Touted as one of the best located restaurant venues in the city, the riverside building near the South Bank CityCat terminal was home to Cafe San Marco prior to January 2011 but has been vacant since being submerged by floodwaters.

Its owner, South Bank Corporation, is re-tendering the site after a failed process initiated in 2012 resulted in the termination of the contract with the successful tenderer three months ago.

The corporation's commercial general manager Clayton Burns said an approved development application remained current for the site and featured a number of dining and function spaces over its two levels, as well as a rooftop bar that effectively made it a three-tiered development.

He said the corporation was keen for it to remain a hospitality venue and would look both nationally and internationally for a new operator.

"It's the most attractive site available on the market at the moment, it has 180 degree views of the Brisbane River and existing city views," Mr Burns said.

"Without a doubt what it enjoys, which no other building of that size enjoys, is views back to the CBD.

"There are really only a few, a handful, that enjoy views looking back over the city skyline."

Mr Burns said the building dated back to the Expo 88 days.

He said while it remained structurally sound in the wake of the floods, it would require significant investment to make it a venue befitting South Bank's riverside.

He said the approved application almost doubled the floor space with the addition of the rooftop bar.

"I think it will just be another string in our bow, we have had so many incredible successes over the past few years, Stokehouse, River Quay and changes at Little Stanley Street, it has really transformed perceptions," he said.

"I think this will be another huge flagship site."

South Bank has undergone significant transformation in recent years to become one of Brisbane's premier dining precincts.

But it has not been all smooth sailing for the South Bank Corporation, the body charged with managing the area.

In July, it came under fire from four existing operators who claimed the corporation had forced them out as it looked to change the mix of offerings in the area.

The inner-city riverside dining revolution is slowly transforming the city's once-industrial areas.

In October, Brisbane City Council announced the successful tenderer for the Howard Smith Wharves site, soon after it unveiled large-scale development plans for south of the river in its Draft Kurilpa Master Plan.