We'd tried to pop in a couple of times over the last few months, but the small dining room had been full, so we moved our ravenous stomachs on elsewhere. This time we managed to walk in when the room was almost empty, so we snagged a table without a wait. The dining room at Grub Street only seats 18 people, so if you wander in at a busy time, you might need to sit outside for 10 minutes or so until a table clears.
Grub Street has a pretty compact, but very interesting breakfast menu. Options include grilled grapefruit with house granola & yoghurt ($9.50), ‘Green eggs & ham’ - pesto scrambled eggs with ham off the bone & roasted tomato ($15), haloumi & zucchini fritters with poached eggs, spinach & dukkah ($14) and salmon gravalax & asparagus omelette with dill mayo on rye ($17).
Such a good menu makes breakfast decisions pretty tough. Although I was initially leaning towards the green eggs & ham (mainly because of the imaginative name), I eventually settled on the chorizo & potato baked eggs with chimichurri ($16), one of the gluten free options on the menu. It was served in a small round dish, which was full of big chunks of chorizo & potato. The eggs had been cracked on top, and were baked so they were just cooked & still fairly runny (exactly how I love them). The contents were drizzled with a good amount of chimichurri. Once I had busted open the egg yolks, the eggs and chimichurri mixed though the chorizo and potato, which resulted in a very tasty breakfast. The eggs, potato & chorizo were served with two slices of gluten free toast, much to my (happy) amazement. Grub Street must be one of the very few places in Brisbane where gluten free toast is a fixture on the menu, rather than an option at extra cost.
My wife ordered the toasted Turkish bread with avocado & tomato salsa, to which she added a serve of mushrooms ($11.50). Although it wasn't mentioned on the menu, this was also served with pesto that was spread over the Turkish toast. My wife loved it, with the pesto getting special praise. It looked delicious.
We also ordered one of the specials for the day - a corn cake with poached eggs & avocado. The presentation of this dish was impressive - rows of asparagus on the bottom of the plate, on which sat the corn cake, followed by mushrooms and the poached eggs on top. Not only did it look excellent, but my friend really enjoyed this breakfast.
We drank flat whites with our breakfast ($3.50), which my wife and I found a bit weak.
Each of us enjoyed our breakfasts at Grub Street. I found the breakfast menu very impressive. There are so many places in Brisbane that serve up almost exactly the same breakfast menu - luckily at Grub Street some serious thought has gone into putting together a menu that stands out from the crowd.
As I mentioned earlier, it's a small room, so service was both friendly and snappy.
Grub Street is also open for lunch. I'll have to come back to try their lunch options, which include burgers, salads and Turkish bread or ciabatta sandwiches. And to complete the all round food package, Grub Street offers catering for functions and cooking classes.
What does all this mean? Tasty food, and a thoughtful & interesting breakfast menu at reasonable prices. Every Brisbane suburb should have a local cafe as good as Grub Street.
food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good
Ambience - Casual, small, relaxed suburban cafe
Value for Money - Good
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Good
Grub Street
440 Samford Road
Gaythorne 4051
T - 07 3855 9580
E - eat@grubst.com
W - http://www.grubst.com/
10 comments:
Grub Street is currently closed for its Christmas break and is re-opening on 21 January 2010.
Awww green eggs and ham!!! If I don't ever make it to Grub Street I'm going to adapt that idea and make sure Gam Jr and I have it for breakfast once he's old enough to eat... I love that book!
Great review, as usual :)
One thing I would like to add about Grub Street is on the two occasions I have been there for breakfast, the service has been woefully slow. Presenting menus, getting drinks and ordering is fine, but once you place your order, you better hope you brought a good book, or enjoy watching the traffic go by. The first time we went it was quite busy, but the second time we were the first to arrive. Both times we waited over 45 minutes for our breakfasts. The food is nice, but not nice enough to warrant that much of a wait.
Thanks Sarah - great name for a dish isn't it? You'll have to make the journey over to this side of town to try it out - its a great spot for breakfast.
z - The service was great on our trip, but the room wasn't full. We'll definitely be going back, so I'll let you know if it's any less speedy on our next visit.
Looks soooo good and only up the road (sorta). Must give this one a whirl!
Love their version of bolognese on toast. It's so different to mine, that I try to work out what is in it.
The chef stix is a food obsessive and hand makes all sauces. By far my fave breakfast spot and always changing. Lucky to have it just down the road. Must say I have never noticed slow service - but usually once I have my coffee I am happy to sit back and relax and tale it all in. Plus food that good made from scratch can't be rushed
It's great to see Grub Street get a mention in the most recent Gourmet Traveller restaurant guide - the word is well and truly spreading. We tried to go back recently with our one year old daughter, but unfortunately they don't have a high chair so had to eat elsewhere. Hopefully that will be sorted out soon, as I'm told Stix has just had a bub.
Just to update this post - Grub St now has highchairs, which is great for the littlest diners (and the food is still excellent!).
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