Brisbane coffee king launches new cafe The Maillard Project
His coffee has drawn caffeine addicts and foodies from far and wide for six years, now this bean guru has put his talents into a new Brisbane eatery
U on Sunday
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It was one of Brisbane’s hottest breakfast haunts, so when the CBD’s Coffee Anthology announced in July it would stop its food service to focus purely on brews, a pang of sadness was communally felt by all its customers.
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Luckily for diners, however, owner Adam Wang was not going to leave patrons hungry for long.
Last month he opened sister venue The Maillard Project, just a bean bounce away in neighbouring Charlotte St, and reinstated his beloved food offering in the sleek, multi-level industrial space circling a central barista station, with a row of covered outdoor seating.
Like at Coffee Anthology, the breakfast fare is built around classics with a twist, featuring everything from avocado toast ($13) topped with corn spread and sweet-potato floss to potato rosti ($18) with pork and fennel sausage, pickled radish and zucchini, and a broccoli puree.
Lunch dishes are more traditional, like the crab linguine ($23) flavoured with an intensely seafood-y bisque (maybe a little too intense) or a beef red curry. So for the more innovative dishes, be sure to get in before 11.15am.
We are too late for the doughnut-like beignets ($18) with yuzu curd, meringue, chestnut mascarpone and fruit, but the chilli scrambled eggs ($17-$19) on toast runs all day.
Available with the choice of a multitude of sides, including haloumi, bacon, pork belly and cured salmon, we go with the avocado option and are glad for the fatty fruit to put out the fire from the accompanying sriracha mayo. The silken eggs arrive pooling with a baharat
(Middle Eastern spice blend) butter and sprinkled with chilli salt for an extra kick, turning what could be a rather boring breakfast into a standout.
Coffee is the obvious star here and there’s page after page of blends available in everything from espressos and flat whites to batch brew and cold drip.
The house blend for milk-based coffees is the chocolate-y Feature One with subtle berry notes, but the real caffeine enthusiast would do well to try the Pink Bourbon Double Ferment, vibrant with stone-fruit flavours.
Or call upon the attentive and highly knowledgeable staff, who are ready and willing to offer advice for your choice of brew.
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The Maillard Project
119 Charlotte St, Brisbane City
Open Mon-Fri 7am-3.30pm, Sat-Sun 7.30am-2pm
VERDICT
Food 7
Service 8
Ambience 6.5
Value 8
IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY
Industry Beans
18 Proe St, Newstead
3180 1190
