Tag Archives: weekend

Drift Cafe Long Black

Drift Cafe Coffee
Drift Cafe Coffee

We found Drift cafe while driving through Mount Tambourine looking for somewhere to grab a coffee and something light to eat. Fortunately I could see the couches from the road and so we decided to check it out. The cafe had a decent amount of parking out the back, and there was wifi available for their customers.

They also seemed to like wood a lot. It wasn’t just the counter either, a lot of the decor was also very obviously wood too, with the notable exception of their seating. The coaches and armchairs were as comfortable as I had hoped. Their black leather worked well with the rest of the setting, giving the whole cafe a very laid back atmosphere.

A very nice counter
A very nice counter

Drift uses Merlo coffee and does a fairly good job with it. Their espresso machine seems well set up, with my long black having a mild and not bitter flavour. Though it did seemed a little weak it was still very drinkable. We also got a bread and dips platter as well, which turned out to be a good decision. The staff were nice and the service was good. Their menu in general looked very good, which given that the cafe is attached to a restaurant as well, should be expected.

TL;DR

  • They like wood
  • The coffee was drinkable, though a little weak

Drift
http://www.drifttamborine.com.au/
12 Main Western Road
North Tamborine
Qld

Sunday Morning Sydney CDB Coffee

Room 38/Cafe De Lucca
Room 38/Cafe De Lucca

While I was killing two or so hours before my flights after a work related event, I discovered just how hard it is to find coffee and breakfast on a Sunday morning in the Sydney CBD. Practically everything is closed, and so after checking out of the hotel, I found myself struggling to find somewhere to sit down and have a coffee and something to eat. I spent about half an hour wandering around before giving up and heading towards the malls.

I ended up finding a small place in a Westfield in the walkway between a number of shops. The seats looked good enough, I was slightly tired and looking for a cafe was getting a little boring. Also, the tables looked large enough to set up my laptop. The cafe in question was called Cafe De Lucca. The coffee they served was reasonable and the breakfast was very acceptable. The prices were good and they let me swap my eggs for something edible without any problems.

Cafe De Lucca was a surprising nice place to wait and recharge my phone from my laptop before heading back to the hotel to head out to the airport, especially considering how hard it was to find somewhere that was actually open.

TL;DR

  • The Sydney CBD is dead on the weekend.

Cafe De Lucca
Store 38G, Level 2,
Westfield Central Plaza,
NSW

Death Before Decaf

Death before Decaf
Death before Decaf

There is yet another small cafe on Brunswick Street towards New Farm called Death before Decaf. One of my sister’s introduced me to the place as somewhere that makes a very good black coffee. Aside from a very appealing name, the cafe has a very certain character, with a metal/punk look and feel from the logo on the take away cups to the look of the cafe itself and the proprietor’s interest in tattoos.

The coffee itself has a nice strong flavour and lacking in bitterness or any other sign of being poorly made. The cafe does have a few chairs, but to me seemed Death before Decaf still be more of an espresso bar and take away place than somewhere to linger. Though this in itself is hardly a real problem anyway.

There is one other thing that makes this place interesting, and that is the opening hours. They are long. Death before Decaf stays open late, very late. In Brisbane this is a rare thing, and it is often very hard to find somewhere to grab a coffee in the early hours of the morning.

TL;DR

  • Take away coffee
  • Does a good black coffee
  • Very distinct character

Death before Decaf
Facebook page
760 Brunswick Street,
New Farm
QLD

Dopstop Takeaway Coffee

Dopstop Long Black
Dopstop Long Black

There is an art to running a cafe for the early commuter crowd. Opening up on the correct side of the road is generally important, as is making coffee and actually being visible. Choosing somewhere busy enough is another. Dopstop is a coffee cart on the inbound side of Gympie Road outside of an Indian restaurant that does fit these criteria quite well.

Dopstop uses Supreme Roasters coffee beans, which seems to be working for them as the coffee is rather good. The long black I tried had a slight cocoa, bitterish flavour with little aftertaste. I also tried an iced coffee they make themselves on a Tanzanian single origin. Unlike most it was not overly sweetened, and that’s another reason why I liked it.

The cafe itself is a coffee cart set up on a small raised area just off the footpath. As focused as its setup is towards takeaway customers, there is also a collection of benches and stools just off to the side. Unsurprisingly there is a bit of road noise, though this was not enough of a reason to just get my coffee and go. The guy who was running the cart is worth stopping to chat with as he’s fairly knowledgeable about coffee, and Dopstop even made the Beanhunter best 2013 Brisbane cafe list at 83.

Dopstop
763 Gympie Road
Chermside, 4032
Queensland

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