West End is the inner suburb that Brisbane residents who care about food, books, and Saturday mornings tend to live in or make regular pilgrimages to. The neighbourhood runs along Boundary Street and Vulture Street, about 2 km southwest of the CBD across the river from South Bank. It is denser, quieter, and more genuinely diverse than Fortitude Valley — less nightclub, more record shop.
The West End Markets on Saturday mornings at Davies Park are the best in Brisbane: a sprawling produce and food market beside the river, with everything from heirloom vegetables to Vietnamese banh mi. Boundary Street has most of the eating options, ranging from very cheap to surprisingly good. The suburb has a strong Greek and Vietnamese community from earlier waves of immigration, and the food reflects this: you can eat extremely well here for very little money. It is also the best place in Brisbane for independent bookshops.