The cafe to book for large groups

Sometimes it can be hard to find a brekky cafe that’s big enough to cater for a big group of people. This place really knows how to do it.

It’s hard to find a breakfast place that can accommodate big groups, but Hey Joe Coffee & Co in East Brisbane is playing right into that niche.

Opening mid last year, the eatery along Lytton Rd seats 100 comfortably in its bright and airy, London-inspired digs, smartly detailed with touches of leather, peeks of exposed brick, lofty ceilings and sophisticated industrial fixtures.

Its sprawling space easily allows for two groups of eight and a group of six during my visit that are kept to one side to ensure any associated hoopla doesn’t disrupt other diners, but there is plenty of room for bigger parties, including in a private dining room tucked behind timber slats.

Hey Joe Coffee + Co, East Brisbane. Picture: Mark Cranitch

Hey Joe’s all-day breakfast and classic lunch menu also plays well to groups, taking a “something for everyone” approach with plenty of dietary-friendly dishes, including a separate vegan offering.

There are all the bistro favourites: Bircher muesli, eggs Benedict, pancakes with berries and maple syrup at breakfast, and burgers, carbonara, sandwiches and salads at lunch; plus a sprinkling of less common fare to add interest.

Although it’s the specials menu that really delivers the excitement with Indian-inspired dishes like spiced lamb mince with stuffed flatbread, and spicy potato flatbread with mint yoghurt.

The spiced scrambled eggs with spinach flatbread. Picture: Mark Cranitch

Following the Indian theme, on the main menu is eggs bhurji ($16) – a take on scrambled eggs flavoured with garam masala, dotted with chilli slices and loaded with raw diced red onion and tomato atop a spinach flatbread.

The elements are well made and flavourful but a sauce of some kind (a mint yoghurt perhaps?) would be much welcomed to add moisture to the dry bread and tie everything together.

As for Joe’s potato and feta hashcakes ($21), well there’s a reason they have been labelled on the menu as a “signature” dish.

The two hockey puck-sized cakes are blissfully soft in the centre with a crisp crumb coating, individually crowned with soft poached eggs and a stream of herbaceous pesto-tinted hollandaise. There’s perhaps no need for the beetroot smear across the plate, although it adds an aesthetic shot of colour to the dish, but it does need the suggested side of two rashers of bacon for $6 to ensure it’s filling enough for my hungry friend.

The Joe's signature potato and feta hashcakes.

You can accompany your brunch or lunch with a small array of budget-friendly wines – all for under $46 a bottle, or a classic cocktail or mainstream or craft beer. Milk coffees are smooth and chocolatey, made with their own Joe & Co bean blend.

There are also plenty of specialty organic lattes, teas, sodas, smoothies, shakes, freshly squeezed juices and more.

With service that’s friendly and swift, it’s easy to see why Hey Joe Coffee & Co has become so popular, especially with groups.

HEY JOE COFFEE & CO

6a/33 Lytton Rd, East Brisbane, 3162 2644

heyjoecoffeeandco.com

Open Mon-Tue
6am-4pm; Wed-Sun 6am-10pm

VERDICT - Scores out of 5

Food 3

Ambience 4

Service 3.5

Value 3

Overall 3.5