‘Home cooks to cafe owners’: Mother daughter duo open first cafe in Woolloongabba

Operating a cafe for the first time is surprisingly challenging as this duo discovers at a new southside venue.

There’s a big difference between being a home cook and actually running an eatery, and it’s a lesson mother-and-daughter Helen and Marissa Kentrotis are learning fast.

The pair just launched their first hospitality venture, Pablo’s Pantry, tucked into the bottom of the Silk One apartment complex in Woolloongabba in Brisbane’s inner south. It’s a cafe by day and a wine bar in the afternoons and evenings.

Inspired by their Greek heritage, love of food and desire to create something that was homely and approachable, the 20-seater was born, also cramming in a deli down the back with everything from wine and preserves to pickles and pasta sauce.

As running cafes is new to the duo, standard house practices seem to be absent, with no sign or no one there to tell customers whether to wait to be seated or just grab a menu and sit down; and no direction as to whether you order at the counter or if it’s table service (I witness both during my visit); even further confused by a steady line of patrons at the entry either ordering or waiting to pick up takeaway coffees.

The cured fish plate at Pablo's Pantry Picture: David Kelly

In such a compact space, the cafe would do well to introduce some form of signage to notify customers of the correct processes.

As of 7am, the venture runs an almost all-day breakfast menu, with simple fare such as pistachio and kale pesto with fried eggs; chai and nut ricotta hotcakes, and roasted pear with Greek yoghurt and granola.

There is also a second page dedicated to sandwiches like egg and lettuce, and a smoked salmon bagel, plus authentic Greek favourites such as pastitsio, kefthedes and spanakorizo.

This is not complicated or fancy food – more like the eats you’d make at home if you were somewhat handy in the kitchen.

There’s also a grab-and-go line-up of daily house-made muffins, cookies and cakes, plus croissants from Albion’s Doughcraft.

From the main menu, a dish titled “blueberry compot” ($21) is more like an exercise in plating than complex cookery, with three elongated slices of toasted French baguette smothered with mascarpone and splashed with lashings of the syrupy berry mixture. It’s remarkably uncomplicated but tasty nevertheless.

Also keeping things simple is our cured fish plate ($21), starring two pieces of buttered sourdough toast alongside cold smoked salmon, hot smoked trout, halved caper berries, capers, a dollop of labneh and a runny poached egg. Again, it’s effortless entertaining-style fare.

Showing off more of their abilities in the kitchen is the spanakopita ($12) with a large rectangular slab of the spinach and feta pie served with a salad of iceberg, cucumber and a rogue cherry tomato. My guest and I would like it to have a little more salt, but it’s otherwise solid.

Pablo Pantry’s “blueberry compot”. Picture: David Kelly

The biggest challenge the mother and daughter face in going from home cooks to cafe owners is with speed in the kitchen.

We are one of only two tables in the eatery that have ordered food and it takes half an hour for our very straightforward dishes to hit the table. I’m sure their pace will, however, improve with practice.

Staff also need a little more training on what’s on the menu. While the barista was on hand to help the young girl operating the cash register, without his assistance, who knows what we would have been eating.

Spanakopita at Pablo’s Pantry. Picture: David Kelly

And on the subject of coffee, expect it dark and intensely bitter using a blend from Good Bean on the Sunshine Coast.

If that’s not your thing though, there’s also a selection of teas, artisan soft drinks and kombucha, HRVST bottled juices, and a mix of small-producer Australian wines and Balter beers come the afternoon.

Pablo’s Pantry has the makings of a solid neighbourhood eatery with the ladies clearly passionate about what they’re doing.

But it will no doubt be a steep learning curve for the pair.

Pablo’s Pantry

14 Trafalgar St, Woolloongabba

pablospantry.au

Open
Mon-Thu 7am-2pm
Fri-Sat 7am-2pm & 4pm-late

Verdict - Scores out of 5

Food 3

Service 3

Ambience 3.5

Value 3.5

Overall 3