You won’t believe the food coming out of this tiny kitchen

What can be achieved in the tiny kitchen of this little cafe inside a new market precinct is truly impressive.

Like the waft of freshly roasted coffee beans in the air, you can smell the money spent on building the new Craft’d Grounds precinct in Albion, in Brisbane’s inner north.

Opening in stages at the end of last year, the whopping 2600sq m site has transformed an old dance studio in a low-lying, flood-prone industrial street into a slick hangout for the culinary cool and curious. Inside the raw-yet-luxe, timber-heavy, Conrad Gargett-designed facility, there’s Brewtide Brewing and bottle shop, the Queensland headquarters for Sydney’s Seven Miles coffee, K.I.S.S. Burgers and, soon to launch, patisserie Brass Tacks and a farm-to-table-style restaurant.

This development is a collaboration with the site’s neighbours, The Black Market and Collingwood Black Espresso & Bar, which have had their beautifully restored emerald green warehouse seamlessly stitched into the Craft’d Grounds structure so patrons can effortlessly move between the venues. It has also given Collingwood Black – the cafe – a new lease on life after 10 years in the hidden spot.

The sprawling eatery is divided into sections: a commodious covered courtyard furnished with large, wooden communal tables and stools and decorated with plants in old wine barrels; and a stunning indoor area under a rafter-lined, peaked roof with moody lighting and a tile-backed bar that just begs to be perched at.

At the front of the warehouse is where diners order, either for takeaway or dine-in, as well as a shoe box-sized kitchen, which turns out a casual and keenly priced menu running from açai bowls to mushroom toasties.

The only challenging part for both the kitchen team and the customers is that on weekends there is no table service. This means diners have to either wait beside the kitchen, or continually go back and forth to their table as there’s simply no chance of hearing your name being called at the rear of the premises when your order is ready. Perhaps a flashing beeper system could be used.

However, what can be achieved in the tiny kitchen is impressive. The breakfast tacos ($15) combine silken scrambled eggs with crispy bacon, mashed avo, a flourish of leaves, rings of red chilli and a squirt of chipotle aioli in a flour tortilla resulting in a humble, yet tasty feed. The same could be said for the brekkie wrap ($12) hiding smoked salmon, fried egg, baby spinach, sour cream and a dill sauce within its just warmed pocket. The brisket burger ($15) contains a generous slab of uber fatty, charry-crusted beef, plus tomato, lettuce, a mild chilli jam, and a slice of plastic-looking cheese that would easily be at home at McDonald’s. It’s simple dude food that’s a whole lot of hearty.

But perhaps best of all is the classic French croque madame ($10) – it’s combination of crusty bread, melted cheese, lush bechamel, salty ham and Dijon mustard in just the right proportions, all topped with a fried egg.

Collingwood Black has long been a neighbourhood favourite, and perhaps its new neighbour will help it generate some fresh fans.

COLLINGWOOD BLACK

35-37 Collingwood St, Albion

0478 652 738

theblackalbion.com.au

Open Mon-Thu 6am-5pm, Fri 6am-late, Sat-Sun 6am-3pm

VERDICT

Food 3.5

Ambience 4

Service 3

Value 4

Overall 3.5