REVIEW: The Rabbit Hole

The lovely little Rabbit Hole café.

I'm a little bit behind in posting my blogs since this review comes from a few weeks ago when we went out for breakfast on the Royal Brisbane Show holiday. I had a Entertainment Book voucher for The Rabbit Hole café at Seven Hills and had heard good things so decided me and Mr. Cakes would walk over and see for ourselves.

It was a bit of a walk but I thought it would be a good idea to make some room for what we were about to eat. The Rabbit Hole sits on The Corso at Seven Hills, nestled amongst a cluster of restaurants and cafés. We were lucky enough to have lovely weather and there was also a cat that let me pet him at the restaurant next door so things were definitely off to a good start. Admittedly, the cat was pretty indifferent to attention but he still let me pet him.

A selection of the treats available at the front counter.

 

It was pretty busy at the café but we got a table straight away in the sun up on the patio area. I fretted about being too warm and eyed off a table in the shade but Mr. Cakes fretted about getting cold and reckoned I was just a little warm because of the walk. We stayed put.

The service at The Rabbit Hole is counter service so I made my way inside to order and was very impressed with the efficiency of the girls behind the counter. Coffees were being made and going out to tables quickly, which I thought boded well. The lady who took my order was very friendly and also displayed the same efficiency.

Efficient service like a well oiled...cake tin. A buttered and floured cake tin.

Mr. Cakes ordered the Big Breaky with fried eggs, bacon, chipolata sausages, hash browns, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and home made chutney ($25)  with a side of haloumi ($6) and a Pina Colada frappe ($9.50) which was coconut water, pineapple, banana, lime and coconut flakes. I agonized over my choice, whether to get the Haloumi Bruschetta or the Potato Hash cakes which both sounded amazing but ended up going with the Classic Pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream ($19). The pancakes can come with bacon or strawberries and I went with strawberries as well as a side of hash browns ($5). And for a drink, I got a caramel milkshake ($7.50). All prices had a 15% public holiday surcharge on them. You could probably figure out what the normal prices are but I'm bad at maths so I'll leave that up to you.

My non-caramel caramel milkshake

My milkshake came out quickly. The texture was good, and it tasted really ice-creamy which is also good but I think that there was a mistake because it didn't really taste like caramel. It tasted like there was no syrup in it at all, just milk and ice cream. I still drank it all.

For some reason I didn't get a photo of Mr. Cakes' frappe so here's another photo of the milkshake.

After a short delay, Mr. Cakes frappe came out and the waitress was very apologetic for the short delay which I think is really nice. We weren't bothered and the delay wouldn't have even been worth mentioning except for the fact that it was nice to see that they were aware of timings. The two girls serving the patio area were really nice and one of them had the most infectious laugh! Service at The Rabbit Hole was certainly a standout.

The amazing pancakes! The hash browns look a little out of place but I sorted that out. I ate them.

Our breakfasts came out really quickly too and oh my god. These pancakes! They were some of the best I've had outside of Mr. Cakes' pancakes. They tasted so sweet and I could really taste the vanilla in them. And they came with cream AND ice cream. And it was real, quality maple syrup. I destroyed them. And I'm still thinking about them. They were fluffy and sweet and awesome. I love them. If you go, you have to get them. Or get someone at the table to get them so you can steal some. The hash browns I got on the side were really crispy too and didn't taste like oil which they sometimes can. They were crunchy and delightful.

Look at that fluffiness. That's good texture.

I was so impressed with my pancakes that I am tempted to lie about what Mr. Cakes said about his Big Breaky. He said it was "okay" and "ordinary". However, I offer to you the following mitigating circumstances about his critique: 1. look for yourself at the photo of the Big Breaky, it looks awesome! It was huge and the portion sizes were really generous so there can't be any complaints there and 2. he said the following when we were walking home - "I'm not going to go out for breakfast anymore, it's all the same.". Does that sound like someone whose judgement of breakfast you want to trust? No. I think it looked amazing and the bits I stole tasted really good so from now on, I'll ignore him and ensure I eat some of his to give you an honest opinion. He's really bad at sharing so that should be amusing as well.

The controversial Big Breaky. Looks pretty amazing to me! And look! It's an action shot! Salt.

So I really liked The Rabbit Hole. The service was quick but they didn't rush us, everyone who worked there was smiling and friendly, the pancakes were AMAZING, portions were generous and I left very content. All the meals that came out of the kitchen looked good and our dining neighbours got the Potato Hash cakes and next time I go, I will definitely be ordering that! They looked really good! And since I forgot to use my aforementioned voucher, I have another reason to return!

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Atmosphere: 3/5

REVIEW: Our Haus

Here's the sign for Our Haus...not the greatest photo but anyway. Now you've seen the sign,

Last weekend, we woke up and got out of bed before 9 which is a bit of an accomplishment. We were due at breakfast with Mr. Cakes' lovely family. We walked the short distance to Bungalow 4171 to meet our fellow diners with 6 of us planning to eat. Unfortunately, when everyone arrived, we were told it would at least be 20 minutes until they would be able to seat us and that there were few tables large enough to accommodate us. It was a bit of a shame as I hadn't been to Bungalow 4171 for a while and was keen to try their new menu.

So instead we went to Our Haus on Riding road. We've been to Our Haus so many times as it's so close to us and we're always satisfied, especially with their serving sizes. They have recently changed owners in the last few months, so I was curious to see if things have changed. We were seated straight away and had menus as well as water for the table promptly. The services is always very attentive.


Our table in the lovely winter sun.

We were seated in a pleasant seat in the dappled winter sun and drinks were ordered! For drinks, we ordered one pineapple juice ($4.50), two Haus Frappes Fusions both for $6.50, two cappuccinos ($4 each) and for me...can you guess? Yep! A large caramel milkshake ($5.90).


The pineapple juice being all ananas-y.

The pineapple juice is from a bottle, not freshly juiced so it's nothing extra special but pineapple juice is pretty special anyway, right? One of the frappes was Mango Lime and the other was a rather exciting sounding Copacabana, which is pineapple, lime and mint. By reports, they were very good! The Copacabana looked particularly good.

The Copacabana on the left and mango lime on the right. Look at that pineapple juice in the background, pulling focus. YOU'VE HAD YOUR TURN, PINEAPPLE JUICE!

The coffees were good and nicely presented. They did look a tad small to me but I don't even drink coffee so I'm not sure how much of a right I have to judge.

A pretty little coffee. Is that called crema on the top? It's good looking froth anyway.

Now, down to the serious business. My milkshake. You should know I take dairy VERY seriously. Ice cream, and ice cream derivatives of which milkshakes are one, is my jam! They're my bae! They're my BFFs! And I ain't even joking.

It is a nice looking milkshake, I have to give it that. Ohh I see you pineapple juice! Go home, you're drunk!

So this milkshake...I gotta say. Meh. It's flavour was alright, I can't complain but it didn't knock my socks off. It was okay. The texture though? Mmm. Not that great. I couldn't even say it was like thick milk. It was like milk. And I would have liked a bigger one,(that's what he said!) but I think I might say that about every milkshake. So I don't know, overall, milkshake was meh.



That is a big Big Breakfast hey!

The milkshake did not ruin my experience though! Because here came breakfast! First up was the big breakfast at $21.90 It came with the standard big breakfast items - bacon, eggs, toast, mushrooms, wilted spinach, hash browns, grilled tomatoes and sausages. The usual suspects. But then there was a steak! A nice bit of steak! I don't think I've seen that outside a country pub and I think it was very much appreciated! It was just that little bit extra. Good work, Our Haus.

This is the Eggs Benedict with the extra haloumi and the second one is there in the left corner too!

Next up were two Eggs Benedict with bacon ($18.90) and one with an extra side of haloumi ($6). The eggs benedict at Our Haus also comes with avocado as standard too, which is another nice touch. The hollandaise sauce was tasty and the eggs were poached very well. The side of bacon was very generous and I have to say I got a little bit of bacon-envy. Happens. The haloumi was cooked well and not greasy as it can be. Both of the eggs benedict were well received.



The healthy breakfast option - The Gym Junkie!

Two servings of the Gym Junkies ($18) were ordered, with the Gym Junkie being an egg white omelette with mushroom and sweet potato served with rocket and spinach on top with a extra side of toast ($4). I didn't see any rocket on the plate though, even though its stated on the menu. I don't think that was particularly devastating. It was cooked well and the sweet potato went well with the omelette. It's nice to see such a healthy option on a menu that is also a hot dish.



Looks good hey! I like the little pumpkin crisp.

Finally, I had Eggs Riding ($16) with a side of hash browns ($4). One of my hash browns was pilfered by Mr. Cakes but since I'm so good at sharing, I didn't mind. I really liked the dish, with pumpkin and wilted spinach and I swapped out poached eggs for scrambled. It all worked well together and presented nicely. The tomato compete and little pumpkin crisp on top was a nice touch too!

I like Our Haus because it can always be relied upon for a decent breakfast. The restaurant achieves what it sets out to: it's a nice, simple suburban café. It's not a place for fancy, haute cuisine but it doesn't want to be. It's my neighbourhood café where we can rock up and get a table pretty much straight away.

Food: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5
Price: 4/5
Atmosphere: 3/5

REVIEW: Chester Street Bakery

This place is on Chester Street, would you have guessed?

After the markets on Saturday, even though I'd had a chocolate croissant and half a brownie, mum and I decided to go get some breakfast. I've been wanting to try Au Cirque for just about as long as I can remember but once again, they were just too dang busy for our timeframes. Instead I found myself driving through New Farm into Newstead, searching for inspiration (and a car park), we ended up on Chester Street.


It's a pretty smart use of decorations in what used to be an office.

I've been to Chester Street Bakery and was confident we'd get a good feed. Maybe it was due to the overcast weather, with a fair portion  of Chester Street's seating being outside, but we had a choice of tables. We chose a table right in the centre of the patio and perused the menu.


Drool.

Chester Street has counter service which gives a great opportunity to scout out all the baked goods, which are...amazing.


This is where the magic happens.

The  service was really quick and even though there was a mix-up with the table number - both our drinks taken on a tour of the restaurant before they found us - we were happy with their efficiency.


These charming cans were used as cutlery holders, which mum tells me would have been simply unacceptable some years ago.

The love of my life (besides Mr. Cakes and Puppy Cakes) is ice-cream. I also have a thing for ice-creams brother, milkshakes...actually, ice-creams brother is gelato. Milkshakes are the son and ice cream is the dad and milk is the mum. Anyway, now that I've explained the genealogy of ice-cream, I can tell you I ordered the caramel milkshake ($6.50) and mum got a large cappuccino. 


I don't drink coffee but that looks pretty good! Good size too.

I don't want to toot my own horn (TOOT!) but I think I know a thing or a gajillion about milkshakes, as I think I just displayed by my breakdown of the ice-cream family tree. So I can tell you with confidence, that this was not the best milkshake I've ever had but it was pretty good. My biggest problem with it was the thickness. I like my milkshakes to be thicker than milk. What's the point of shaking it if it's not gonna be thick? Leave it alone. You're just being mean. And I could have done with a bit more too, but then, I'm a milkshake guts ache. I will tell you that this milkshake had a superb caramel flavour. There were little black dots in it and dare I say they were real flecks of vanilla? Cos if they were, bravo. The flavour really pulled this milkshake up by the britches.


I'm going to give you a makeover...

...Ahhh beautiful!



To eat, I got the Field Mushrooms ($16.90). Again, the service was quick and meals came out in not much time at all. My field mushrooms were really tasty and provolone cheese was melted, gooey and just so damn good. The big pile of rocket really went well with the mushrooms and cut through the cheese. The whole thing was good ingredients, prepared simply. Which is a win in my mind. The star of the show was the bread, which to be honest, another piece of it would have been welcome. The bread was real sourdough with the distinct sour flavour and fantastic, chewy and crisp crust.

Will you look at that cheese please? Hey, I'm a poet!

For her brekkie, mum got the Eggs, poached ($13.90) with a side of Grilled Tomatoes ($4) and she found the same thing with her meal. Quality ingredients which are allowed to have their moment on the plate. The tomatoes were well done and not chalky at all, which can often be the case. The eggs were expertly poached and garnished with torn herbs. And the bread! I was a little jealous of her two slices! Pro tip: If you like bread, order another slice for only $2.50! If you don't like bread, we can't be friends.


Dang, those tomatoes look good. And they know it.

So overall, I was happy with ending up at Chester Street! It's a solid little place with speedy service and simple food, done well. And by the way, you can get the cake to go! Yessssss....

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 3/5