Pandemonium Cafe

On Saturday I caught up with a friend over breakfast. My friend suggested we dine at Pandemonium in Paddington and I agreed as I hadn't been to this cafe in over a year. Pandemonium is a 70s style cafe with furniture that reminds me of my grandparents house. They serve all day breakfast, lunch, coffee and sweat treats.

Menu

After a hard morning of exercise we were both more then ready for a satisfying breakfast. Firstly I placed an order for my usual skinny cappuccino but my breakfast companion opted for water as she was feeling quite parched from her morning exercise. Looking over the menu I definitely was in the mood for cold breakfast so without much hesitation I decided on the Natural Muesli topped with natural yoghurt, cinnamon & mixed berries. My friend informed me she was currently having a love affair with feta so was immediately drawn to the spinach & feta omelette with thick cut toast. The menu stated the omelette was made with 3 eggs but not wanting a Rambo sized meal she asked for a 2 egg omelette which the kitchen was more then happy to oblige.

Skinny cap

My skinny cappuccino arrived after a short wait and the froth and chocolate was to die for, the best I have had. It was the perfect pre-crusor to my well made coffee and was a great start to the breakfast. After a short wait both our meals arrived. Unfortunately Pandemonium committed one of my pet hates with the muesli. On the menu it stated the muesli was served with yoghurt but upon arrival it had a dollop of yoghurt and a side of milk. For me, milk and muesli with a dollop of yoghurt doesn't appeal. I asked the waitress if instead of the milk I could have more yoghurt and she kindly obliged, returning with a further serving of yoghurt. The side of yoghurt still wasn't as much as I would expect for a good yoghurt to muesli ratio, leaving my breakfast a bit dry. Also, the serve of mixed berries was fairly minuscule which was disappointing. However, the natural muesli blend was delicious and featured plenty of nuts, rolled oats and dried fruits. It was a different story with the spinach and feta omelette. It was perfectly cooked and the thick cut toast was nicely toasted, this breakfast was a real winner.

Spinach & feta omelette

Natural muesli

Pandemonium is a funky cafe that serves great food. Even though it may not sound like I enjoyed my experience, I have eaten here many times before and never once been disappointed. When it comes to muesli I can be quite picky about how it's served and everyone has there own preference! In my opinion Pandemonium serve Brisbane's best coffee thickshakes and I also rate the omelette's and thin pancakes. I will definitely be back for both of those in the near future.

Denim Co.

A friend from Canberra was visiting Brisbane last week so we decided to catch up over a mid-week lunch at Southbank. Last time I had lunch at Southbank it was at Poppy's which was underwhelming. Walking along Little Stanley St. I noticed Denim Co. so we decided to give this cafe a try.

Deli Cabinet

Denim Co. is half clothing shop and half cafe that serves coffee, breakfast and lunch. After looking over the menu the Aioli Chicken Turkish bread immediately caught my eye. My friend also liked the look of the Turkish breads and opted for Roasted Vegetable, Pesto & Herbed Goats Cheese on Turkish. A round of skinny cappuccino and skinny latte was also on the agenda. Orders are placed at the counter then table service applies .All of Denim Co.'s daily food was pre-made and on display in the cabinet. All the sandwiches, quiches, muffins, bircher muesli, wraps and croissants looked super fresh and appetizing.

Menu

Latte

The coffee came out quickly and was LavAzza blend. It was a nice strong brew, no complaints from me. A few minutes later the Turkish breads arrived which we had asked to be toasted. They were a generous size and were delicious. The bread was toasted to perfection and the aioli chicken was amazing. The aioli had a strong garlic flavour but I really liked it especially in contrast to the vine ripened tomato, melted swiss cheese and crispness of the Turkish bread. The Roast Vegetable Turkish met with similar praise and even though the sandwiches had been quite big we both finished them off.

Aioli Chicken

Roast Vegie

Denim Co. is a nice little cafe serving simple breakfast and deli style lunches. I really enjoyed the food and coffee offered here and wouldn't hesitate to order the Aoili Chicken Turkish again.

Spoon Deli Cafe

A Saturday family lunch took us to the streets of Paddington in search of a filling meal. Due to the morning thunderstorm my brothers plane arrived around lunch time, 4hours later than scheduled. It was safe to say he was starving as he had slept through the breakfast snack on the flight. We initially had decided upon Sassafras as they do all day breakfast and lunch but we weren't the only ones in the mood for their menu as they were extremely busy. In search of a quicker feed then Sassafra's would have been able to offer we crossed the road to Spoon Deli Cafe located on the top level of Paddington central.

 Spoon also do all day breakfast and lunch and both menu's were located at the counter. We all quickly looked over the options. The breakfast and lunch menu's were quite basic but one breakfast item stood out to me; the pumpkin and zucchini fritters with poached eggs and tomato relish, sold. My mum also decided to order from the breakfast menu choosing the bacon and egg Turkish bread sandwhich and my brother went with the big breakfast. My dad was the only one who ordered a lunch item getting the steak sandwhich. For drinks we went with 3 skinny cappuccinos and a fresh pineapple juice. Spoon also had a small selection of filo's, quiches, wraps and Turkish breads in their deli cabinet. I thought the Turkish breads and wraps looked quite fresh and filling but they only had turkey, salmon, salami and vegetarian options. 

Skinny cap



Pineapple juice

 After ordering at the counter we wandered to Spoon's outdoor section and had our choice of nearly any table, quite the contrast to Sassafra's. Our drinks appeared a few minutes later and I found it quite strange that Spoon didn't keep sugar on the table for the coffee's, instead the waitress asked on arrival of the drinks if we would like sugar and then after placing the coffee's in front of us went back to get them. I'm not sure if this was standard practice for Spoon or whether she had just forgotten to place them on the saucer's initially. The coffee was Di Bella blend and was surprisingly really good, the perfect balance of bitter and sweetness and the pineapple juice was nice and fresh.  





Big Breakfast



Pumpkin & zucchini fritters





Our food appeared after a very short wait and all four meals were impressively large servings. The pumpkin and zucchini fritters were well cooked but tasted a little bit bland and under seasoned. Luckily the tomato relish was unreal and really jazzed up the fritters. Both mine and the big breakfast's poached eggs were done perfectly. The big breakfast was an absolute feast of bacon, sausages, tomato, mushrooms, eggs, potato rosti and sourdough. My brother ate most of the meal, I'm not sure whether this was due to the fact he was starving or it was really good, either way an empty plate is the best compliment. The steak sandwhich was an enormous meal featuring rib eye fillet, bacon, aioli, onion and salad on toasted Turkish bread with half a plate of chips. The chips were fairly run of the mill but my Dad really enjoyed the meal nonetheless. The bacon and egg Turkish bread was a basic item done well. Crispy bacon, fried eggs with salad on a perfectly toasted Turkish bread was a winner and once again an empty plate followed.

Bacon & egg turkish

Steak Sandwhich

Even though Saturday lunch at Spoon Deli Cafe was not what we had intended, it turned out to be quite nice. The service was quick and attentive, the coffee was good and the meals were nice. Spoon may be considered a bit too franchise-esque for trendy Paddington but it does a good job of holding its own.