Salt Food Wine Rosalie - Breakfast Extraordinaire

I have well and truly missed the memo.


Today, I took hubby out for breakfast – and everything was going swimmingly well, until I heard him snickering at me.

“What?” I asked him suspiciously.

“Everytime you take a sip of coffee your whole head disappears. And you don’t have a small head either”.

Since when did Brisbane start serving coffee in bowls? And in Noodle bowls no less. While I am not complaining. I’m not. I love a big coffee with the rest of them – but surrounded by all the “Ladies who Lunch” at Salt Rosalie – I felt like a moron. The bowl was literally so big that I needed 2 hands to hold it. And apparently my face disappeared with every sip. Crazy!

But the coffee was good, it was hot and it was strong. So asides from feeling a bit silly – I enjoyed every drop.

I’d heard both good and bad things about Salt. That the food was good but the service was hit and miss. That the food was average but the service was fantastic. And seeing as it is straight across the road from my Chiro – I have walked past it almost twice a week without being brave enough to venture in.

Why “brave” you ask? Because it looks swanky. It is always filled with Businessman doing deals, Ladies who Lunch dripping in pearls, Yummy Mummy’s keeping an eye on their X5’s and very few people queuing for takeaway coffee – which is what I always want. Because, being honest, coffee is how I judge a place if I want to go back and spend money on breakfast.

So finally, with recommendations from Twitter friends and with hubby for emotional support – we venture in for breakfast.

The restaurant itself is gorgeous, lovely big lounge chairs, banquettes and outdoor dining. I wanted a table outside but they were full, so had to make do with an inside table and trying to take photos discreetly.

My coffee was great – asides from the noodle bowl issue – but hubby was not impressed with his ice chocolate. Presented in a smaller than usual cocktail glass, it had ice cream, ice cubes and about 2 inches of chocolate syrup in the bottom. And there was no whipped cream. Surely this is crime against Iced Chocolate???

Our breakfasts – served quickly and piping hot – were HUGE.
H.U.G.E.

The older couple at the table next to us – who only ordered coffee – gasped when they were put down in front of us. And I swear that the gentlemen’s eyes nearly boggled out of his head. If there is one thing that you cannot accuse Salt of – that would be stinginess. They would easily win the “Most Generous Breakfast” award if ever there was one.

Hubby ordered scrambled eggs with bacon and a side of Italian sausages. His meal on it’s own was massive, large chunks of buttered sourdough with at least 6 rashers of bacon, 2 grilled tomato halves and a large ramekin housing the uber rich scrambled eggs.

The 4 Italian sausages came on their own plate, with their own garnish – and I was impressed that they did this. It’s never happened at breakfast before – when you order a side – it usually comes out on your plate. This way makes it much easier for me to pinch things AKA: Sharing.

My breakfast was fantastic – poached eggs with bacon, avocado and hollandaise sauce. Also with the massive chunks of sourdough and a huge homemade potato hash cake dripping with a deliciously sweet tomato relish.

I didn’t manage to eat even half of this breakfast – and didn’t even attempt to eat the eggs. The avocado was a sensation – seasoned perfectly and wonderfully lemon-y, it cut through the richness of the whole dish.

All in all, it was brilliant and I’m embarrassed that I was put off for so long. Hubby, despite being disappointed in his Iced Chocolate conceded that if we lived closer to Salt, it would be our regular weekend haunt. That’s high praise indeed coming from him.

The Verdict: Very generous sized breakfasts, imaginative offerings and really good coffee.

Recommendations: If you don’t fancy drinking your coffee out of a bowl, maybe start with ordering a regular sized coffee. And then another one if you feel the need. It was my “large” coffee that was deemed bowl-worthy.

Contact:
Salt Food Wine
5 Nash Street
Rosalie
(07) 3367 0775