Hiding just off a side street, which itself is a turn-off of Ipswich Road, Little Clive finds a blind spot and manages to give it a real physical appearance where people from around the near area and its neighbouring suburbs are starting to see this as the local. It has really transformed here from sleepy underdog to a solid competitor to the several good places around Annerley. For that, I commend it alone.
It was the weekend, or maybe it was a random day around the Christmas break (they tend to bleed in together), and it was time again for a usual finding of a new coffee place - and for me, that is always a free ride for a meal. While a lot of it looks like most of the same old, same old that plague Brisbane breakfast menus - what made it stand out for me was the atmosphere, and the service among good quality food.
This has the feeling of somebody's hangout. It is really laid back, even with so many mouths to serve right outside, or hanging around the coffee machine for orders on the go. Ergonomically, I find this has worked the best - the counter diagonal from the door's entrance. They make excellent use of the outside area, where there is an elevated patio that both fits several tables and puts people out of the way of foot traffic and is designed well for dog walkers. It is in the middle of a car park more or less, so don't expect too much in the way of ambiance. Music guests sometimes come along to perform. Really, anyone is welcome here whether it is kids, buskers or the pooch. Now that is the archetypal neighbourhood locale.
What also helps is the service. Again, this is the kind where you go up to the counter to order then pay, and go to a table to await the order. This time, I forget whether or not a table number was given - nevertheless is was still really efficient. They are very friendly throughout it all. Upon finding your table, they are nice enough to bring over some glasses and a jug of water without any prompts or having to be asked. Whoever is managing this place really knows what they are teaching, and those small gestures show a lot more in the long run. It shows that professional and friendly can intermingle really well.
Little Clives menu is appropriately little. As with most of the popular venues in Brisbane, most people are either coming here for breakfast or going on later in the day for a quick coffee. It is a really modest one, and there isn't anything really that is too outrageous or different among the selection of items. The main difference with Little Clive is that it does not act like an alternative, edge avenue for hipsters and has more of an honest local place for wholesome fare. That makes the world of difference, how they present themselves and describe what they are like.
On the breakfast menu, the number of items can be counted on two hands. A couple of sweet options start it off - and many more are available by looking in the cabinet if that is your thing. The rest of it takes a fairly health-oriented approach with plenty of fresh items used to spruce up the meals - locally sourced from the Rocklea Markets. It isn't anything too out of the ordinary, and contains a range of usual items. Don't worry if you feel like your big fry up, you are still covered. Overall, there is almost a half-half split between vegetarian and non-vegetarian options - that is a rarity from what I have seen.
Adding onto that, a few specials are behind on the blackboard - so you really are not short on options. Next is their lunch menu, which manages to be even smaller. The items are a few different salads and burgers, along with a couple of share snack platters. Also, the drinks menus is a streamlined selection. It is the usual choices for coffee, loose leaf tea, cold press juices, smoothies and milkshakes - nothing fancy, just honest options.
My dining buddy was going simple this time around, just a sweet and coffee. Being sharers, there was a lot of swapping going around the table. I tried a bit of his brownie and this was good. It had the right amount of chocolate for flavour and texture, and it was really smooth almost like liquid heaven - I could so go and get one right now.
The coffee that they use comes from Vivo, and this is one where I haven't really gotten any impression from it beyond it maybe being passable when you want a coffee. That changed when my dining buddy came across this place, and it contained a number of talented baristas - the doppio I had was really good, with fruity notes in the really strong aroma, and smooth crema. The temperature was not too hot, and the texture felt good in the mouth. I approve of it, and it perked me up.
The meal that I ordered was their grilled haloumi dish. This came with field mushrooms, two poached eggs (of course, with the yolks runny), kale, and a pistachio crumble. On the side I ordered some bacon, and asked for it to be crispy. What cannot be said is that the portions are lacking; I was snacking for quite a while on my dish and enjoying every bit of it. The kale was plentiful, and actually tasted good, the eggs were obviously free range and plump with the yolk running liberally around the dish, plus as an extra the bacon was quite generous (it is a crapshoot when asking for stuff on the side). The bacon was crispy, but for the real stand out aspect - it was the pistachio dukkah, which added a finishing crunch to the whole meal.
Usually when comparing a new place that has taken the spot of somewhere else, I am not really a fan of comparing, contrasting or anything like that and would rather critique the place of topic on its own merits. Let's not get mistaken, Little Clive was a great place and has a number of reasons that it is worth supporting. Two of the reasons are the heart and soul, and that is the point. The nicest service will never raise something if it cannot get people's interest nor show a personality, and that might have bested Bennies. Little Clive is a lot more enthusiastic, much more attuned to customer service and sharing media, and I find the food to be better. It has taken the predecessor's strengths, ran with them and tweaked where necessary, and built upon where they might have had a weak spot. Now, it is packed with people and it has earned it.
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