Review: Hoo Ha Bar

Hoo Ha Bar has taken a while to get from conception to opening but open they did last week, and with it being 10 minutes from my work I was very keen to check out this new arrival in the somewhat staid South Bank area.

My friend Gabi and I met there for breakfast on Friday morning. Nestled almost underneath South Bank station it’s mightily convenient for both bus and train, and you can park your bike outside no problem. Inside is open with the wooden sparse slightly-hipster decoration that is becoming the norm of Brisbane cafes. No complaints, I like it, and I think Brisbane cafes are starting to look different to any other cities’.   

The menu is interesting and a little off-beat, all about flavours rather than traditional breakfast fare. The prices are exciting, though. Fruit toast is $3, and the rest of the menu is between $7 - $11. Cheap for Brisbane, where no one seems to bat an eye at paying $12 for avocado on toast.  Reading the menu, you know everything on it is going to be tasty.

Gabi had the Cannellini bean smash, rosemary, chilli, orange, lemon and Grana Padano served with garlic croute, though in her instance she requested gluten-free bread, which was no problem ($7).

I had grilled eggplant, peperonata, Haloumi, rocket and hummus on focaccia (replaced with Turkish bread) ($9).

The food come out quickly and was very tasty. It was also of just the right size for breakfast, filling but not so much that it is an effort to get up off your chair. The coffee came out within minutes and was strong and rich.

I really enjoyed our breakfast date and would heartily recommend Hoo Ha Bar to anyone. At the moment, Hoo Ha is more café than bar but apparently the liquor licence has been applied for so there will soon be options for lunchtime beer and cider and maybe after-work tipples as well. 

Hoo Ha Bar
41 Tribune Street, South Brisbane
Open: Tuesday to Saturday 7:00 am to 3:00 pm

The now misnomer’d September project: Two Trees, West End

The long weekend just past was a big weekend for me. Sunday was a friend’s wedding for which I was a bridesmaid and the other two days drifted passed in a haze of tiredness and packing for an upcoming move. The weekend felt longer than the four days and I knew getting back into work-mode was going to be tough.

So I took myself out for coffee.

Two Trees is a tiny yet adorable café tucked in beside The Happy Cabin clothing store. The décor is the complete fake-garden setting with plastic grass, tables and chairs likely sourced from antique centres and friend’s back gardens, blackboards and hanging plants.

There was only one other person in attendance when I grabbed my coffee this morning, but it was early on the first day after a long weekend. I suspect everyone in the city but me was moving at a slow luxurious pace.

 

The barista was very nice and just the right amount of cheerful. She obviously has regulars who wander in for their daily cup and chat. My soy latte was the perfect strength, rich and tasty with just enough of a kick to get me started. Sitting at my garden table reading the weekend paper – old comic books were also on offer – in the cool morning air, just shielded from Vulture Street traffic, it was a wonderful way to start the morning and I would head back there anytime.

Small soy latte that wasn’t small: $3.50. I have no idea if 50c was added for soy milk.

Setting: charming.

Reading material: news or superheroes

Breakfast menu: untested but looked pretty good, and the serve-yourself toast topping bar is a great idea.

Parking: easy early in the morning, more challenging later in the day. 

September project day 8ish: The Burrow

Stepping into The Burrow, the first thing I noticed was how good the place smelt. Of pizza and breakfast and fresh fruit and every good thing. I wasn’t even particularly hungry at the time but I immediately wanted to sit down and scoff something. 

I hadn’t tried The Burrow before now because they don’t open until 8:30am Monday – Thursday, which is was past my coffee-on-the-way-to-work time and because parking on Mollison street is damn hard to get. Turns out, they have parking behind the café! No excuse not to go for lunchtime pizza. Which I will do. Soon. Because the pizza menu for $10 a pizza looked scrumptious!

I got two take away coffees. The barista suggested that if I hadn’t tasted their coffee as yet I should have the house blend rather than the single-source Guatemalan that they had in stock. The latte was good, not very hot, and strong. Packed a real punch.   

Aside from that, the baristas were both nice, it was a relaxing place to be and it looked like it had comfortable regular clientele who like the place enough to go often and stay long. Always a good sign.

Regular soy latte: $3.80, that’s with 30c extra for soy

Smell: delectable

Parking: yes!

Inside décor: indie-café but nifty and nice and with lots of seats

Caffeine hit: much needed

September project day 7: Posto

Posto espresso is tucked away on the part of Boundary Street only locals tend to visit. Sandwiched between a Pizza Capers and a florist, it’s in a little run of shops just past the Boundary Street / Vulture Street intersection.

Inside it’s a perfectly nice if tiny cafe - art, comfy seats, there were quite a few tables occupied so it's clearly a favourite amongst locals. I got to read Animalia by Graeme Base while I was waiting which was a huge bonus as far as I was concerned. I’d forgotten how good that book was!

My take away soy latte was really hot (good thing) but a little too bitter (bad thing). It needed a sugar to make it more drinkable (meh thing – that’s normal unless the coffee is amazing) and tasted strong (good thing, I slept really badly last night). 

There is a small menu that looked pretty standard café fare but having seen so many similar menus in the last 2 weeks, I felt it was a dollar or two more expensive than it needed to be. But it could be scrumptious and well worth the cost.

Reading material: excellent

Attitude of the baristas: great

Regular soy latte: $4.00 - $3.50 for coffee, extra 50c for soy

Coffee: pretty good, really.

Lego men by the door: kind of wanted to nick them

Food: Spanakopita

On Father's Day, my dad decided we'd all have lunch at his place. Now, he likes to cook, but in addition to salad and lamb and beef kebabs, we went and picked up a slab of pumpkin and leek kopita from Spanakopita at Newstead, just near James Street.

Source.

And seriously, it was absolutely delicious.

The slab cost about $30 and would feed 3-4 people. According to Dad, who's apparently been eating breakfast there, you can also get a slice for $8. We also had a sour cherry yoghurt cake, which came with sour cherry sauce, and was incredibly tasty, very tart and sweet.

Spanakopita itself is a spot I wouldn't mind spending some time. It has a minimalist interior with high ceilings, almost like a converted warehouse space, which seems quite unique for a Greek cafe. I didn't get to try the coffee or other cakes, but the baklava and bougatsa in the cabinet looked excellent. (According to this review, they are excellent, so that's good to know.)

Source.

September project day 3: I accidentally have too much coffee

Within walking distance of my work is a charming and charmingly simple cafe named Alberto's Shot. It's where most of us go for our lattes and cappuccinos. It's the cafe I go to most frequently being the easiest to get to, having friendly baristas with attitude and above all, pretty good coffee.

This morning I was feeling a bit down so I decided to stop at Alberto's for an espresso to perk me up . However, as there were no other customers at the moment I ordered, the barista gave me two. The other half of the espresso pull.

So I had my two coffee a day limit by 7:54am.

I tried to persuade myself to go out and get another one at 9:30, 10:30, 1:30 but really - I'd had my coffee fill for the day.

So no big experiment today. I will know better for next time.

I'll probably mention Albertos again, as they are my go to morning coffee spot, but for now - just know it's a nice place to go, the lunchtime pasta special is usually delicious and it's the perfect short walk from the West End Ferry.

No photo because that would have been extra weird.