Brisbane’s Best Cafe Openings of 2019

Spotting a trend in this year’s cafe openings was more difficult than usual. Last year, we noticed a straightforward philosophy of good food and coffee, presented simply but given some sort of twist. This year, however, it was about finding a niche and going for it – from the humble egg-and-bacon roll to inventive Asian-inspired brunches. Here’s the best of them.

Industry Beans Newstead
With a temperature-controlled courtyard, a mezzanine area for coffee training and a full-grown tree planted inside the main dining room, there’s nothing else quite like Industry Beans in Newstead. This is the fourth iteration for brothers Trevor and Steve Simmons – and their first in Queensland – but it’s the first time they are doing dinner. At night, you’ll find cured kingfish, coffee-rubbed quail and a Wagyu sirloin. During the day, there’s fruit sashimi and a coffee-rubbed Wagyu burger. Coffee is roasted on-site and poured through the La Marzocco Modbar – a coffee machine that’s hidden under the bench – allowing customers to see the whole coffee-making process without a machine in the way.

Sister
The Hawthorne cafe is the third venture for husband-and-wife team Daniel and Hannah Bowles (Miss Jones, Little Loco), so it’s safe to say they’ve gotten the hang of this whole cafe business. Sister’s menu is filled with imaginative variations on the classics: pork-belly Benedict with sticky pork; gingerbread waffles with cinnamon custard; and the Bowles’ take on avo on toast, with corned cream, hazelnut crumb and pickled onion. The coffee machine and walls are rendered in varying shades of peach, which brings a playfulness to the interior. Coffee comes from Single O.

Devon
In early-2019, one of Sydney’s most renowned cafes arrived in Brisbane. Located in Westfield Garden City, Devon owners Zachary Tan, Noni Widjaja and Derek Puah wanted to tap into the food-loving multiculturalism of Mount Gravatt and Sunnybank. The 80-seat open eatery features pastels, soft furnishings and plenty of natural light. The menu includes popular dishes from Devon’s Sydney iterations (Surry Hills, North Sydney, Barangaroo), such as the Croissant Saint Denis, which matches a fresh croissant with a crab and salmon omelette, shellfish bisque and caviar. For coffee, Devon uses its own house blend. Later in the day, the menu switches to share plates, tap beers and an international wine list.

Coffee Head Co
It’s not often you hear about a cafe that’s inspired by a Peruvian temple, let alone one that’s open to midnight on Saturday and 6pm every other day. But that’s what makes South Brisbane’s Coffee Head Co one of the most interesting cafe openings of 2019. Owners Cassie Porter and Pablo Leiva have opened Coffee Head Co to address Brisbane’s post-2pm coffee wilderness, pouring Bellissimo’s Ultimo variation on Italian dark roast well into the night. To eat, there’s vegan baked goods from Flour of Life Bakery. The fit-out is straight-forward with floor-to-ceiling windows and heaps of Peruvian Chavin-style art scattered about the dark walls.

Banh Mi Now
Ashleigh Ng reckons the key to a good banh mi is the bread. So she tried and tested 14 bakeries across greater Brisbane before settling on Biota Hot Bread in Inala. Ng was born in Haiphong, in Vietnam’s north, and Bahn Mi Now reflects the region’s lighter style of cuisine — the pate contains more gelatine and uses cardamom instead of sugar, giving it a milder taste. The most popular bahn mi on the menu is the crackling pork with chilli and caramel sauce — a favourite brought over from Ng’s Albion French-Vietnamese cafe, Arlette’s Kitchen. Operating out of a hole-in-the-wall tenancy in the CBD, Banh Mi Now is perfect for office workers after a quick and affordable lunch, and strong Vietnamese coffee.

The Garner
Ethan Dou has had a busy year. First, he relocated Street Lab Specialty Coffee from Fortitude Valley to the CBD. Then he opened The Garner in an old Queenslander in West End. The latter fulfils Dou’s desire to have a kitchen in one of his cafes. Co-owner and chef Jerry Huang’s menu includes black rice pudding, seafood congee, and a chicken katsu sandwich with miso-glazed rice patties subbed for bread (if you’re sensing a theme, the word ‘garner’ – besides meaning to gather or collect – is an archaic term for a rice granary). First pour comes courtesy of Tweed Heads’ Therefore Roasters, with Dou serving a rotating roster of Australian roasters such as Reuben Hills and Single O. The best place to sit with a coffee is perhaps in the courtyard out front — it’s dotted with hanging plants and boasts a winsome Zen garden that Dou built himself.

Coffee Supreme
The superstar New Zealand roaster gained a new Brisbane flagship earlier this year, when its Day Made cafe was transformed into Coffee Supreme Gibson Street. Spearheaded by Coffee Supreme's Queensland wholesale manager, Tom Cooney, the fit-out maintained its handsome brickwork, tiles and wood features, but the turquoise accents were swapped out for flashes of Coffee Supreme’s vivid red. The menu features one-handed eats such as toast with banana and cinnamon-sugar “crack butter”, and avo-on-rye with labneh. As for coffee, Coffee Supreme leads with its espresso, batch brew and cold filter, pouring seasonal blends and rotating single origins.

Crumbs
Jordan Trottemant’s love of sandwiches led him to open Crumbs, a small sandwich bar on Oxford Street in Bulimba. He hired star chef Ben Williamson to write the sandwich menu: there’s the Roma, with stracciatella, Roma tomatoes and basil; a mortadella sandwich with provolone, green-olive mascarpone and a side of radicchio; and a straight-up deep-fried mozzarella number served with a tomato-garlic dip. In terms of fit-out, there’s very little to this place other than a cute, wood-lined shack and a couple of picnic tables with umbrellas. Behind the counter, a coffee machine pumps out Blackstar espresso and there’s a fridge full of soft drinks.

Yolk
The humble bacon-and-egg roll became a crowd favourite at Morning After in West End, even though it wasn’t on the menu. So owner Yianni Passaris decided to make it front and centre at Yolk, his new cafe which opened in Newstead in September. Beyond the hero dish, there’s a fried-chicken burger and a steak-and-egg roll that comes with fresh chimichurri, American cheese and Dijonnaise. The drinks selection includes fresh orange juice served alongside espresso and filter coffee using Five Senses beans. Keeping with its simplicity, the fit-out is minimalist with custom-built furniture, curved bars, round tables and a basic palette of grey, white and beige.

Bluntys
When Ryan Blunt (ex-Nodo) noticed there was no specialty coffee in his area, the Kangaroo Point local decided to open Blunty’s on the ground level of the newly built Marc residential complex on Main Street. The lean, unfussy 45-person space is decked out with Woodsters grey stone tiles, painted besser blocks, wire-frame furniture and touches of greenery. Food is similarly straightforward — chef Connor Shore’s menu includes avocado on sourdough with goats cheese and dukkah, and a bacon burger with a fried egg, Swiss cheese and green tomato pickle. There are also deli-style sandwiches, such as smoked brisket pastrami with dill pickle and Dijon mustard. Coffee comes from Five Senses and is served either as espresso or a daily batch brew.

Honourable Mentions:

New Farm Deli
After a devastating fire in July, the 44-year-old institution rose from the ashes. New Farm Deli 2.0 features a new cheese cabinet, upgraded kitchen and, soon, a revamped cafe menu.

Street Lab Specialty Coffee
A Valley favourite ditched Star Wars and sneakers for a move to the big end of town.

The Flo
A poky modern-industrial cafe with a floral twist.

Chouquette Edward Street
The New Farm classic gets a heritage-listed version 2.0 right in the guts of the CBD.

Only.
Co-owners Paul Crossland and Arthur Graczyk expand their popular CBD cafe with a second in Buranda and a third in South Brisbane.

Crepe Kamon
The Japanese crepe craze lands in Brisbane, co-signed by Taro Akimoto of Taro’s Ramen.

Bula Vinaka
An Indo-Fijian cafe at a bowls club? You better believe it.