Cordelia Sourdough Bakehouse serves up BLT like no other

From croissants to sourdough, this Brisbane bakehouse certainly knows its bread but it was this hearty take on a classic sanger that caught our reviewer’s eye.

In the seemingly endless gloom of Brisbane’s recent spate of rain, head barista Kenny’s welcome to Cordelia Sourdough Bakehouse is like a mood-enhancing ray of sunshine.

The employee at the new cafe from Ania Kutek and Eddy Tice, beams with joy as he greets customers, boasting a smile that – as in the words of pop group G.R.L – “could light up New York City after dark”.

Cordelia Sourdough Bakehouse in South Brisbane. Picture: David Kelly

He hands out menus and invites diners to sit anywhere in the breezy, open eatery at the base of an apartment block in South Brisbane, decked in contemporary neutral tones with a sun-bathed street-facing banquette, built-in garden beds and cascading greenery.

The venue is the third for Kutek and Tice, following on from their NYC Bagel Deli outlets and West End’s croissant-focused Superthing, and continues their love affair with all things flour.

The sweet-filled counter at Cordelia Sourdough Bakehouse. Picture: David Kelly

As its name suggests, sourdough is the nucleus of this latest venture, but it is also an opportunity to showcase their entire baked goods range through a simple but lengthy menu of sandwiches, toasties, burgers, croissants and sweets.

There’s the likes of avocado on sourdough artfully plated with feta, dukkah, a lemon gel and pickled radish; bagels loaded with, perhaps, haloumi or smoked salmon; grilled cheese toasties in various guises, croissants enveloping nutella and banana or eggs and bacon; and a quartet of burgers on milk buns.

Avocado on Sourdough with feta, dukkah, lemon gel and pickled radish. Picture: David Kelly

Diners order at the counter, where the back wall displays crusty, deeply tanned loaves of sourdough on a peg board, while a glass cabinet crammed with sweets – think danishes, doughnuts, scrolls and more – threatens to break any diet.

Pair them with a smooth, quality coffee using Padre beans or an icy peanut butter thickshake or frappe and you have a meal on its own.

But for something more substantial, the BLT on onion sourdough is exceptionally well priced at $13 given the avalanche of bacon overflowing from within the mayonnaise-lathered slices of pleasantly chewy and crusty toasted bread. With crisp cos lettuce and firm ripe tomatoes completing the traditional ingredient trio, this is a well-executed and hearty version of the classic.

The BLT on Onion Sourdough. Picture: David Kelly

Less traditional is the chicken burger ($13.50), however. The grilled poultry advertised on the menu turns out to be a slab of thickly cut, icy cold smoked chicken that resembles luncheon meat. The milk bun it sits on is fabulous, the slaw is good and the capsicum jam tasty, but the dish would benefit from a real piece of hot chicken thigh cooked well.

What Kutek and Tice continue to nail though is their bread, and Cordelia Sourdough Bakehouse will have flour fiends queuing for more.

CORDELIA SOURDOUGH BAKEHOUSE

47 Cordelia St, South Brisbane

2104 2744

Open daily 6.15am-1pm

Verdict – Scores out of 5

Food 3

Service 4

Ambience 3.5

Value 4