New Bayside cafe impresses with staple dish

Love pancakes? Then our reviewer may have just found the best you’ll ever eat, topped with three kinds of strawberries and mascarpone.

‘I think these might be the best pancakes I’ve ever had,” proclaims my breakfast date through mouthfuls of the double-stacked, maple syrup-soaked disks.

Made with buttermilk for an angelically light, cake-like crumb and tanned in the pan until a caramelised, sweet, golden crust develops, they’re shrouded by an artful nest of strawberries – powdered, fresh and freeze-dried – and precisely piped dabs of mascarpone.

They’re the work of newly opened Citron Bayside in Wellington Point, southeast of Brisbane, and they are bloody delicious!

Buttermilk pancakes at Citron Bayside in Wellington Point.

Perhaps the kitchen’s prowess should come as little surprise, with Citron part of the Venzin Group, which, for decades, has run successful cafes and restaurants across the city, including Woolloongabba’s Pawpaw, Mons Ban Sabai Thai in Camp Hill and Melrose in Bulimba.

This venture is designed as a Mediterranean-leaning bistro, serving up everything from eggs Benedict and omelettes in the AM to lamb meatballs, baked rainbow trout and grilled Mooloolaba king prawns for lunch (dinner will be added next year).

Citron Bayside in Wellington Point.

We arrive just after 10 on a Sunday morning and the indoor-outdoor corner eatery – all Amalfi Coast fresh with its sea of yellow and white chairs and umbrellas – is heaving with diners. One of the friendly and chatty staff greets us, advising there will be about a
15-20 minute wait for a table, suggesting we go for a walk up and down the eatery-lined main street to kill time. We return to a freshly made-up table in the covered outdoor space, thankfully away from a cabinet inside filled with far-too-tempting pastries from another Venzin establishment, Darvella Patisserie.

Coffee orders arrive quickly using an Australian and Indonesian blend of beans by Lost Race Coffee that is delivered smooth and mild as a flat white ($5-$6). You can also take your caffeine hit black ($4.50-$5.50), as an iced mocha ($6.50), single origin or decaf.

There are also teas, HRVST cold-pressed juices, soft drinks, as well as spritzes, beer and spirits. Curiously, there is no wine available, and the lack of mimosas seems a missed opportunity, especially with the groups of ladies dining during our visit.

Greek yoghurt panna cotta at Citron Bayside in Wellington Point.

Alongside those pancakes ($18), the breakfast offering features Greek yoghurt panna cotta with house-made granola and fresh fruit, hummus on toast with za’atar and shakshuka.

Our pesto eggs ($20) are one of seven dishes that come with the option of being gluten-free.

For those without any dietaries, however, the sourdough is a winner, able to be cut through with ease, making it the perfect plinth for the dish’s two over-easy eggs. A chunky, house-made pesto infiltrates the edges of the egg whites, while more of the coarse basil mixture is tossed over the top – lovely with the web of roasted cherry truss tomatoes on the side. It’s a delightfully simple dish that’s use of top-notch ingredients and restraint make it shine.

Pesto eggs at Citron Bayside in Wellington Point.

Citron Bayside is a fabulous new addition and if it keeps serving those pancakes, will no doubt be a longstanding inclusion in the neighbourhood.

CITRON BAYSIDE

354 Main Rd, Wellington Point

3207 2330

citronbayside.com.au

Open Wed-Sun 7am-3pm

VERDICT - Scores out of 5

Food 4.5

Service 4

Ambience 3.5

Value 4

Overall 4