New cafe serving Instagram-worthy dishes
Monster burgers, enormous shakes and over-the-top pancakes – meet the new Brisbane cafe serving supersized eats.
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A shake topped with a ball of ice cream bigger than a baby’s head; a burger the size of a football, impossible to extend your hands around let alone your mouth, and towers of pancakes stacked so high they could topple over like a game of Jenga. If there’s ever been an eatery designed to rack up the Instagram likes faster than a celebrity sex tape, it’s the new Sugar Buns Bakery Cafe at Westfield Garden City, in Brisbane’s south.
The colourful operation has two sister stores in Melbourne, with this Queensland-first venue copying a similar rainbow-hued, slightly infantile fitout with pastel arches illuminated against concrete walls, cartoon-style clouds mounted to the ceiling suspending droplet-shaped pendant lights resembling falling rain, and a hanging path of cylindrical neons that hover like glow sticks at a rave.
When I visit, the place is just settling in, with ebullient staff still learning the menu and the kitchen team still negotiating appropriate order quantities evident by several dishes selling out before lunchtime.
But the team, who take orders at the table, are more than accommodating and eager for feedback and to ensure guests are enjoying the offering.
They also love watching the eye-popping moments when diners receive their supersized meals from the broad breakfast and lunch menu, including everything from porridge, omelettes and acai bowls to fish and chips, carbonara and chicken parma.
From the drink menu, which is designed with maximum wow factor, comes our mega shake ($18). There are five varieties, including our Biscoff version. Listed as the “big daddy of all shakes”, this isn’t just the daddy, but the mummy, kids, aunty and uncle too.
To even get to the milk mixture in the mason jar, requires eating your way through about half a litre of vanilla ice cream dressed with caramel topping, Biscoff spread and crumbled biscuit, plus fairy floss and wafers.
We have to ask for a plate to put the
ice cream on so we can sip what’s below. If you’re a sweet tooth and want bang for your buck, it’s a steal.
Our pineapple sunset smoothie is a far more sensible choice, in a regular portion.
Again on the supersized scale is the Sugar Buns fried chicken burger ($25). Another bargain for the price, this monster features an incredible three layers of chicken thighs coated in a flour mixture and deep fried until deeply tanned and crisp on the outside and juicy in the centre.
It’s terrific chicken, the only issue is, it’s impossible to eat it with the buns and lettuce. The whole thing requires disassembly and a knife and fork. More manageable is the French toast, hidden under a waffle cone and topped with ice cream and caramelised banana and surrounded by an artfully plated fruit salad.
It’s a solid version of the classic but edging slightly on style over substance. What Sugar Buns offers though, is a heck of a lot of fun. The kind of cafe that delivers childlike wonder in spades and social media content set to go viral.
SUGAR BUNS BAKERY CAFE
Shop 1377, Westfield Garden City, Upper Mt Gravatt
3349 1618
Open
Mon to Fri: 9am-5pm Sat-Sun: 8am-5pm
Kitchen closes at 3pm on weekdays and 3.30pm on weekends
Verdict
Food 3.5
Service 3.5
Ambience 3.5
Value 3.5
Overall 3.5
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