Ruby Cafe

Being the beginning of a new year I decided to try a new cafe to kick things off for 2012. Ruby Cafe located on Given Tce in Paddington opened in early December 2011 and was the breakfast destination of choice for the morning. Arriving at the cafe around 8.30am it was still relatively empty but within 30 minutes nearly every table was occupied.

Breakfast menu

Drink Menu

On arrival we were seated and supplied with water and menus. Looking over the menu I liked the look of several options but quickly focused in on two particular choices; the bircher muesli and the omelet. My two breakfast companions both liked the look of the bircher so I decided to go with the omelet for a bit of variety. Our hungriest diner decided to order two breakfasts; the bircher muesli and the coiled fennel sausage and the third diner also opted for variety and went with the classic of poached eggs on toast. Drinks wise, Ruby offers an interesting range of juice/frappes, smoothies and coffees. I decided to go with my usual skinny cappuccino whereas the other breakfasters decided to try the berry smoothie.

Skinny cappuccino

Berry smoothie

The drinks were only a short wait and the coffee blend used was one of my favourites, Vitorria. It was well made and quite sweet. The smoothie was good, not memorable, not bad just good. In my opinion the food was a little slow to arrive. I know I said the cafe was quite busy but a lot of the diners appeared to be having their morning coffee rather then breakfast, I put this down to the cafe being new. The breakfast arrived after about a 20-ish minute wait.

Pumpkin, feta & rocket omelet

Poached eggs on sourdough

The omelet was pumpkin, rocket and feta with ciabata and was really tasty. The serving size was quite small in comparison to the price ($16) and to other cafe omelets I have had which leads me to believe it was made with 2 eggs rather then 3. Nonetheless it was cooked perfectly and the ciabatta was perfectly toasted. The poached eggs on peasant sourdough ($9) was a very small meal. However, the eggs were poached perfectly, the sourdough was nicely toasted and the accompanying tomato and pepper chutney was flavourful. The coiled fennel and chili sausage served with tomato, fried egg and watercress ($15) was highly enjoyed by my breakfast companion. He also really liked the flavour the tomato and pepper chutney brought to the meal. The strawberry bircher muesli with pecan & hazelnut crumble with honey was an impressive looking meal and probably the best value breakfast at $8. However, its looks were slightly deceiving as if it hadn't have been for the pecan & hazelnut crumble and honey it would have been quite bland.

Strawberry bircher

Coiled fennel & chili sausage

All in all Ruby Cafe was a good way to kick off the new year of cafe exploration. It had some good points such as the interesting menu and flavour combinations on offer, attentiveness of the floor staff and the coffee and some not so good points such as meal size and speed of service. In saying that I'm sure speed of service will improve with time. As for meal size I understand that Ruby Cafe probably has high rent costs for its prime location but I would rather pay slightly more and receive a portion size comparable to the neighbouring cafes (Pandemonium, Anouk, Eurovida). In saying that I would still return to Ruby Cafe as there are a few more options I wouldn't mind trying.

Hana Rosa

Due to the stressful, time poor period known as University exams and numerous repeat visits to 'Comfort at my Table' it has been a while since my last blog! After a highly enjoyable Christmas and boxing day I decided enough days had passed to make a visit into the city bearable. Being the ghost town period for independent cafes there was little option for lunch that didn't involve a food court. Therefore we decided to stop off in Paddington on the way home for a bite to eat.

Hana Rosa is located on Latrobe Tce  where Sol Breads used to be, just down from Lure on Latrobe. The cafe has a nice breakfast and lunch menu but unfortunately it still being the Christmas period the kitchen was closed and the only lunch options were those in the deli cabinet. Luckily there was a turkey, cranberry and cheese baguette and a ham, tomato, Swiss cheese and basil bread roll remaining that we purchased and had toasted. We also ordered skinny cappuccinos and were supplied with a bottle of cold tap water to share.

Water

Cappuccino

The cappuccino was Di Bella and well made and appeared at the same time as the sandwiches. Mum and I decided we would go halves on the sandwiches so we could sample both. The ham, cheese, tomato and basil bread roll was tasty and the toasted bread roll was really delicious. The turkey, cranberry and cheese was good but a little dry mainly due to minimal amounts of cranberry. Nonetheless lunch was quick and tasty, especially with the toasted Sol bread.

Ham, cheese, tomato Roll

Turkey, cranberry, cheese Baguette

All in all Hana Rosa is a nice cafe and I look forward to returning one day when the kitchen is open!

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.

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.

Eurovida



 It's no secret that I love breakfast and as anyone who has ever travelled to Asia knows it is pretty much non existent. Don't get me wrong, of course they eat breakfast but you won't find cereal, toast, muesli or bacon and eggs on the menu. In this part of the world breakfast, lunch and dinner are all very similar with rice and dumplings standard breakfast items. So after spending two weeks in China it's safe to say I was having serious breakfast withdrawals. Two friends and I decided to try somewhere new for Saturday morning breakfast and ended up at Eurovida in Paddington.



Toasted Muesli

 

Menu

Eurovida is situated on Given Tce directly opposite Fundies Organic Cafe and Pandemonium. On arrival we had the choice of sitting inside or outside and as it was a pretty miserable day we opted for inside away from the cold and rain. As we were seated our drinks order was taken, two skinny lattes and one skinny cappuccino, and we began looking over the breaky menu. I thought Eurovida had a good breakfast menu, with a selection of both hot, cold, sweet and savoury options available. A couple of options grabbed my eye, particularly the corn and dill cakes with salmon, sour cream and rocket and Euorovida's toasted muesli with yogurt and mixed berries. One of my dining companions immediately decided on the muesli which made my decision of corn and dill cakes easy because I like when everyone orders something different. However, I asked to substitute the smoked salmon for leg ham but was told the kitchen only had enough leg ham for the egg's Benedict so the salmon became bacon instead. Our remaining diner also quickly decided on his order of the baked savoury mince, egg, cheese, flaky pastry and tomato relish. We also convinced him to get the orange ricotta crepes so we could each have a little taste.


Skinny Lattes



Skinny Cappuccino

The coffee came out shortly after placing our breakfast order and was Piazza D'Oro blend. I have heard mixed reviews about the coffee at Eurovida but thought my skinny cappuccino was quite good but perhaps a little too much froth. Our food came out a reasonable time after and looked rather impressive. The corn and dill cakes were well cooked, having a crisp outer layer but still moist on the inside. The combination of the cakes, sour cream and bacon all went really well together and were filling and delicious. My only slight criticism is some kind of relish might have been a nice accompaniment just to had a little bit of sweetness to cut through the salty and savoury flavours. The muesli looked quite good, served layered in a tall glass with yogurt and milk. It met with no complaints but the mixed berries appeared to be frozen. The savoury mince was a big winner, not lasting long at all. It resembled a pie on the plate which was not at all what I expected the dish to look like. On cutting into the flaky pastry, the mince, fried egg and cheese were clearly visible and the tomato relish received a big tick of approval. The orange crepes were both visually and taste wise the least impressive meal of the morning. I have a massive sweet tooth but found the crepes to be completely one dimensional and unappealing. There was no sweetness to the dish which was needed to cut through the overwhelming citrus flavours. The crepes were meant to be accompanied by a vanilla bean sauce but this was either missing or overpowered by the sourness of the orange.

Baked Mince

Corn and Dill Cakes

Orange Ricotta Crepes

All in all breakfast at Eurovida was an enjoyable experience. The cafe has a great location and views of the city from the back portion but is situated around tough competition. The breakfast menu was strong but a further two or three options would have been nice. If you like savoury breakfast then I recommend giving Eurovida a try but if you are a sweet breakfast fanatic either chose another cafe or order there warm bread and butter pudding!

Lure on Latrobe

 Lure on Latrobe is my favourite place to go when I am in the mood for muesli. They serve what I consider to be one of Brisbane's best breakfast muesli's, 'The Breaky Trifle'. But instead of breakfast I ended up heading to Lure for lunch and was quite excited to see what the menu had to offer. On arrival we were greeted by a friendly waiter who is a fixture of the Lure floor staff (he knows my breakfast order off by heart) and we were seated in the undercover area. Lure's dining area is a converted Queensland style veranda with wooden tables and patio chairs which gives it a real homely feel.

Lunch Menu

As we were given our lunch menus, we placed our drinks order of a skinny cappuccino and a latte then began the tough process of deciding what to have to eat! Lure offers both a set lunch menu and a blackboard menu of specials. The specials on this particular day included a goats cheese and caramelized onion quiche, chicken chowder soup, root vegetable salad, Mediterranean vegetable salad, chicken and cos salad and a salmon and Greek salad. I found myself being drawn more towards the set menu, particularly towards the BLAT, chicken burger and veggie burger. I have been trying to branch out a little lately and as I nearly always order chicken I decided upon the veggie burger. My dining companion also found himself in a similar situation, liking the look of the quiche, beef lasagna and chicken burger. In the end he went with the chicken burger and a bowl of hand cut chips with aoli.



Latte



Skinny Cap

 The coffee came out quickly and was delicious. Lure use my favourite blend, Genovese coffee and I could easily have three or four I think they are that tasty but I controlled myself and stuck to the one. Our lunch arrived promptly, probably within 10 minutes or so of ordering. The veggie burger can take on many forms and combinations varying from cafe to cafe. Lure's came as a home-made veggie patty with tomato, beetroot, carrot, roasted capsicum, grilled eggplant, cucumber, sweet chill, pesto & yogurt on a Turkish bread 'bun'. It was completely delicious, more so than I anticipated. It had a great combination of salty and sweet and the veggies were fresh and well cooked! The chicken burger met with so-so approval, it was good but not great was the feedback. The bowl of hand-cut chips on the other hand didn't last long and  before I knew it my guest had demolished them. I believe his exact words were 'sorry if you wanted chips but they were just so tasty'!



Chicken Burger & Chips with aoli



Veggie Burger

I really enjoyed lunch at Lure and would definitely come back. My only criticism would be that the lunch menu wasn't huge and a couple more options on the set menu would be nice. Lure also had a deli cabinet displaying cheesecake, choc-hazelnut delice, banana & raspberry bread, muffins and chocolate brownies which all looked delicious. If you love coffee, muesli and veggie burgers then Lure is definitely the cafe for you! Actually, even if you just love coffee and quality food Lure is still for you!



Hamptons Home Living

Skinny Cap

I have been eager to try Hamptons Home Living since I read about it in Fiona Donnelly's 'Bites' column a few months back. So after an early morning of exercise I ventured there with two other cafe enthusiast's keen to try the St. Ali coffee and kick start the day with a bit of breaky. Upon arrival we were warmly greeted by the owner (Luke Stringer) and told to take a seat anywhere we liked. Even though it was a cool morning in Brisbane we opted for the back veranda as the city views are pretty great from the deck! Lucky for us there was a gas heater that Luke promptly turned on to keep us warm. Breakfast menu'swere immediately placed in front of us and our coffee order was taken straight away. The three of us pretty much always order the same coffee's (skinny cappuccino, skinny latte, regular latte) but I would have been interested to have seen a drinks menu for what else Hamptons offer in the beverage department. Oh well, next time!




Apple Bircher Muesli

Within minutes our coffee's were ready and our breakfast orders were taken. The St. Ali coffee well and truly lived up to the hype. Smooth, strong and sweet, I think its the first time I have never needed raw sugar in my coffee. For breakfast I ordered the Apple Bircher Muesli ($12) as I am a big muesli fan and my dining companions ordered the baked eggs with tomato and thyme ($15) and the Hamptons Full Breakfast ($22).



Baked Eggs

Hamptons offers two versions of the baked eggs, one with tomato and thyme and the other with chorizo, both served with Persian fetta and sourdough. As my friend is vegetarian she went with the tomato and thyme version and requested the dish without the Persian fetta. Luke said he was more then happy to accommodate but informed her that he also didn't like fetta and in fact Persian fetta is a different species to regular fetta and it adds a great dimension to the dish when melted through the eggs. His enthusiasm was enough to convince her to go give the Persian fetta a try. She commented the baked eggs were delicious and as Luke had said, the fetta wasn't noticeable when melted through the mixture of egg, tomato and thyme. The Hamptons Full Breakfast is the cafe's version of the big breakfast featuring bacon, eggs, hash brown, mushrooms and thyme  leavain sourdough. On this occasion the mushrooms were substituted for chorizo and the dish was a definant winner. The Apple Bircher Muesli was a filling mixture of dried figs, apricots, oats, hazelnuts, honey and yogurt with a fanned apple for decoration and was completely delicious!



Hamptons Breakfast

The presentation of all three dishes was spectacular and the attention to detail of the cafe decor was impeccable. When reading the menu it's obvious Hampton's focus on highlighting good quality, local, fresh produce. As I am a bit of a sweet tooth my only criticism of the breakfast menu was there was no sweet dish on offer. The addition of pancakes, waffles, french toast or banana bread would really complete the menu in my opinion. In saying this, Hamptons does offer sweet treats such as Cheesecake & Fudge Brownie slice, numerous cupcakes supplied by Cakes by Judy C and other mini pastries such as caramel tarts, bounty slice to name but a few. All in all, Hamptons Home Living is a perfect addition to Paddington and no doubt I will be back sooner rather then later!

Java Lounge

As end of semester exams quickly approach I found myself in need of stationary. In my opinion shopping for study supplies counts as studying, so I headed to Officeworks to begin a long next four weeks! Being the first official day of winter, it was fresh outside and I quickly found myself in need of a hot coffee. Conveniently enough it was also lunch time so I decided to stop in at Java Lounge in Paddington on my way home for a bite to eat with my Dad. Java Lounge is a staple of the Paddington cafe scene and offers a consistent all day breakfast and brunch/lunch menu 7 days a week. In the few years I have been eating at Java Lounge the menu has remained the same, offering simple but tasty cafe style meals.

cappuccino

Approaching Java Lounge just after 11am the cafe was the quietest I had ever seen it with only three or so other groups of customers. It was quite the contrast as I am used to seeing the cafe bursting at the seams! However, I definitely wasn't complaining as we were easily able to obtain a table inside away from the cold! Another benefit of having an early lunch meant we were quickly seated and coffee orders taken within the first 1-2 minutes! A quick look over the menu and we both had settled on  lunch options, mine being the Chicken Turkish with avocado and a mango chutney and Dad's being the toasted Leg Ham sandwich with cheese and tomato.

Chicken Turkish

Our skinny cappuccinos arrived at the table and it appeared the coffee was no longer the local Frisky Goat blend but rather Piazza Doro. Nevertheless it was extremely well made with a generous dusting of chocolate powder but perhaps not quite enough froth for a cappuccino. In the time it took me to finish my coffee, lunch was on the table. The Chicken Turkish was lightly toasted and accompanied by a side salad. The combination of the chicken, avocado and mango chutney was simple but delicious and the side salad featured a nice light tangy dressing which brightened up an otherwise average salad. The ham, tomato and cheese sandwich was well toasted and of generous size. A great delivery of a classic lunchtime sandwich.

Leg Ham Sandwich

After finishing lunch and heading to the register to pay I found myself standing in front of the deli/sweets cabinet.Straight away I noticed the banana bread staring back at me and it appeared to be the same that I fell in love with at the Java Lounge owner's other venture, Cockadoodle Cafe in Red Hill. As tempted as I was to get a slice to take home, I resisted and decided it would be a good reward once actually completing some study! Java Lounge is a great cafe with plenty of options for an all day breakfast or lunch and I will definitely keep coming back!