Brisbane’s best brunch spots on the northside
IF you’re looking to treat yourself to a Sunday morning brunch then look no further. Here are our tried and tested top picks for Brisbane’s best brunch cafés on the northside.
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IF you’re looking to treat yourself to a Sunday morning brunch then look no further. Here are our tried and tested top picks for Brisbane’s best brunch cafés on the northside.
For all the super foodies out there, remember to lock in July 21-22 to experience the 10th annual Regional Flavours Festival.
Be sure to check out the full list of Queensland’s 50 best brunches in this weekend’s edition of U on Sunday in your Sunday Mail.
The Brunswick Project
726 Brunswick St, New Farm
3254 0670
Mon-Fri 6.30am-3pm, Sat-Sun 7am-3pm
Instagram @brunswickproject
Tables on the converted Queenslander’s spacious veranda overlook Brunswick St and are made for people-watching while the interior encourages camaraderie with a long communal table and banquette running the length of one wall. A bowl of warm, vegan, refined sugar-free quinoa and almond porridge (pictured) is adorned with fresh fig, goji berries, flaked almonds, rhubarb compote and crisp shards of wattleseed tuile. Not quite as virtuous is the decadent raspberry-sprinkled buttermilk hot cakes with white chocolate ganache and a syringe of creme anglaise. Or try the eggs Benedict with streaky bacon, charred asparagus and salmon roe, slathered in chardonnay hollandaise. Juice is from Hemmant’s Hrvst St and coffee beans are from Rosso Roasting Co in Melbourne.
Butcher Baker Coffeemaker
40 Oxley Ave, Woody Point
0405 117 718
Daily 7am-2.30pm
Instagram @butcherbakercoffeemaker
If it’s on the menu, chances are you can also buy it from the counter of this converted general store. Take home loaves of the same sourdough that is dunked as soldiers in dippy eggs or mop up the Cajun-spiced slow cooked beans as well as organic eggs, cultured butter, rooftop honey, nitrate-free meats and cheese wheels. Or let the efficient staff bustling around the open kitchen do the work for you as they whip up nourishing meals from the all-day breakfast menu, like the zucchini and corn fritter stack (pictured), to the three-cheese toastie that melts brie, blue and smoked cheddar together. The smooth coffee comes courtesy of Genovese. Footpath dining affords water views of Bramble Bay, while a quaint laneway offers a landscaped oasis.
Corner Store Cafe
113 Sylvan Rd, Toowong
3870 2223
Mon-Sun 7am-3pm
Instagram @cornerstorecafe
Fancy dinner for brekky? At this relaxed indoor-outdoor cottage cafe, creative evening-style offerings fill the menu, from the hearty and robust slow-cooked beef cheeks with silky cauliflower puree to Thai rice soup Khao Thai. There’s also dessert-like dishes such as coconut black rice pudding (pictured). For those over standard eggs and bacon, this is fare that will excite and satisfy. Milk coffees are smoother than a Barry White album, and you’ll also find cold drip brewed over 6.5 hours and filtered. Meanwhile, kids and adults alike will love the old-fashioned milkshakes, or the quirky twist of salted caramel and peanut butter, plus the design-your-own juices and healthy smoothies. With bright, enthusiastic and speedy service from a sparky young team, Corner Store Cafe is a must visit.
Farm House
9 Somerset Rd, Kedron
3861 1956
Mon-Fri 6.30am-3.30pm,
Sat & Sun 6.30am-2.30pm
Instagram @farmhousekedron
Like an impressive, rustic barn, Farm House serves up a slice of country life in Brisbane’s suburban inner-north. And not only is it country by design, it’s country by nature, with warm and charming service and food that make heroes of local farmers and producers. The menu offers simple, hearty fare with a chef’s touch; think slow-cooked Spanish beans, buttermilk pancakes with popcorn butter, and breakfast gnocchi (pictured) with marshmallow-like nuggets of potato in a burgundy tomato sauce seasoned with strips of bacon and lashings of parmesan.
There’s a cabinet full of sweet and savoury treats to eat in or take away, with the moist, homely carrot cake a winner. Beans and brews come smoother than the Fonz, making this place a popular all-rounder.
Freja’s
3/1 MacGregor St, Wilston
3856 0092
Tues-Sun 6am-3pm
Instagram @frejascafe
Run by Danish former semi-pro tennis player Freja Rasmussen and her chef partner Nathan Dunnell (ex-Stokehouse Q and Bar Alto), Freja’s is a Scandi-style eatery with a city-inspired sophistication.
Dunnell’s fine-dine background kicks the food up a level, with cheffy touches like crumbles, dusts, whips and exquisite plating. It makes for a menu that appeals to the conservative bacon and egg traditionalists, but also excites the foodie. Take their smoked salmon artfully presented on light rye with two runny-centred poached eggs, fennel and pickled onion (pictured). Coffee is strong and comes from Newstead microbrewery Seven Miles. Freja’s is clearly a passion project and diners can feel the love in excellent food, fit-out and service.
Kettle & Tin
215 Given Tce, Paddington
3369 3778
Mon-Tues 7am-3pm, Wed-Sat 7am-10pm,
Sun 7am-7pm
Instagram @kettleandtin
Any cafe that puts ginger beef cheek ramen (pictured) on the brekky menu alongside fried chicken with cornbread waffles and bahn xeo (Vietnamese crepe) with pork and prawns, is rocking a confident vibe. And at Kettle & Tin, that confidence carries through to the food and the service. Not in the mood for rich, aromatic ramen? That’s OK, try the winter Bircher muesli or Jamaican ginger bread, or order eggs done your way and paired with the usual sides, which include excellent Billy’s Sausages or succulent grilled salmon. If you can wait until 10am, pimp up your brunch with a bourbon butter shake, mimosa or a signature Bloody Mary. With a tempting burger selection and a decent selection of craft beers, there’s a strong chance of brunch seguing into a long lunch.
Little Loco
121 Merthyr Rd, New Farm
33585706
Mon-Fri 6.30am-2.30pm, Sat & Sun, 7am-2.30pm
Instagram @littlelococafe
It’s hard not to love a cafe that piles cappuccinos with spoonfuls of real chocolate, and the fun doesn’t stop there. There’s decadent smoothies in flavours such as Oreo and mint slice, or slightly healthier options in the greenie with kale and coconut and the Bounty with cacao and coconut protein, banana and almond milk, which are meals in themselves. Little Loco pumps out exciting options that include the dessert-worthy pavlova waffles (pictured), with tangy lemon curd, vanilla marscapone, berry compote and strawberries, or for paleo types, the warm, green bowl with broccolini, avo, dukkah and poached eggs. This tiny New Farm favourite is so popular, owners Daniel and Hannah Bowles have also opened Miss Jones just up the road on Brunswick St.
My Mistress
515 Sandgate Rd, Clayfield
3256 0590
Mon-Fri 6am-2pm, Sat & Sun 7am-2pm
Instagram @mymistresscafe
Expect to queue for a table on weekends at this hugely popular inner north Brisbane cafe. Its relaxed leafy courtyard and timber-clad interior create a mini suburban escape. Its vibe is largely chilled, but its all-day breakfast menu is unquestionably tongue-in-cheek, with salacious names given to each dish to reflect the cafe’s moniker. Think, One Night Stand, Sweet Thang and Eggs Monica, referencing one of the most famous mistresses, Miss Lewinsky. The latter is a dill-seasoned salmon fish cake joined by a wedge of hot smoked salmon, two runny-yoked poached eggs, a nest of rocket leaves and yoghurt. Sweet lovers will enjoy the vanilla panna cotta with fresh fruit and nutty granola; while the hungry will be satiated by the Oh My Geisha (pictured) — Japanese cabbage pancake topped with bacon and fried egg.
Naim
4 Collingwood St, Paddington
3172 1655
Tue-Sun 7.30am-3pm, Wed-Sat 7.30am-9pm
Instagram @naimpaddington
In Arabic, Naim means happiness and that sums up the mood after visiting this cute corner cafe. The restaurant opens into a light, spacious wooden-floored back room, featuring uninterrupted views of the leafy suburb. Friendly staff know their way around the Middle Eastern menu, which features the best of the region — think preserved lemons, pistachio dukkah, Persian feta, labneh and pomegranate, and the dishes Shakshuka (Tunisian-style baked eggs) and hummus on toast. The waffles (pictured) are given a Middle Eastern twist with delicately flavoured orange blossom ice cream, citrus marmalade and crumbs of macadamia nut. The drinks menu is small but has the essentials, plus a mimosa and a house-made iced tea. Naim serves up authentic, thoughtful food in a gorgeous setting.
Parallel Roasters
3/50 Hudson Rd, Albion
0434 025 700
Mon-Fri 6.30am-2.30pm, Sat & Sun 7am-2pm
Instagram @parallel_roasters
With its own roastery at Sumner Park in Brisbane’s southwest, this modern, Scandi-meets-industrial Australiana venue is all about the coffee. Milk brews come smooth but strong, while caffeine addicts can experiment with the continually changing aromatic pourovers or batch brewed filter offerings. Food might not be the star but it easily could be, with a tight yet engaging menu, from avo on toast to the comforting classic French/English-turned-American corned beef hash (pictured), with cubes of rich and malty housemade corned beef tossed with peas, crisp, spiced and diced potato, and fresh tarragon leaves. Rustic sangas are another winner, loaded with slow-cooked meat and fresh fillings. With attentive, efficient service, this is a suburban cafe with city polish.
Putia Pure Food Kitchen
4/17 Royal Pde, Banyo
3267 6654
Wed-Sun 7am-2.30pm
Instagram @putiapurefoodkitchen
Chef Dominique Rizzo opened Putia in Banyo back in 2014 and it remains a hugely popular local favourite. That being said, its menu would satisfy the fussiest of diners, with eggs and toast, and plenty of sides such as wild sauteed mushrooms and mozzarella potato fritters for those who want to build their own. The huge three-cheese omelet (pictured) has a satisfyingly chewy cheesy crust, with hunks of roasted pumpkin, feta and buttered leeks giving it a rich creamy texture. Choose from homemade treats at the counter or try the vanilla bean waffle, served with a generous dollop of wild orange cheesecake, cooked berries, milk gelato and decorated with delicate flower petals. It’s a perfect combo of crunchy, soft, sweet and tart. This is a cafe designed to impress foodies. Those who want to learn more can try out the cooking school
Samson and Sophie
Shop 1/2 Macquarie St, Teneriffe
3172 1194
Mon-Fri 6am-3pm, Sat & Sun 7am-3pm
Instagram @samsonandsophie
Samson and Sophie strikes the right balance between dishes healthy enough for yoga types and tasty enough for foodies. If you’re the former, start with a green smoothie with kale and pineapple or a fresh squeezed juice and pair it with the buddha bowl packed with roasted honey carrots, quinoa, pickled veggies and a poached egg. Sweet but not saccharine is the delicate panna cotta with poached pear, berry compote and toasted granola (pictured). For those less likely to be wearing Lycra, there’s smashed avo and eggs, tacos with pulled pork and fried eggs or the huge brekky feast with pork chipotle, streaky bacon, eggs, mushrooms and haloumi. West End’s Veneziano supply the coffee hit in either a forza or a single origin blend. The cafe’s wooden interior has a cosy, casual vibe and the counter service is faultless.
Scout
190 Petrie Tce, Brisbane
3367 2171
Daily, 7am-3.30pm
Instagram @scoutcafebrisbane
Scout’s rustic brick walls and pressed tin counter give a nod to days gone by. The obligatory smashed avo shares space with a mortadella-laden bruschetta, a green bowl with spiced roasted cauliflower, as well as a selection of filled bagels (pictured) including slow-cooked lamb shoulder, and haloumi with rocket and piquillo peppers. Sugar fans should opt for the brioche French toast with poached mandarins, ganache and vanilla ice cream. Parents will love the “bambinos” offering — cheese on toast, sausage on toast and child-sized serves of juices and shakes. Coffee is smooth and strong from Supreme Roasters or freshen up with excellent fresh juices, smoothies, shakes and old-school sodas. Scout combines cool confidence with a warm, buzzy vibe. The owners have recently introduced Jessie’s Girl, up the road, open from brunch to dinner.
Smoked Paprika
65 Macgregor Tce, Bardon
3161 5469
Mon-Sun 7am-2.30pm
Instagram @smokedpaprikacafe
Crowds flock to this family-friendly venue to feast on Hungarian chef-owner Gabor Traub’s flavour-filled creations. Prepare to be satisfied by crispy-skin pork belly with sweet potato hash (pictured), choc-banana pancakes with peanut butter ice cream or an omelet with Hungarian salami and smoked feta. Star of the show is the signature Smoked Paprika breakfast, which heroes an intense and savoury Hungarian goulash plus haloumi, eggs, and hollandaise. Coffee comes dark, strong and crying out to be paired with layered Hungarian cakes or a slice of lush salted caramel and peanut butter cheesecake. You’ll find frappés and milkshakes on the drinks list, and a green smoothie for those feeling less indulgent. Generous and authentic, Smoked Paprika is a hungry bruncher’s dream.
Sourced Grocer
11 Florence St, Newstead
3852 6734
Mon-Sat 7am-3pm, Sun 8am-3pm
Instagram @sourcedgrocer
Sourced Grocer has become a Brisbane institution, and its house-made rye crumpets served with fresh honeycomb and whipped butter are the stuff of legend. The menu changes seasonally, bar a few fixtures — like those crumpets — and is all about harnessing fresh produce to deliver intelligent flavour pairings that are just a little out of the ordinary. Take the cabbage pancake — a twist on Japanese okinomiyaki with sweet cabbage met by charry broccoli, a soft poached egg and lashings of grated salty and sour goat’s cheese. Or perhaps the viscous coconut tapioca pudding (pictured), blanketed with crumbled pistachios, mandarin puree and mandarin segments layering together to form a pleasantly astringent dish. It is not about big, over-the-top breakfasts, but delicate, refined cooking with plating and portion sizes to match.
The Hamptons
49 Gerler Rd, Hendra
3268 4331
Daily 7am-2.30pm
Instagram @thehamptonshendra
There’s an attention to detail and commitment to thinking outside the box that makes this cafe something special. Channelling The Hamptons with white VJ walls, cushion-clad banquette seating and a plant-lined courtyard out back, it’s family-friendly and welcoming thanks to benevolent and friendly staff. But it’s the food that’s the star. The all-day breakfast menu runs from the classics such as eggs bene to the loaded cob loaf “Breakfast in Bread” (pictured), featuring a hollowed out milk bun stuffed with rosemary and lamb sausages, maple bacon, baby spinach and blistered cherry tomatoes held together with mozzarella cheese and crowned with a poached egg. Cocktail-inspired juices create theatre, while coffee is from Campos. The Hamptons is about simple fare with flair.
The Low Road
25 Eildon Rd, Windsor
3161 4127
Mon-Thur 6.30am-2pm, Fri & Sat 6.30am-10pm, Sun 6.30am-1pm
Instagram @thelowroadwindsor
If The Low Road cafe were a person, it would be a heavily tattooed punk rocker with a penchant for leopard print and Dr. Martens boots, and a sense of humour worthy of a comedy show. Tucked into a tiny courtyard tenancy, a coffee bean flick from Windsor train station, what this place lacks in space, it makes up for in personality. Coffee comes smooth using Baxter & Sons beans and Barambah Organics milk, with cold drip also available alongside granitas, sodas, juices and kooky milkshakes. The brunch menu is equally eccentric with the likes of spaghetti on toast, savoury French toast (pictured) and a sweet version loaded with caramelised banana, raspberry ice cream and fairy floss. Friendly and fast service make this place a winning choice.
The New Black
694 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
0410 195 459
Mon-Sun 7am-3pm
Instagram @thenewblackbne
Tucked beside the entrance to Bakery Lane, this tiny, Morocco-meets-Queensland eatery is all about creativity. The menu might be tight, but it’s filled with interesting and exotic-sounding offerings from mushrooms on brioche with Jerusalem artichoke curd and porcini dust to the roast pumpkin tacos (pictured) featuring collapsing pieces of pumpkin, sprouted lentils, a punchy chilli sauce and soothing tahini-spiked yoghurt. But, of course, with this the flagship cafe for Coolangatta’s The Black Lab Coffee Co roastery, this place is all about the caffeine.
Black and milk brews deliver subtle bitterness, alongside Aeropress, Chemex, cold drip and V60 filter options. With friendly service and an adjoining cake shop, there are plenty of reasons to visit this funky, out-of-the-ordinary eatery.
Vue Lounge
1/83 Merthyr Rd, New Farm
3358 6511
Sun-Thur 7am-6pm, Fri & Sat 7am-9pm
Instagram @vuelounge
In an industry where venues open and close at a clip, 14-year-old Vue Lounge is an institution. Swift service and consistent quality combine to keep Vue ticking along. Fluffy scrambled eggs beneath an oven-baked fillet of teriyaki-dressed salmon arrive with a salad of radish, dill and snow pea tendrils to provide a crunchy contrast. Sweet options run from a healthy mango and coconut chia pudding to a baked French toast (pictured) — firmer, less eggy than most pan-fried offerings — served with roasted pear, toasted pecans and a pretty assortment of berries and edible flowers. A two-page drinks menu includes muddled fruit drinks, and a make-your-own smoothie option. Multiple coffee options are paired with five caffeine-free “health lattes” including the intriguing Smurf latte (flavoured with blue algae) and beetroot-infused red velvet latte.
Wild Canary
2371 Moggill Rd, Brookfield
3378 2805
Mon-Fri 8.30am-3pm, Sat-Sun 8am-4pm
Instagram @wildcanaryeat
If anything could outshine Brookfield Garden Centre’s verdant stock, it’s the food at the adjacent Wild Canary Bistro. Towering layer cakes and slim tarts alike are crowned in a rainbow of edible flowers and similar aesthetics flow through the brunch menu. Shredded nasturtium and mint, dragonfruit, pina colada sorbet, poached pineapple and pearls of finger lime caviar sit atop coconut and lime brown rice pudding (pictured). Then there’s a medley of mushrooms, complemented with a kick of Persian camel feta. Local and seasonal ingredients are the cafe’s heroes, and it has forged a strong link with the Scenic Rim in particular. Coffee is brewed on Allpress’s smooth Carmelo blend while the kitchen makes its own milkshake syrups and a small selection of hot and cold drinks including a ginger turmeric latte on macadamia milk.
Willow and Spoon
190 Newmarket Rd, Wilston
3352 7927
Tues-Sun 7am-2pm
Instagram @willowandspoon
To brunch at Willow and Spoon is to put a smile on your face. On the all-day brunch menu, amped-up savoury choices provoke indecision, with southern fried chicken, grilled sardines on a rosemary roll and braised pork jowl ramen all getting a look in. Rotating specials include the likes of house-made gnocchi (pictured) with slow-baked maple speck and high-gourmet touches (truffled this and that, sauteed grapes), reflect an ambition in the kitchen that shines through on the plate. Sweeter options include the house-toasted muesli presented with a perfectly wobbly rosewater panna cotta and tufts of mint-green Persian fairy floss. Wash it all down with Supreme Roasters coffee or a rich and nostalgic “Old Fashioned” thickshake, while cold-pressed juices and fruit smoothies offer a lighter choice.
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