Whether it is a picnic in a park, an all day conference or a corporate fun day we will be able to help you find a venue and an event catering package that suits your needs.

Contact our Events Team on 07 3392 1143 or email us at:  info@abfabcatering.com.au

Catering to suit your needs!

Overlooking the Brisbane River at South Bank, State Library of Queensland is one of Brisbane’s most distinctive event venues. With stunning features like the mirrored ceilings and marble floors on the Queensland Terrace, timber decks overlooking the Brisbane river, and auditoriums, State Library of Queensland is built for everything from a 26-person board lunch to a 300-guest reception.

Ab Fab Catering is one of State Library’s authorised catering suppliers, and we have been catering events across the venue for 18 years. We know the spaces, the access routes and catering logistics, and the timings, which means our catering integration to this event space is seamless.

A venue that does the work for you

The State Library of Queensland is a venue people remember, in the middle of Brisbane’s cultural precinct, with the Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery next door and South Bank’s restaurants and hotels a short walk away.

• Riverside, central, walkable. South Brisbane rail and busway, the CityCat terminal and South Bank’s accommodation are all within a few minutes’ walk.
• Genuine architectural character. Contemporary design, natural light and river views throughout — spaces that photograph beautifully without a styling budget.
• Professional AV support. State Library’s venue production team handles technical production in-house, with permanent lighting, sound and projection in the major spaces.
• Real flexibility of scale. Rooms for four people through to receptions for 300, within the same building on the same day.
• On Turrbal and Yuggera Country. State Library sits in the heart of Meanjin, and its work in preserving and sharing Queensland’s stories gives an event a sense of place that a hotel ballroom cannot

Spaces and menus

Every space at State Library suits a different kind of event, and a different menu. Here are some examples of how they pair together.

Queensland Terrace

318m² · 300 cocktail · 130 seated · 150 theatre or wedding ceremony

The showpiece. Mirrored ceilings, marble floors, a collection of vintage teacups and an open-air design that gives you city views with protection from the weather.

What we’ve served here: Roaming canapés and grazing stations for large receptions, or long-table seated dining for 130. The open-air layout suits food that moves.

The Edge Auditorium

300m² · 250 cocktail · 160 seated · 300 theatre · 128 cabaret

The largest auditorium, with a level timber floor, high ceilings, natural light and river views. Configures to theatre, cabaret, banquet or cocktail.

What we’ve served here: The most versatile catering space at State Library. Cabaret-style conference lunches, bespoke showcase dinners for 160, full cocktail celebratory reception for 250, multi-day conferences breaking out into the Window Bays overlooking the quintessential Brisbane river.

Auditorium 1 and foyer

264 theatre style · built-in projection, stage and sound

A premier presentation space for conferences, award ceremonies and screenings, with leather seating for 264. The foyer handles registration and arrivals, and the adjacent Queensland Terrace opens up for catering breakout areas, exhibition space and trade displays.

What we’ve served here: Arrival coffee and pastries in the foyer, morning and afternoon tea on the Queensland Terrace, lunch either as a working buffet or “grab and go boxes” while you enjoy the greenery and take in the views. The Auditorium 1 / Queensland Terrace pairing is the most efficient full-day conference layout in the building. One catering setup serves both.

Auditorium 2

108 theatre style
An intimate, wood-panelled theatre with tiered seating and a parquetry stage. Suits ‘in conversation’ and intimate forum-style events.
What we’ve served here: Breaking out into the close by foyer, Balcony or Queensland Terrace, pre-event canapés and drinks, or a post-event supper. Smaller numbers make plated service practical.

River Decks

Main deck 76m², boardwalk and small deck 91m² · 80 cocktail · 50 seated · 60 wedding ceremony
Timber decks suspended over the banks of the Brisbane River, with city views. The larger deck is partially covered and connects to a smaller, whimsical tree-shaded deck.
What we’ve served here: Outdoor cocktail service during RiverFire displays, and a popular space for a summer evening end of year festive reception. River Decks also compliments a lovely breakout space for a networking lunch. Menus designed for standing service and Brisbane humidity.

Red Box

50m² · 60 cocktail · 48 seated · 40 wedding ceremony or performance
Enclosed by floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the sensation of floating above the river. Tiered wooden seating leads into the space.
What we’ve served here: High-impact small events. Think milestone dinners, product launches, intimate tray service receptions. Small numbers justify a premium bespoke menu.

Poinciana Lounge

137m²· 150 cocktail · 100 banquet · available outside library opening hours
Two storeys of windows framing the river and city skyline, with a grand piano in the room.
What we’ve served here: Evening cocktail functions and receptions. Because the space is available outside library hours, this is an after-work event. We plan bump-in and service around that, so nothing arrives while your guests do.

John Oxley Library Reading Room

180m²· 150 cocktail · 120 banquet · available outside library opening hours
Home to Queensland’s unique collections, with Tasmanian oak tables, reading lamps and an elegant lounge, and river and city views. A sophisticated, traditional library setting.
What we’ve served here: Book launches, literary dinners and donor events. Collection material in the room means considered service. We work to State Library’s requirements on food and drink placement as a matter of course.

The Talking Circle

100m² · 100 standing · 40 fire circle
Part of kuril dhagun, State Library’s First Nations centre, and a place of cultural significance at Kurilpa Point.
What we’ve served here: Daytime gatherings, welcomes and storytelling events. Please note the Talking Circle does not permit alcohol. We plan non-alcoholic beverage service accordingly, and we can build a menu using native Australian ingredients where that suits the occasion.

Heritage Collections Learning Room

70m² · 36 workshop · 50 theatre · 25 U-shape · 50 cocktail
A light, versatile room with a picturesque window running its full length, framing river and precinct views.
What we’ve served here: Business breakfasts, workshop catering and seminar day packages.

Meeting rooms and boardroom

SLQ Boardroom: 26 boardroom or banquet · Meeting rooms 1A and 1B: 74m² · 45 workshop · 28 boardroom · 70 theatre
Ground-floor meeting rooms off the Knowledge Walk atrium, with natural light and easy access to the courtyard and Maiwar Green for breaks.
What we’ve served here: Boardroom lunches, working-session catering and all-day meeting packages. The SLQ Boardroom seats 26 for a seated spacious lunch, not just sandwiches.

Booking your event

State Library appoints a small number of authorised caterers, and Ab Fab is one of them. Only appointed caterers may operate at the venue, so your first two decisions are the space and the caterer.

The sequence is simple:

1. Enquire with State Library about space and date. Their venues team will confirm availability and a proposal.
2. Contact us with your date, space, guest numbers and the shape of the event.
3. We build a menu and quote around your needs, your timings and your budget.
4. We coordinate directly with State Library’s events team for everything from floor plans, access, setup and service timings. You do not need to relay messages between us.

What we bring to the venue

• Venue knowledge. We know the loading dock access and unloading zones, the approved back-of-house routes, the security requirements and protocols, kitchenette arrangements and the equipment restrictions. Planning within this is our job, not yours.
• The right service for the space. Cocktail, seated, conference and drop-off catering, matched to the room rather than pulled off a single menu.
• Beverage service. Packages, bar service and non-alcoholic options, including for spaces where alcohol is not permitted.
• One point of contact.

A little about us

Ab Fab Catering has been delighting palates throughout Brisbane since 1989. We are a Brisbane-based, female-owned family business.

Over 18 years at State Library we have catered thousands of events across the venue, from private hot lunches in the boardroom or breakfasts at The Edge, and awards evening receptions on the Queensland Terrace.

• Trading since 1989 — over 30 years of Brisbane events
• Queensland-owned, female-owned family business
• Two brands, two price points — Black Label for premium and bespoke, Red Label for volume and conference catering
• We source Queensland produce — including from local growers and social enterprises building fairer, shorter food supply chains