REVIEW: Morning After

So cool.

Morning After is the relative new comer to the West End dining scene and a darling amongst bloggers. It's easy to see why with it's chic interiors, precast concrete furnishings and hanging plants, it's crying out to be snapped and uploaded with a Valencia filter. However, even though Morning After has all the trappings of an ultra cool café, it's still welcoming with a down to earth vibe and friendly staff. The first thing I thought when I entered was what a great place to bring friends to show off your knowledge of the hippest Brisbane cafes. 

So Instagramable.

We choose a table along the wall, with a bench seat covered in AstroTurf coloured upholstery. The open and breezy interior was the perfect location for our midweek brunch and heightened my anticipation for our meals. 

So vanilla.

We started with some drinks or as Morning After calls them, Elixirs. The chai was served in a very pretty vintage style cup with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon on top. The chai was a little underwhelming with the traditional spices tasting under-brewed and muted. Although there wasn't a traditional milkshake on the menu, there was a blend called simply Vanilla, made up of vanilla bean, spiced syrup, ice cream and milk ($8).  Don't order this drink expecting a milkshake, but it was a nice vanilla milk drink.

So pretty.

Having seen Morning After pop up in my Instagram frequently, I knew the croquettes and the pakora were the signature dishes. Firstly, the Sweet Potato and Poppy Seed Croquettes with Mixed Mushrooms, Manchego and a 63 degree egg ($18). The crust of the croquettes was delicious and gave way to the soft, flavoursome spiced sweet potato mash. In the centre of the plate was a small pile of chorizo and mushrooms with the 63 degree egg balanced on top, with it's yolk ready to spill forth.

So hashbrown no filter.

Our second choice was the Sweet Corn Pakora, Fried Egg, Haloumi, Avocado, Smoked Corn and Watercress ($16) with an . The pakora themselves had a great flavour punctuated by the pieces of sweet corn. However the batter of the pakora were a bit dense and thick. Everything else on the plate was delightful, especially the cobs of corn. Obviously avocado goes with everything and hashbrowns are always a good idea.

So chic.

Morning After is not perfect, the drinks were lacking and the pakora were little floury however the staff were attentive and all other food on the plates worked wonderfully. And with interiors and presentation worthy of your Insta followers, it's also worthy of your custom.

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

REVIEW: Plenty

It's amazing what people can do with pallets these days.

A hangover made the prospect of facing the day without an indulgent breakfast impossible and yet the task of cooking one seemed equally insurmountable. What choice do a group of dusty ladies have but to go out for breakfast?

 

There's a warehouse feel to Plenty, that seems to be very popular in restaurant/café décor.

 Plenty has been creating buzz amongst Brisbane breakfast connoisseurs since they opened their doors late last year. They tout organic and farm fresh food in their pared back, warehouse surroundings from Montague Street in West End.

Plenty also sell a range items such as condiments, teas, ice creams and lovely, fragrant soaps!

With the West End markets doing their best to operate on the rainy weather just across the road, parking was a little hard to find. I imagine it would have been more difficult had the weather been sunny!

There was a small collection of people waiting to get a table and we got some drinks to warm us as we waited under the slightly inadequate umbrellas. There was some confusion as to if we had to collect the drinks at the counter or if they would come find us, however the drinks found us in due course.

I can't remember what this tea was, I think ginger and mint. It was nice anyway!

Before we had finished them, we were called to our table and it felt like Beyoncé herself had summoned us, I was so excited. Unfortunately, she hadn't but we did get a table inside so swings and roundabouts, really.

Plenty has counter service so we went up in pairs to order. There were pikelets on the menu which sounded very alluring but ultimately I went with the Braised Steak and Onion Melt with a Fried Egg on top ($14.50). Two of our party chose to order the Poached Eggs on Potato Hash with Carrot Jam, Persian Feta and Bacon ($16.50) and lastly, an order of Avocado on Toast with Fassifern Valley Tomatoes, Basil and Buffalo Mozzarella ($13.50) with a Poached Egg ($3.50) on the side.

One half of the chocolate milkshake.

Milkshakes were the order of the day, in terms of drinks anyway with two salted caramel milkshakes and one chocolate milkshake which was kindly split into two. I had a sip of the chocolate, and although it was nice, I would have been dirty had I not got the salted caramel milkshake. Because it was very good. The texture was pretty good, could have been thicker but I think I always say that, but the flavour knocked it out of the building. There were flakes of sea salt at the bottom of the canister! And can I just say that serving a milkshake in a steel canister is the best way to serve a milkshake? It just feels right! Well done, Plenty.

The salted caramel milkshake. It would bring a few boys to the yard.

Meals arrived and I had more than a little bit of order envy over the Poached Eggs on Potato Hash as it looked gorgeous! It was mentioned to us that the chef has been preparing this particular dish for years, exactly how many escapes me know but the love put in showed. The plate was beautifully presented and the ethos of Plenty was evident - fresh, flavourful and lots of vegetables! By all accounts, it was a winner.

Look at that presentation! And I mean the artful placing of the fork.

The Avocado on Toast was also visually appealing with a mix of red and green tomatoes with freshly torn herbs. My waifish dining partner was more than happy with the serving size but had I ordered it in my rough, ravenous state, I would have been left wanting. No complaints from the recipient though and it looked wonderfully appealing.

I really think I hit the ordering nail on the head with my brunch choice. There was buttery bread, there was cheese, there was meltingly tender steak and sharp onion. And literally on top of all that, there was a fried egg! If that's not a hangover cure, then I don't know what is. Some may be put off by the indulgent nature of the melt, but they would be missing out. Highly recommended to remedy a sore head.

 The hangover cure! *Angels singing*

There was a great atmosphere at Plenty, which in part could be contributed to the fantastic company I enjoyed but also from the buzzing ambience. Service was a little stilted at times, such as our table getting a little crowded from dirty dishes but given the high quality of food and earnest effort from the staff, this is easily forgiven and overall, I would highly recommend Plenty. I look forward to returning and trying the pikelets! 

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