REVIEW: Spring Hill Deli and Produce

This is like two photos for the price of one, cos you've got the café front but then the reflection of the cars too. What a bonus!

You know when you go out to eat and you are so looking forward to it? You build up a picture of what it's going to be like and you start dreaming your order, cos if you're anything like me, you've been pouring over the menu for hours previously. But so often, reality doesn't live up to dreams. Well - twist! - Spring Hill Deli was NOT one of those places!

Splendid health, indeed.


This café has of course been on my list for ages, one of the many foodie haunts of Brisbane that I never seem to get around to. My lovely friends now know I will always have a list of places I've been pining to go to, so we agreed to meet the one sunny Sunday. I arrived first and having anticipated a busy and packed café, I was pleased to be seated straight away. The interior of the café was sunny and airy with a genuinely pleasant mismatched, rustic farmhouse feel created in part from the large rooster mural painted on the wall.

Nothing beats chocolate.

As I waited, I ordered a hot chocolate ($4.5) and I'm so glad I did. The hot chocolates are made from 70% organic chocolate, pure spice extracts and Maleny Cow's Milk. All of those things together are like a big, warm hug in a mug. I was soon joined by my breakfast buddies and much hot chocolate envy was had.

The Everything Juice.

The menu at Spring Hill is the perfect mix of classic and contemporary with so many tempting options, it was hard to narrow it down to a single choice. We somehow managed though. First to arrive from our order were the drinks. The fresh juices are customisable and for $7, we got what we dubbed an Everything Juice which consisted of orange, ginger, carrot and apple. It was fresh, delicious and tasted so tangy.

Caramel fudge milkshake.

Somewhat predictably, I ordered a Salted Caramel Fudge milkshake ($7). It was pretty good, with a good texture, wouldn't have hurt to be a touch thicker. The flavour was obviously from real, homemade caramel but not all that fudgey. Since milkshakes get ranked around here, this one sits at number three, bumping Chester Street down to fourth. Check out The Milk Bar for all the rankings.

The Maple Bacon with a side of avocado. Mmmm crispy bacon.

The food came out in good time and we got stuck in. Two orders of the Maple Bacon, Spinach, Haloumi, Cherry Tomatoes and Caramelised Balsamic on Toasted Sour Dough ($19) were served. We got one without the cherry tomatoes but with a poached egg ($2) and the other with a serve of avocado ($4).

And the Maple Bacon without cherry tomatoes, with a poached egg.

Both were delicious. The bacon was crispy and the haloumi was nice and salty. Plus, it came with three decent bits of haloumi. I thought it would have been nicer if the cherry tomatoes had been cooked, rather than raw. The side of avocado was generous, which is a good thing cos I get really ticked off when you get ripped off on the extras.

Yummy shashuka. I love the choice in breakfasts these days.

My middle eastern breakfast obsession continued with the Israeli Shashuka - Spicy Tomato Sauce with Poached Eggs, topped with Feta & Parsley, served with Toasted Sourdough ($17). Um, one word...yum! The portion was absolutely massive and that goes a long way with me. But big portions mean nothing if it doesn't taste good. Fortunately, this shashuka tasted amazing. I tried to show restraint for all of two minutes before I smashed the lot.

Lovely farmhouse feel.

The service at Spring Hill was attentive, quick and friendly. Just what you want on a Sunday morning. I felt really welcome and comfortable there. Good food, good drinks and good service - I can see why Spring Hill Deli is a favourite on the Brisbane scene. I will be back!



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