EatDrinkBrisbane

Right. I’ll keep this short and simple. 3 Monkeys is a coffee and tea house in West End. I’d be very surprised if you haven’t heard of it.

They’re open late (at least 11:30pm every night) which is in stark comparison with the rest of Brissy coffee shops.

They’re popular; on a recent Wednesday evening at 9pm the line was 10-15 deep.

It’s got style; an eclectic mix of eastern tea house meets laid back Australian with plenty of cosy nooks for couples as well as large wooden tables that will comfortably seat eight. Table tops are inlaid with chess and backgammon boards, BYO pieces. Others do.

The bloke behind the counter will share a joke with you.

They serve coffee. Vittoria is the brand of choice and they produce a good flat white ($3.5) and some lovely micro-foam on a cappuccino. For those who like their coffee to last until next week they also have the “Edith Piaf” which is coffee served in a bowl ($4.8-the pic on the left is a chai in a bowl).

Service is prompt, friendly and difficult to fault.

The conversation hums and hangs in the air.

Food is light, with a nice selection of gourmet sandwiches, cakes, pizzas – but it isn’t as good as the coffee. A recent slice of carrot cake ($7~) was rubbish – dry, lacking carrot, and icing that was 90% sugar. Boo. An earlier Pollo Focaccia ($10.5) was also very dry – but the bread with herbs, olives and cheese was quite tasty. For a tea house that does as much traffic as the 3 monkeys, dry food is a strange occurrence. Perhaps I’m the only one ordering it.

If cosy isn’t your style, you can shuffle your way through the tight rooms, and to the rear of the café is a tropical outdoor setting. Paper umbrellas and basket weavings hang from the walls and the space is in stark contrast to the interior – it’s leafy, rustic and roomy; ideal for summer.

3 Monkeys is the catch all coffee shop that every city (if not suburb) needs. All are welcome, at any time. Especially you.

3 Monkeys
Tea House

58 Mollison St
West End map

(07) 3844 6045

It was only the other week that I was lamenting the lack of bakery style coffee shops in Brisbane. I can remember as a kid of 10 or so occasionally tripping into city with a parental to do some (god awful) shopping for school shoes and part of the deal was that we would have morning tea at a bakery. We would all get freshly baked croissants, Mum would get a cappuccino and there was a certain ritual to it.

My point is, and I realise I’m getting all nostalgic, that I couldn’t for the life of me think of a place where you could do this today. I was racking my brains for somewhere that does freshly baked goods and a decent coffee, with some nice decor, tables and chairs and was coming up empty handed. And then someone suggested breakfast at Poppy’s Basket at South Bank this week.

Eh? Poppy’s what? Where’s that?

Oh. My. God. I cannot believe I didn’t know this place existed. It is exactly what I’ve been looking for and what’s more it’s been under my nose the entire time. *face palm*

Poppy’s Basket is clean, crisp, sparking bakery & deli on Grey Street that wipes away the gloom of the morning. On stepping through the door it’s as if my problems and stresses vanish and all is right. If the world was going to get bulldozed tomorrow, I wouldn’t care so long as I could be enjoying a coffee and perusing the menu at Poppy’s when it happened.

The staff are bubbly and willing to have a chat – even if they started work at 6:30am and haven’t had a chance to have breakfast yet and that sets the entire mood of the place. They’re happy to see you and possess a working smile.

I ordered a flat white ($3.5) and poached eggs, toast and avocado ($6.8). If you’ve eaten there before and wondering why you haven’t seen this on the menu it’s because it isn’t. While the selection of breakfast options is quite good, I just had a hankering for eggs + toast + avo and I took the risk of asking for it.

“Of course we can do that for you, not a problem”

Get the $%*& out.

It seems everywhere I’ve eaten recently has got a note on their menu saying that they do not accept alterations to their dishes even to the point of declaring that you must have your eggs fried. It’s very refreshing to find a place that does things differently.

Poppy’s is decked out in a bright casual style – lots of glass cabinets, smiles, and shelves stocked with gourmet knick-knacks but it’s clear they don’t take themselves too seriously as for on the centre of each table sits a large pumpkin. I don’t know either.

Coffees and brekky arrived before they were missed and on first thought the serving looked a little diminutive. One piece of thick toast, two poached eggs and about one third of an avo. I’ve been running this through my brain trying to work out if this was value or not and I think the problem that I’m having is that I don’t typically order something so light. Normally it’s a pile of bacon and sausages and runs about $12-$15, so a couple of eggs on toast for $6.8 is a little hard to compare. I’m going to reserve judgment on the price.

The eggs, however, were excellent. The yolks were a gorgeous bright orange colour, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. Apparently (so Google tells me) this means that they’re likely to be fresh and free range.

Poppy’s Basket is a little patch of happiness on an otherwise somewhat lackluster strip on Little Stanley St, and is a place I’ll definitely be heading back to explore more thoroughly.

-Nick

Poppy’s Basket
Bakery and Deli
166 Grey St
South Brisbane map

07 3844 0144

From 6:30am, 7 days a week

Just Damn Good

I’m usually very peckish in the morning, but on a recent Sunday I had just done my little Ally shuffle in a charity fun run, and I was freaking starving afterward. Unfortunately, we had decided to do as the rest of Brisbane, and visit Lure on Latrobe for breakfast. Why unfortunate? The waiting. The place was packed and there was a 10+ minute wait just to get seated. There was also a subsequent wait for our orders, even though we told them we were ready as soon as we were seated. Then there was the 40 minute wait for the meals.
BUT-and I hope you’re still reading on and haven’t discounted the place-that was where things turned around. I left Lure happily stuffed with a delicious meal.

We started with coffees ($3.40) that were brought out very quickly, which was welcome after our wait. My long black had a good crema and was accompanied by a cute mini milk bottle (I’m easily impressed by girlish things). D’s flat white, albeit very small, was smooth and super creamy-some of us are nasty and order full fat milk, but moving on.

The breakfast menu at Lure has the standard favourites (eggs on toast, fruit bread, muesli), but with a few twists. The haloumi and zucchini fritters sounded enticing, as did the pork sausages with bubble and squeak, and the fetta hash browns. Oddly, while there was French Toast, there were no pancakes. Call me old-fashioned (or disgusting), but I like a bit more sugar on a brekkie menu. I went with the Breakfast Trifle ($10), which was house-made muesli layered with yoghurt, Barambah organic honey, and fresh fruit. D chose the Eggs Benny-poached eggs with ham on sourdough toast with a lemon hollandaise sauce ($15, smoked salmon on the side available for an extra $4).

So, yes, the meals took a while to arrive, but I didn’t care once they arrived. The presentation of my trifle was fantastic. It came in a huge glass, with a shot of fresh OJ on the side-an odd addition, but it worked. The muesli was amazing. It roared in the face of every other muesli I’ve ever tried. It spat at Uncle Toby’s, Carman’s, and every health food store around. You get the idea. Chunks of macadamia nuts, seeds, and toasted oats matched perfectly to the thick creamy yoghurt and sweet honey. I was especially impressed with the fresh fruit scattered throughout-there was no boring apple or pineapple here. Chunks of fig, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and apricots were everywhere. My mouth didn’t know what the hell was going on, every bite was so exciting.

The Eggs Benny received the standard ‘two grunts=good’ approval from D. The eggs were perfectly poached, and rested on top of a massive pile of thick leg ham. The ham was of a really good butcher/deli quality. The hollandaise sauce had a lovely lemony zing to it; this citrus flavour complemented the eggs well.

Considering the generous portions and the quality, the menu is very well priced ($6-$16.50). Lure is like many places in Paddington and is set in one of those beautiful houses typical to the area. There’s lots of seating inside and out, and the place has a lovely relaxed feel-like you’re in a very chic and cool person’s city garden. Although every table was taken, it didn’t feel crowded either.

Hint: things slow down a bit after 10.45am, so try for then if you don’t want to wait. I am sorry I was ever feeling grumbly about having to wait: this place is a gem. My only remaining gripes? Waitresses should be a bit better organised (they were very friendly, but several different ones asked if we’d been served). And get some pancakes on the menu!

Lure on Latrobe

24 Latrobe Tce
Paddington map

(07) 3367 2900

Open seven days (except public holidays)