The Brisbane cafe sure to boost your social media likes

From its over-the-top waffles to Mt Everest-like burger tower, this cafe is bound to bump up your social media likes.

“I’M SO sorry, if I could get in the kitchen and cook it myself I would,” says our penitent waitress as our wait for our meals ticks over to the hour mark.

We’re at Andonis Cafe and Bar at Yeerongpilly, in Brisbane’s southwest, and despite its unlikely position in an industrial estate opposite a gym, the place is more chockers than an Ikea flatpack.

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Drawing in the largely millennial crowd is the highly Instagrammable, on-trend lunch and all-day breakfast menu, where dishes have been designed to capture maximum likes. There’s everything from the signature “Bueno Heaven” waffles ($20) stacked with the Kinder chocolates, Oreo biscuits, ice cream, strawberries and a Nutella-filled syringe that could make a dentist rich and put a diabetic into a coma for a week to the eye-bulging, Mt Everest-esque “Burger for the ’Gram” - towering with layer after layer of beef patties, maple bacon, cheese, haloumi, onion rings, steak fries and pickles ($24.50). They even find a way to make the often-ugly mince on toast ($18) and savoury crepes ($16.90) social media-special with flourishes of edible flowers and photogenic zigzags of dressing.

The Bueno Heaven waffles at Yeerongpilly eatery Andonis Cafe and Bar.

Holding up the kitchen during our visit is a birthday party brunch booking of around 25, which our waitress warns us before we sit down could mean a 45-minute wait for food. When that blows out, however, she’s immediately repentant, offering us complimentary drinks as compensation.

It’s a difficult situation handled well, however, a general staff shortage means the overstretched, young team fail to deliver the basics like our requests for water and share plates.

When the food finally arrives, though, it’s arguably worth the delay, with the portions big and prices small.

The “Strawberry Bliss” ($18) features two plentiful, well-made crepes bulging with lashings of vanilla ice cream and sliced fresh strawberries, decorated with a blizzard of blitzed up Tim Tams, more ice cream and strawberries, and a winding river of berry compote. It’s terrific and impossibly generous for just one person.

While the dinner plate-sized “Spartan omelette” ($17.50) would certainly sustain a Greek warrior in battle, suspending pieces of red onion, tomato, kalamata olives, bacon and shredded chicken, before a garnishing of rocket, feta, quartered cherry tomatoes and grilled haloumi wedges.

The famous eggs Benedict at Andonis

In addition to the encyclopaedic menu, which also includes the likes of salads, pastas, burgers and signature dishes like a souvlaki plate and garlic, lemon and thyme ribs, there is a cabinet full of sweets made in-house by the owners mother ranging from carrot cake to caramel slice; plus bought-in gluten-free and vegan desserts from Sweet Nectar.

Coffee is from Brisbane’s Fonzie Abbott ($4 small/$5 large) and boasts a good crema when made on dairy, while there’s also Tea Drop tea, refreshing juices, such as a very nice pineapple, watermelon and mint combo ($7), milkshakes, smoothies and soft drinks. A handful of stock-standard wines are also available, alongside Corona, Stone & Wood and Fonzie Abbott beers, and a quartet of cocktails known as “Andonis hangover cures”.

With its pleasant, sprawling deck (though a little warm in the middle of the day) and creative culinary offering, it’s easy to see why southsiders are flocking to this modern cafe. Just make sure not to come starving in case there’s a wait.

Andonis at Yeerongpilly

ANDONIS CAFE AND BAR

4/281 Station Rd, Yeerongpilly

3848 8180

Open Sat-Thu 6am-4pm, Fri 6am-9pm

VERDICT

Food 8

Service 7

Ambience 7.5

Value 9

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3379 2192