Work begins to remove flood-damaged restaurant from Brisbane pathway

Work is underway to remove a 200-tonne pontoon restaurant from a public path in Queensland after the huge structure was battered and wrecked during this year's floods.

The severe wet weather event pushed the Drift restaurant, once an iconic Brisbane dining venue, onto the banks of the Brisbane River, blocking a public cycling and walking path for almost two months.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the job of removing the restaurant was incredibly dangerous, with every care taken to move the structure by crane onto a large barge before transporting it down the river.

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"We've got a 200-tonne structure that's been impaled on river piles because of the floods," Mr Bailey said.

"To extract that in a marine environment is a very complex and dangerous job.

"We do not want any workers hurt or killed in the process, so we've been very careful, that's been our first priority."

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Extracting the restaurant began today, with the process expected to last into the coming weeks.

The abandoned restaurant, originally damaged by the flooding of 2011 and now considered a public safety risk, will be removed piece by piece.

"There'll be continuing work for quite a few weeks because we'll need to remove it off the river," Mr Bailey said.

"It still won't be a danger then at that point to people using the Bicentennial Bikeway, but it will need to be removed, it's not secure there."

The restaurant's owner Ken Allsop claims he spent $1.5 million renovating the venue last year.

He is calling on the state government, responsible for the restaurant's removal, to compensate him for the damage.

"I think the state need to supply that and put it back together," Mr Allsop said.

"It didn't cave in and crumble and crush.

"It's as strong as an ox."