Republic Coffee Traders is a bit out of the way from most of the popular eating areas, and although the sign outside says “Established in 2009”, I certainly hadn’t heard of it until quite recently.
It is located in a refurbished warehouse, and once inside you can see the corrugated metal sheet roof, exposed wooden beams, and tangles of wiring. Industrial would be an apt description of the decor. Metal chairs in black, grey, and silver go with the dark wood tabletops. The white walls provide a light contrast. Large bladed fans keep the air moving, but I suspect the place gets pretty warm in real summer.
The menus are on tables and you order at the counter. At the counter is also where baked goods are kept, if there are any left by the time you get there..which there weren’t, in our case. There are all day breakfast items, a bit of a kids’ menu, and drink options. Don’t expect fancy coffees like chemex or pourovers though. They roast their own, but serve them in more standard ways.
The flat white and my modified chocolate milkshake (soy with a shot of coffee) were both very good.
Their food options have a bit of a twist on standard offerings, and some particularly interesting ones included the pancakes with olive oil ice cream, pickled blueberries, fresh basil and honeycomb. We eventually settled on the corn and cheddar hush puppies, and the eggs benedict.
The eggs benedict had poached eggs, the option of ham or bacon (picked bacon), wilted spinach, sourdough, and house-made hollandaise. Despite it being not the most adventurous dish to pick, it was nice. The hollandaise was creamy and smooth, the bacon wasn’t overpoweringly salty, and the eggs had an appropriately runny middle.
The corn and cheddar hush puppies and poached eggs were nicely presented amidst the fennel salsa. There were dollops of the smoked almond romesco at the base, and dukkah sprinkled through for crunch. I’m not sure if the corn and cheddar hush puppies were meant to have some crunch on the outside. If so, they unfortunately didn’t. Still, they had a nice flavour and weren’t gluggy.
Service was fine. Not too much to comment on, as there isn’t a huge amount of interaction with the waitstaff apart from placing your order at the counter and them eventually bringing food to you.
It was an interesting find, away from the pack, with some different food offerings.
Scores:
Food: 3/4
Setting: 1/2
Service: 1/2
Total: 5/8
Price point: Breakfast/brunch items $14 to $18.
Value: Not bad.
Details:
Address: 32 Caswell St, East Brisbane
Phone: 0420 633 219
Website: Republic Coffee Traders
[…] Latest post here: Republic Coffee Traders […]