Tag Archives: lunch

Salt and Coffee in Rosalie

Black coffee at Salt
Black coffee at Salt

Salt is a smallish resturant located in Rosalie Village, Brisbane with an interesting menu and reasonable coffee, including one of the most impressive mochas I’ve ever seen, and they alsoa have juice, made with the best juicers from the Juicing Daily site. Myself and a few friends ended up there one weekend for a light lunch.

The menu looked good, and we chose a pair of lamb burgers and two serves of lamb and haloumi skewers between the four of us, as well as a few coffees. Including the mocha. The food was good, as was the coffee. Salt does a respectable, if unremarkable, black coffee. The mocha, however, was exceptional.

The mocha
The mocha

Served in a largish bowl, with a shot of chocolate to one side, it dwarfed the plain, boring cup the other coffees came in. The mocha did not dominate the table only due to its size either. The difference in presentation was significant. While the other coffees had one or two sugar sachets tossed onto the saucer alongside a spoon, the mocha’s equipment and accompaniments were set with care and attention.

There are far worse places to go for a lazy late Sunday lunch than Salt. The food was good and the menu interesting. Their coffee was more than adequate, and that is even without taking the mocha into account. Even though Rosalie is not out of the way, it is quieter than Park Road and other cafe and food hotspots in Brisbane, and well worth exploring. Even if Salt’s mocha can’t tempt you, there are other interesting places in the area, including my personal favourite, Gelateria Cremona.

TL;DR

  • The mocha was impressive
  • Good food
  • The mocha made the other coffees look like they just weren’t trying

Salt
http://www.saltrestaurant.com.au/
Phone: 07 3367 0775
5 Nash Street
Rosalie 4064
Queensland

Sip Cafe for Coffee in Teneriffe

Long Black Coffee at Sip Cafe
Long Black Coffee at Sip Cafe

Seating both indoors and outdoors, slightly uncomfortable chairs and reasonable coffee. Most urban cafes are very similar and Sip Cafe in Teneriffe seems to fit this description too. Sip Cafe is on Vernon Tce, near the river. It is one of the small cafes at the bottom of the apartment blocks in Teneriffe.

The coffee was OK, exactly what you could expect from Di Bella. It was served with a chocolate freckle, which you need to eat sooner rather than later. As it turns out, chocolate melts when it is too close to hot liquids.

Apparently their breakfasts are not too bad, at least according to one of my friends who I was meeting there for coffee, and according to Sip’s Facebook page. This time we did not get a chance to test this for ourselves; as we had all eaten before we met up.

There actually isn’t anything wrong with Sip Cafe. The coffee is good, it has a fridge with a glass door and the usual drinks, and if you live in the apartments above it, the location is great. It is just that there is no real compelling reason to go there other than convenience.

TL;DR

  • The coffee was OK
  • The cafe was OK
  • There is not much more to say really

Sip Cafe
Facebook
Sip Cafe, 54 Vernon Terrace
Teneriffe
Ph: 07 3257 1799

Fonzie Abbott: Racecourse Road’s Only Cafe

Fonzie Abbot on Racecourse Road
Fonzie Abbott on Racecourse Road

Racecourse Road is not a good place to go for coffee; there are not many places that can do a passable long black. You can find dining, a Coles Metro and occasionally even large numbers of drunk people with a temporary interest in horses, but finding a good coffee is harder. Unless you go to a small espresso bar called Fonzie Abbott, just next to Vagelis.

Fonzi Abbot Cafe
Fonzie Abbott Cafe

Fonzie Abbott is named for the first pet and first street that one of the owners lived on, just like the pornstar name meme. I can only assume that this is somehow related to the rooster in their logo.

The cafe is more of an espresso bar, with a small footprint and not too many seats. The coffee they serve is not just the best on Racecourse Road, but compares well against cafes in other areas too.

Fonzie Abbott uses both blends and single origin beans, with the single origin beans changing regularly.  There are a few light meals and a selection of beers available as well, and apparently they also do Espresso Martinis on Fridays.

There are not many places on Racecourse Road that can do good coffee, and fortunately Fonzie Abbott is an exception. The decor tends towards hipster, with its second-hand aesthetic and the mix of blends and single origin beans. It is my pick of the street if you want a good coffee, long black or otherwise.

TL;DR

  • Better than the other cafes on Racecourse Road, because…
  • The coffee is actually good
  • Pornstar meme name
  • Espresso Martinis

Fonzie Abbott Espresso
http://fonzieabbott.com
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Fonzie Abbott Espresso, 1/30 Racecourse Road
Hamilton
Ph: 07 32684293

Vagelis Lamb Salad, with a Coffee

Late Lunch Vagelis Long Black Coffee
Late Lunch Vagelis Long Black Coffee

To some in Brisbane, Racecourse Road, Ascot is known for cafes. Which is odd, since almost all of the cafes on the street are not especially remarkable. There is a Coffee Club, a Grill’d, a small Japanese place, and a few other restaurants and cafes, but none can compare to a decent cafe, let alone somewhere like Campos or Dandelion and Driftwood. Casual dining is the niche Racecourse Road fills now, with a number of nice small places that serve ordinary coffee and good food.

Warm Lamb Salad
Warm Lamb Salad

Vagelis is one of these. Their coffee is unremarkable, but it’s good for casual dining. The menu has a very Greek theme, and it is the better for it. Both the keftedes and warm lamb salad certainly won’t let you down.

This time, I went for the lamb salad over the keftedes. The lamb was tender, and marinated perfectly, and while they certainly filled the plate with green leafy stuff, they did not skimp on the important parts: the lamb itself, feta cheese, tomato, eggplant, olives and capsicum.

The coffee itself sits a little to the right of the thick bit of the bell curve. They use Di Bella coffee and the result is decent. But still, as harsh as this sounds,  if you were after remarkable coffee, you would not be on Racecourse Road.

TL;DR

  • Coffee OK
  • Food good
  • If you want excellent coffee, why are you on Racecourse Road in the first place?

Vagelis
http://www.vagelis.com.au/
Shop 2/ 30 Racecourse Road
Ascot
ph: 07 3268 4293

Jam Jar Coffee and Beer

A Long Black at Jam Jar
A Long Black at Jam Jar

Jam Jar faces the street with a small foyer, with a counter and a reservation book. You walk through to the back to find a semi-outdoor setting with a collection of different kinds of tables and chairs set up under cover. The space looks like the back of a workers’ cottage, filled with too much furniture, but in a good way. The walls both inside and out the back are covered in art, and actually do make Jam Jar a really unique space.

My coffee came out fast, and it was OK. On just the long black, Jam Jar would be unremarkable. But Jam Jar does more than coffee. They also do food. Very good, and very interesting food. Actually, go look at their menu right now, it’s worth it.

I followed the coffee up with a Mountain Goat Hightail, and along with the nibbles, it made for a great afternoon. Jam Jar is somewhere different, great for a long drawn out lunch, and seems to be more of a beer and food destination than just a cafe.

TL;DR

  • Coffee is OK
  • Food is better
  • Goes well with beer
  • Nice art

Jam Jar
http://www.jamjarwestend.com/
138 Boundary st
West End
ph: 07 38443395

@jamjarbrisbane