Egg Bistro – 8.3
Stanley Street East, East Brisbane
G double flat
Breakfast: 7.00am –11.30am
Coffee: Genovese
Walking into the deceptively elegant dining room of the Eastern suburbs favourite, TCB are told by the dutiful waitress that on this busy Friday morning, the courtyard is booked out, but there is plenty of room inside. First off, we didn’t know there was a courtyard. Second, we had no intention of sitting in said courtyard. Third, now that we know that we are not allowed to sit in the courtyard, there is nothing else on the planet to satisfy our bloodthirsty desire to sit in that God damn courtyard.
Childlike tantrums and petulant jealousy aside, TCB are seated in the tastefully chic dining room to peruse the very interesting Egg Bistro menu, which funnily enough, contains several items which do not involve eggs, and TCB’s guest opts for the balsamic mushrooms, soft polenta, spinach and grilled haloumi. But in TCB unwavering quest for intrigue, the other option has to be the house lamb sausage with planko poached eggs, whatever a planko may be.
Balsamic mushrooms, soft polenta and haloumi
The coffees arrive, and are what TCB have come to expect from Genovese, a very solid if not wholly unique blend, done justice by the barista.
There is more of a wait for the food to arrive, but when it does, the aesthetics of the dish are definitely a precursor to the flavour sensations to come. The broad, flat mushrooms are sautéed with a deep, rich flavour from the balsamic, with the creamy soft polenta sloshing around underneath, and the always delicious sheets of haloumi topping off a marvellous dish.
Lamb Sausage and Planko
As for the lamb sausage, the long, thin (hehe), hearty flavoured, intestine sheathed salted ground meat is coiled to make a base for the planko, which turns out to be TCB’s new favourite manner of egg: a perfectly gluey poached egg, coated in a light, flaky bread crumb batter. There is a crunch on the outside as the knife slides in, then the soft viscous yolk dribbles lazily out, providing accomplishments of both the taste and texture variety.
This excellent menu, clinically executed to provide delicious food, would be at home in the inner city of any major capital. This with the fact that it is hidden in plain sight on a busy main road, mean that Egg Bistro is a destination in itself, not just surviving on foot traffic and pumping out convenience, which also results in them sitting at the higher end of the breakfast price point. The service is friendly, but a touch slow, and TCB are still waiting for a fresh pineapple juice, that while not ending up on the final bill, was never delivered.
All in all, if you find yourself rolling tough through the mean streets of the East Brisbane suburbs, it is hard to go past Egg Bistro to devour your daily does of its namesake.
Coffee: 8.0 Menu: 9.0 Food: 9.0 Service: 7.5 Ambience: 8.0
Reviewed by AMac
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