Sweetshop Specialty Coffee serves the prettiest looking breakfasts in Brisbane

Why go for average with your breakfast when you can have a fine-tuned work of art at this Brisbane delight?

Anooska Tucker-Evans

2 min read

April 9, 2021 - 10:00AM

QWeekend

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A curled onion petal pools with a shimmering green puddle, like a leaf holding water after rain. Pan-fried ricotta and sage gnocchi rest like tiny pebbles in a puree of eggplant, with a scattering of za’atar akin to soil falling into every crevasse; while a snow pea tendril twists and twirls over the top.

This is, unquestionably, one of the prettiest breakfasts I’ve sat down to in a long time.

Mistakeable for an entree at one of Brisbane’s best restaurants, it’s from the new autumn menu at contemporary and minimalist cafe Sweetshop Specialty Coffee, in the leafy suburb of Bardon in Brisbane’s west.

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While the eatery may have started with an intense focus on coffee – serving well-made Seven Seeds from Victoria as the house blend, complemented by a rotating line-up of harder-to-find guest roasters from across Australia, which may include the likes of Perth’s Offshoot or Sydney’s Ickle for espresso and Brisbane’s Passport for filter – the new food menu may be just ready to steal the show.

Pan-fried ricotta and sage gnocchi at Sweetshop Specialty Coffee. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

In addition to the cabinet of Brisbane’s acclaimed Crust & Co pastries and house-made cakes there is an all-day line-up of brunch treats with options that are just a bit fancy, but not intimidatingly so.

Take the salmon gravlax ($21), starring house-cured salmon, confit fennel, a poached egg, dijon creme fraiche and beurre noisette on rye. Or perhaps the humble brisket burger ($18), pimped up with a coffee butter and za’atar mayo on a brioche bun. The accessible-yet-elegant approach continues into the classic Eggs Benny ($21), this time elevated with brisket. Those deliciously gnarly outer bits of the beef join the supple inside parts on a slice of jalapeno-laced cornbread, then are showered with whole cloves of confit garlic and a lick of hollandaise sauce, under a blanket of runny-centred poached eggs. It’s executed with finesse and is substantial without being overwhelming.

Minimalist: Sweetshop Specialty Coffee in Bardon. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

As for that beautiful plate of ricotta and sage gnocchi ($19), after a quick grind of salt, it’s just as tasty as it is glamorous.

Also recording top marks is Sweetshop’s house-made “The Cuban” smoothie: thick and refreshingly tart, with banana, pineapple, papaya, apple and coconut water.

It’s just what you want to sip in the breezy indoor-outdoor eatery, cooled by bi-fold windows and doors as the sun belts down outside.

Brisket Benny at Sweetshop Specialty Coffee. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

The only hiccup at Sweetshop is with the service. While the floor staff are very kind, there’s an aloofness to the owner that’s slightly off-putting. In this time of global pandemics and uncertainty, there’s no time for haughtiness.

That aside, Sweetshop is a suburban cafe that’s batting above the average.