Brisbane’s best cafe openings of 2023
From the arrival of a Sydney speciality coffee superstar to an elevated Italian grab-and-go and a brilliant, NYC-inspired sandwich shop, here’s what to check out.
There weren’t actually many cafe openings in Brisbane in 2023. Not in the traditional sense, anyway.
Instead, the post-pandemic trend for smaller, more precise spots continued, whether it was sandwich shops, specialty coffee nooks, patisseries or miniature breakfast spots with focused menus.
That might disappoint the brunch crowd, but it also makes it easier for operators to do one or two things really well, rather than trying to staff a full-service operation – which in turn means the pre-dinner food scene in the city, as a whole, continues to develop more texture.
Here’s what caught our eye in 2023.
Corner Deli, Woolloongabba
Slick Woolloongabba restaurant Clarence is now doing day duty during the week as Corner Deli, owners Ben McShane and Matt Kuhnemann expanding into a neighbouring tenancy and installing an all-electric open kitchen.
Corner Deli’s breakfast menu features a blood pudding roll with brown sauce and a fried egg, a maple-smoked bacon roll with a fried egg and green-bean chutney, and congee served with a spring-onion pancake. For lunch, the menu is split subs, soups, and sides and salads. There’s a chicken schnitzel sub with lettuce, chimichurri and peri peri mayo; a sub with house-made pork meatballs, mozzarella and green sauce; and a corned venison sandwich with special sauce, cheese and onion.
For drinks there’s coffee by Kelvin Grove’s Bancroft Roasters, StrangeLove sodas, and a tight selection of local wine and beer.
The venue can now take 44 diners across the conjoined tenancies, and the new archway and open kitchen with its wide stone-rendered counter act as eye-catching design features.
clarencerestaurant.com/Corner-Deli-Home
Straits, Coorparoo
Coffee and vinyl records come together at Straits, a Coorparoo cafe from ex-Blackout barista Brendan McCrystal.
This is simple stuff, an old timber neighbourhood shopfront decked out with a barista bar, a patterned banquette and a shaded side verandah. There’s also a clutch of seats on the footpath out front.
Taking pride of place is a turntable with a pair of speakers set high to better project across the space. McCrystal is using the setup to spin older vinyl from his own collection, or rare finds picked up at indie record stores around town.
For coffee, Black Lab Coffee Co’s Platinum Blend is Straits’ first pour, with a rotation of single origins via filter and batch brew. Otherwise, there’s sparkling cold brew coffee, a house-made pink lemonade, matcha and chai.
For food, there are pastries by Brasserie Bread.
Butter, Gaythorne
Dan Bowles, of Hawthorne cafe Sister, is a co-owner of Butter, which perhaps indicates the quality you’ll find at this tiny outlet on the corner of Samford and Grays roads.
Along with co-owner Chih-Wei Hsu, Bowles is punching out a short, sharp menu of decadent toasties (pastrami, chicken melt, mushroom and so on), a pork-and-fennel sausage breakfast muffin, and banana bread served with espresso butter.
For drinks, there’s coffee by Single O, Heirloom hot chocolate, Hrvst St juices and StrangeLove sodas.
The cafe itself isn’t much more than a slick barista bar in a garage-like space, with a small porch out front. But Butter transmits plenty of personality via some fetching greenery, beachy orange-and-white umbrellas, and a nifty breeze block wall.
Eat at Billy’s, Paddington
Billy Gibney’s Eat at Billy’s (a companion business to his Meat at Billy’s butchery) regularly sells out before 1pm and it’s easy to see why: this humble Rosalie Village hole-in-the-wall serves some of the best sandwiches going around – particularly a variation on a Reuben called Not A F*$&en Reuben that combines wood-smoked Wagyu brisket with red cheddar, pickles and a generous squirt of signature sauce.
The kitchen’s killer move is the soft, thick-cut white bread that accompanies each sandwich, which makes them easy to eat and helps soak up the saucier flourishes.
The shop itself is little more than a hole-in-the-wall with some high tables and chairs out front.
For drinks there’s beer and wine.
Joe’s Deli, CBD
Joe’s Deli – with its tiled floors, exposed brick, booths lined with fluted glass and brightly detailed hanging menus – captures the feel of a classic New York delicatessen. But owner Patrick Killalea’s design influences extend to iconic Kiwi brands such as Frosty Boy and Four Square, and the very idea of opening a sandwich shop had its origins in a period spent living and working in Sardinia.
Joe’s expanded up the M1 from the Gold Coast in August, opening in Charlotte Lane in the CBD. There’s suddenly no shortage of funky sandwich shops scattered around Brisbane, but Joe’s feels like a step change in quality.
Nine sandwiches are on the menu, all served on toasted sesame milk rolls. You might order a JD Classic with double-smoked leg ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, piccalilli and aioli; an Original Deli with salami, mortadella, cured ham, iceberg lettuce, provolone, pickles, red onion and mustard aioli; or the Famous Meatball Sub with pork and veal meatballs, napoli sauce, parmesan, Swiss cheese, aioli, salsa verde, pickles and red onion.
There are also five “hotdogs”, ranging from the cheese-kranksy loaded Brooklyn Dog and a beer battered snapper roll, to a lobster and crab roll with kewpie mayo, shredded iceberg, chives, black caviar and lemon.
Drinks are a pilsner, an alcoholic ginger beer, a Margarita and natural house wines.
Colin’s Specialty Coffee, Fortitude Valley
Colin’s Specialty Coffee opened in June in a light-filled Valley tenancy previously occupied by a Coco Bliss outlet.
From the creators of Paddington Social, Colin’s takes that cafe’s brunch menu, pre-made sandwiches, bagels and sweets, and levels them up with the addition of made-to-order sangas and specialty coffee from Melbourne’s Zest Coffee.
The new sandwiches include house-smoked brisket with mustard relish, sauerkraut, pickle and cheese; a Wagyu cheese burger; a breakfast bagel served with avocado, relish and herbed cream cheese; and an enormous panko-crumbed chicken burger with herbed mayo, lettuce and cheese on a house-made milk bun.
The space itself is a sanctuary away from Wickham Street outside, with timber floors, brick walls, a VJ-board lined counter, and natty tiled features.
Single O, Newstead
Single O’s second-ever cafe opened in Newstead in September, the superstar Surry Hills specialty roaster taking over the old Woodsters premises on Austin Street in Newstead.
The new cafe has retained the Woodsters frontage with its black brick-framed coffee window. The signature feature is a striking mural by Brisbane-born artist Gemma O’Brien. Inside, there’s a light-filled front room with a coffee bench, and a smaller dining room at the rear. There are also milk crates out front and in a side alley, for those keeping it casual.
On espresso is Single O’s signature Reservoir blend, alongside rotating single origins. There’s also self-serve coffee on tap – one of the few set-ups like it in town – with rotating single-origin batch brews available alongside Single O’s popular oat milk iced latte.
For food, there’s a lemon and pepper berry toastie, banana bread with espresso butter, and a mini version of Single O’s Avo Show, a cracking avo on toast that’s served with cashew cheese and pickled fennel on smoked potato bread sourced from Agnes Bakery. Agnes is also delivering pastries daily.
Mitch & Antler, Mitchelton
Brothers Tze-Huei Choo and Chewie Choo opened this open-air charmer on a sleepy suburban Mitchelton corner in February.
The menu is a cut above your typical Australian brunch. It features dishes such as a free-range open omelette with Urban Valley shimeji mushrooms, chipotle tahini and radishes; an enormous croque madame with mustard-leek cream, manchego and Egmont cheese; eggplant lasagne with shallots and anchovy; and a brioche fish burger with a signature tartare and sherry vinegar.
For drinks there’s Providore & Co coffee, signature mocktails, freshly squeezed juices, Strangelove sodas, and peanut butter and jelly smoothies.
The cafe is an inviting spot built out of bricks and VJ board, with pendant lights and a tile-fronted counter.
Beurre Pastries, Milton
A hit with inner-west locals when it opened in June, Beurre’s distinctive glass-enclosed digs regularly sell out of product well before closing time.
Owner-patissier William Leung bakes imaginative spins on classic pastries. You might order a twice-baked jaffa pain au chocolat, a black sesame and yuzu morning bun, or a salted caramel pistachio scroll. There are also monthly specials thatpreviously included a gingerbread morning bun, a classic pain Suisse, and a kimchi crescent.
The day’s pastries are displayed on an eye-catching granite bench, and there are glass counters where you can stop to wolf down your purchase, perhaps accompanied by Bear Bones coffee, a sparkling yuzu drink or a cold latte (flavours include dirty matcha, banoffee and black sesame).
instagram.com/beurrepastriesbne
Scugnizzi, CBD
A poky shop on Adelaide Street in the city near the intersection with Edward Street, Scugnizzi cooks house-made pastas and ready-made Roman-style pizza by the slice.
Pasta is available from 11am and includes pappardelle with mushroom and truffle cream, gnocchi with slow cooked duck ragu and porcini cream, casarecce with zucchini ragu and crispy zucchini, a classic carbonara, and bolognaise served with fusilli.
For pizza, there are slices such as salamina (mozzarella, salami, olives, stracciatella), prosciutto ripiena (fior di latte, prosciutto, rocket, parmesan), margherita, and pancetta and truffle. You point, the team heats, and you’re on your way.
For snacks, there’s a couple of different arancini and truffle chips. To drink, it’s espresso and a short list of soft drinks.
The space itself has been given a bright yellow paint job and lined with a handful of stools. Otherwise, this is very much about takeaway.
Hawthorne Coffee, Hawthorne
A lovely weatherboard cafe on Riding Road, Hawthorne Coffee serves a tight menu of elevated sandwiches and baked goods, helped down by Bancroft Roasters coffee, which comes as espresso, batch brew and cold brew.
On the menu is a breakfast toastie with fried free-range eggs, streaky bacon, mozzarella and barbecue or tomato sauce; a mushroom truffle toastie with thyme, garlic and truffle mushrooms, spinach and house cheese mix, parmesan and chives; and The Classic, which slams together ham off the bone with vine-ripened tomatoes, Mercy Valley cheddar, a house mozzarella and aioli.
Away from the toasted sandwiches, there’s avo on toast, açai bowls and cabinet items.
The shop itself is a bright and airy nook with tiled floors and fetching white cabinetry.
James & Antler, Fortitude Valley
Mitch & Antler owners Tze-Huei and Chewie Choo were at it again when they opened James & Antler in October.
Unlike the full-service Mitch & Antler, this green grab-and-go shack on James Street drills down (for the most part) on one menu item: generously proportioned croque madames made with fried Cordelia Sourdough Bakehouse sourdough. They come crammed with mustard leek cream, both manchego and Egmont cheese, and are finished with a fried egg.
The croques come in a variety of styles, from a croque monsieur (a madame minus the egg) to a croque bolognaise, a croque cauliflower and a croque dolci. Away from the croques, there’s a trio of baguette sandwiches. And that’s pretty much it.
For drinks, there are soft-serve frappes in a can (you shake and sip), Wild One organic juices, and Providore & Co specialty coffee.
Honourable Mentions
Sorelle Eatery – The Tognini’s team is behind this classy cafe on Hawken Drive in St Lucia.
Sunny Side Sandwiches– A second outlet for the popular Windsor sandwich shop opens in a cosy Paddington spot.
Echo & Bounce – A cafe, vinyl store and community hub in a heritage shop in Woolloongabba.
Goodgood – The Black Lab coffee and vegetarian eats in an airy West End warehouse spot.
Rise Bakery – A Flash patisserie at Portside Wharf serving everything from almond croissants and pain au chocolat to ham-and-cheese croissants and flaky beef bourguignon pies.
Ham on Rye – Another slick Paddington sandwich shop from the creators of Remy and Hai Hai Ramen.
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Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.