then they started giving lessons, and I started teaching production. It's such a great place. Now everyone is DJing, and it's such a large community."

QUIVR

"Cafe O-Mai is this Vietnamese lunch café owned by a mom and daughter. It's one of those local spots that is always so busy. They're really lovely and remember everyone's name, and the food's really good. I tend to go there if I have someone over at my studio and we do a session — we'll go get bánh mì or a Vietnamese iced coffee."

Cafe O-Mai

"Echo & bounce is a venue with three different spots in the same building. They also opened a café — you can get a coffee and choose a record, and there's listening booths. It's my favorite place to see shows, because sometimes they'll have all three stages going at the same time, or it'll be like a courtyard block party. Each time you go, it's something different."

echo & bounce

"Coco's is an independent grocery store. It's open 24 hours, which is very rare for Brisbane. They have a very large selection of international food. And they have really good fresh produce that is more locaI. It's a nice place to be on the weekend when all the Coles and Woollies are closed — go to Coco's and get ice cream at midnight."

Coco’s

"Christian Jacques is a croissant bakery in Kangaroo Point. I love croissants and I've tried almost every place in Brisbane, and this is definitely the best place, by a long shot. There's always a big line underneath the Story Bridge. It's so good. It's some of the best croissants I've ever had."

Christian Jacques