New Brisbane cafe Clementine to fly in croissants from France

A new northside cafe is out to prove French croissants are the best, flying in the pastry creations from the motherland for their menu.

Croissants flown in from France, locally roasted coffee and seafood for breakfast – new cafe Clementine is sure to get tongues wagging when it opens in Brisbane’s beloved Wilston Village next week.

Sliding into the former home of degustation-only restaurant Elska, which has moved to New Farm, the suburban space has been completely transformed, with the outdoor area on the left now enclosed with bi-fold windows to create a cosy dining nook, while the entire kitchen has been upgraded. The al fresco dining space at the front remains, with the cafe to be decked out in cool white tones, greys and light timber.

New cafe Clementine in Wilston will sell croissants flown in from France and baked on site.

Helping bring Clementine to life is Elska co-owner Freja Dunnell, who is a consultant on the project.

The hospitality guru, who was also behind the site’s previous incarnation as award-winning cafe Freja’s, hopes to bring some of the old Freja favourites back to the menu.

That could mean their hugely popular spanner crab omelette, crumpets with house-made lemon curd or even their irresistible hot cakes – all to be created by new chef Annette Orzlowski.

Freja’s specialty croissants flown in from France and then baked in house and filled with everything from hazelnuts to ham and cheese will also be making a return.

A seasonal vegetable bowl from new cafe Clementine in Wilston.

Coffee will be from the Gold Coast’s Common Coffee with a couple of different blends available, plus a single origin for filter.

Clementine is scheduled to open on April 27.

Meanwhile, Elska is continuing to blossom in its new Merthyr Rd location, with French pastry chef Paul Humbert joining the team to help realise chef/co-owner Nathan Dunnell’s creative visions.

Mrs Dunnell, however, has stepped back from front-of-house duties at the restaurant and will be focusing on hospitality consulting.