Here are 5 of my favourite cafés that are a little out of the way / something new to try!
B+C Lab
31 Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove
Lovely, proper matcha is something that I missed when I returned from my student exchange to Japan in 2017, and I hadn’t really found it in Brisbane before B+C Lab opened in Kelvin Grove.
The barista is very knowledgable and can tell you a lot about your cuppa. The desserts are a bit pricey (7 or 8 dollars a slice for the crepe cakes last time I was there) but they are so rich you might want to consider sharing (or, you know, cake coma. Perfectly acceptable).
Excellent tea and coffee, lovely staff and a nice, cool atmosphere – B+C Lab is the perfect place to beat the Brisbane summer heat.
Little Red Providore
63 Windsor Rd, Red Hill
I always walked past this cute little place, housed in an old corner store, when I used to deliver catalogues (ah, exploitative student work!) and it’s exactly as sweet as it looks.
In addition to a fairly standard menu of breakfast-and-lunch favourites done well, Little Red Providore have freshly baked pastries and locally made condiments like Byron Bay peanut butter and Ugly Duck preserves. They also used to have a lot of locally-made homewares – I bought a beautiful silver ring there a year or so ago – but I think they have phased some of that out in favour of more seating for café patrons.
Fellow allergics beware, though – they often dust their breakfasts with dukkah (contains macadamias, among other things) so make sure you’re really specific about no nuts 🙂
The Flying Nun
16 Station St, Samford
This one is a bit of a hike away, tucked among the hills in Samford, but a lovely friend of mine drove me up here one day and it is darling (and also right next door to the Room of Requirement, if you’re a Harry Potter fan like me!).
The café is split between two buildings with an open deck shrouded in rainforest. The main building was initially a church and the café has beautiful stained-glass windows (salvaged from a different church) and original timber floors.
Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, The Flying Nun has seasonal menus – the day we ate there the food was beautiful and fresh (I had enormous corn fritters with fried eggs, so good) and they had a panna cotta smoothie as their daily special! The different menus are available online, and so is the current artist on exhibit (the main building is covered in paintings for sale, and different artists display their work there).
Corner Store Cafe
113 Sylvan Rd, Toowong
This one is definitely no secret – every time I’ve been there, we’ve had to queue up (but things move quickly and the staff are great). Lovely coffee, fresh juices, and mostly standard breakfast fare (like the avo and haloumi on toast pictured above), but always fresh. If the line around the block is too intimidating and you’re just looking for a caffeine fix, you could also try their sister café Pitch and Fork, just around the corner at Memorial Park.
Felix for Goodness
50 Burnett Lane, Brisbane City
Right in the CBD, Felix for Goodness focuses on sourcing fresh ingredients with low food miles, and also on minimising waste, reusing, and ethically sourcing their products and produce. The result is simple, and simply good, food like the fluffy eggs and slabs of avocado I had there a little while ago. Their current menu also features things like arepa, donburi, and kofta as well as probiotic sodas in addition to smoothies and shakes. Not a huge menu, but full of variety, new things to try, and changing every season.
Backstreet Brisbane 
Leave a Reply