Tag Archives: Long Black Coffee

Coffee at Espresso Boutique

Long Black at Espresso Boutique
Long Black at Espresso Boutique

Right next to the train station. There are few places as good for a cafe as that, and Espresso Boutique’s location just next to Eagle Junction railway station is pretty spot on. It looks like a hole-in-the-wall cafe at first glance, at least until you go inside, or see the menu.

Espresso Boutique is a cosy cafe, with a large table dominating the space, and a number of smaller ones scattered around it. There is a bookshelf (with borrowable books) and a few small tables up against one wall with the specials board. The cafe also features a decent kitchen, and the lunch and breakfast menus reflect this. The big breakfast was not as full-on as it is at Campos, but the price reflects this as well. There was no trouble swapping out the eggs for extra mushrooms either.

Espresso Boutique Big Breakfast, minus eggs
Espresso Boutique Big Breakfast, minus eggs

Espresso Boutique serves Schibello coffee and does a respectable long black, and stocks T2 tea served in nifty teapot-cups for those people who like soggy leaves. Appropriately, above the counter there is an espresso menu, listing single shot, doppio and ‘con panna’, espresso served with a dollop of whipped cream.

The specials board looked interesting, with items like zucchini and sweet corn pancakes and a spinach, bacon and goat’s cheese tart. The food in the cabinet looked fresh and seemed to confirm Espresso Boutique’s claim that they sourced their ingredients fresh from the Brisbane and Clayfield markets.

Tea and the awesome cup
Tea and the awesome cup

We did not try the lunch menu, but it did look impressive. From the layout to small touches like bag hooks under each table, Espresso Boutique’s attention to detail was noticeable. It did not appear to be as much of a coffee specialist as some other cafes,  such as the Coffee Guy, but the cafe certainly succeeds as somewhere to grab a light meal on the weekend. I would be surprised if Espresso Boutique isn’t as good when you’re grabbing a coffee on the way to the train as well.

TL;DR

  • Great commuter location
  • Breakfast was good
  • Menu looks great
  • Cosy and attractive interior

Espresso Boutique
www.espressoboutique.com.au/
Shop 6, 260 Junction Road, Clayfield
Brisbane
PH: (07) 3357 6313

Gourmet Cellars at Sydney Airport

Coffee at Gourmet Cellars
Coffee at Gourmet Cellars

Airport coffee doesn’t actually have to be good coffee. In fact the bar is set very low for food and coffee in airports. I suspect it has a lot to do with access to a captive audience waiting for a flight. When you are boarding in 30 minutes, you are unlikely to shop around much.

Gourmet Cellars in the Sydney Domestic Terminal is actually not too bad. The cafe is located just near a bookshop tucked away from the main concourse. As the name implies, they had a surprisingly substantial wine list, even if they were light on food.

The cafe uses Vittoria coffee and does a reasonable job with it. My long black was more or less OK, and was only slightly too bitter. Considering what some cafes do to Vittoria coffee, this was better than I was expecting. Unfortunately for me, their cake selection was poor to nonexistent and their food selection was just as slim. They did stock some biscuits and a few other nibbles, but nothing that appealed to me.

The seating was OK, but like so many other places in an airport, they were short on power points. The day a franchise makes power points available at the table for their airport locations, they will make a killing. Unfortunately for my phone’s battery, Gourmet Cellar was not going to be the one to start this.

TL;DR

  • OK coffee, not like you have much choice
  • Very light on food
  • I am sure their wines are lovely
  • Why don’t airport cafes offer patrons power points at the table?

Gourmet Cellars
http://www.airportretail.com.au/gourmet-cellars