The Stuffed Badger

A cute, well decorated café along a busy main road.
I really enjoyed the food here, I had the Benedict stack with the crispiest potato hash, bacon, caramelised onion, poached eggs and sriracha hollandaise! The hollandaise was thick just how I like it and very buttery. Unfortunately the poached eggs were a bit too overdone and the yolk wasn’t runny. My friends had the mushroom toast (veganised version) and the pea and goats cheese fritters which they enjoyed as well.

Overall, I enjoyed eating here and would eat here again if I was in the area!

Wow! Loved my meal so much that im going back to try everything on the menu! I had the pumpkin, feta and dukkah risotto, which at first the dukkah hits you, in a way that you're not so sure but after your second mouthful, you can't stop. Service was excellent.

TL;DR: By going and picking aspects that work from all sorts of dining modes and experiences, the crew behind the Stuffed Badger find a way to utilse them to work effectively, and combine them in a way that gives them a distinct identity that one day hopefully gets people coming from as afar as across the ocean. Perhaps an overstatement, the point is that they have something really good to work with that could do wonders.

Knowing full well how the different aspects of a memorable dining experience works, the crew at the Stuffed Badger have managed to do that quite effectively, mainly because of a wealth of experience and knowledge about it all. Unique is possibly an overused term to describe many places, though this time around it can be assured that it well suits. To put it why, influences of several dining aspects are present here; describing how with each one just gets a piece of the puzzle that is the Stuffed Badger. Whatever the case may be, something is here for everyone.

It is often on the weekend that there are a few options on the table, and this time around was not any exception. Sometimes with that situation, what happens is finding a particular area of town - especially it is new and has not been explored much by either party - and looking at what is there. That idea was in mind, and there was one street in Bowen Hills that was heavily considered - and Bowen Hills is one place us two south-siders have not made much of a direct visit to. Then, from there, after a bit of searching all it took for the house mate/dining buddy to consider this contender simply came from the name - the Stuffed Badger. That was the breakfast stop this time, and it is a quaint little number that serves pretty wholesome food.

Maybe it is in part of the name, but the set up sort of reminded me of a pub or inn located somewhere in an English village (to be fair, I can easily imagine there is one there with the same name). That is not just in the aesthetics, but also in the atmosphere. Contrasting to the blazing, sunny weather outside, the vibe here is pretty cozy with darkened hues of the wooden panels making for a calmer experience, one that would have people prefer to stay than hit it on the run. They have some window seats in the form of a booth, and the whole reminder possibly came from seeing all the nick-nacks such as books, board games to play while waiting, and other such gems.

Service is also pretty good here. Think of the decent level of service that is to be expected, not just at a nice place but at any place wanting to be worth its salt. Tune it up a little more, with a bit of chirpiness and a friendly atmosphere and that is the presentation that resides here. With this persona in mind, the quality comes next. They are more switched on than a lot of places, wiping down the tables if it gets a bit messy, plus getting some waitstaff that know their stuff - some of the minutiae of the available fair - all culminating to a good template in setting the bar for customer service. It is not outstanding, but does deserve some extra marks in places.

For what they offer, all round the fare has a simplicity in mind and possibly is whatever is available from the kitchen in many ways. At breakfast time, it is a range of the usual favourites. That is about that there; when it comes to lunch and dinner time things start to heat up a fair bit. Right then, the choices are quite the range of tapas-style dining which often includes a few big, meaty options as main meals. And for what it is worth, the brevity in description really doesn't represent the choice - there is quite the range, and each is as tempting as the last. Plus, like any good place set up for a good time, the whole menu is finished off with some desserts.

Getting onto the beverage part of the meal, heaps is accounted for in that regard. The choices that they have include tea and coffee, different types of juices and sodas, a whole lot of ciders and ales, plus a variety each of whiskey, vodka, bourbons, gins, rum, tequila, wines from around the world, aperitifs, and liqueurs. This is not bad for something that covers a mere corner of a downtown building.

Starting off the meal, it was getting the drinks as per usual. That was the norm, meaning I got a doppio. The beans that were used to make the coffee came from a local roaster called "Scout's Honour". I may have tried this one beforehand at a few establishments, but all up it appears to be elusive around town. Albeit I like most kinds of blends akin to flavours of anything, that does not mean preferences don't pop up from time to time. This is within my sort of preference, one for a bit more of a chocolaty flavour in the notes. That is precisely what we got on hand here, which was complimented well by a smooth texture and strong jolt of caffeine. This is definitely going to be one bean that I will keep my eye out for.

When it came to the choice for breakfast, a couple of choices that stood out. One of these was a mushroom ragu. This meal reminded me quite a bit of a mushroom pasta sauce that my sister had cooked many years before hand, with the creamy texture that possibly used sour cream as a base, and mixing it with Parmesan cheese possibly contributed to being reminded of that. This also had rocket in it, and topped off some sourdough toast. It was a relatively simple concoction that worked really well. They had cooked the mushrooms for just the right amount of time, to the point when the mushrooms still have their form but are starting to release the juices becoming tender. The combination of rocket and Parmesan cheese worked well, with the latter melting into the sauce and the former doing a good job of blending into the sauce which made for a good, balanced palate. This would have gone great on its own, or on top of pasta especially, however the sourdough toast that it was served with proved to be pretty good - the bread was solid, had a decent taste, and held together really well.

The dining buddy went for the other meal that popped out from the page. This was the four-bean potted eggs, that came with chorizo. This may have been better than my choice, and that is not being said lightly. It was a solid number, complete with a tomato ragu, some well cooked eggs that were melting into the sauce, plus all the different kinds of beans gave their own flavour, and the bite from chorizo is never mistakable and always makes a meal that much better.

Whatever may be thought about the location and set up of the place, with all the strengths that have been discussed about here, the apparent result should point towards an eventual winner - one that is already kind of using an advantage or two to attract clientele. For all that it is worth, the Stuffed Badger well and truly deserves to do well, and the residents of Bowen Hills are lucky to have such a cute, warm, and inviting number that is quite accessible and central with the amenities nearby. Going through that otherwise unsuspecting door is like a wonderful gift in plain packaging, the service and food are possibly going to be enough to have people stay a while.

Highlight of our five course tapas coupon deal was the desert, the panna cotta. It was a shame I had it to take away though but we were full from dinner. The panna cotta was creamy, wobbly & silky, very well done. The first courses were a choice of either bruchetta or chips of which we chose the latter. Rather a dull start to the meal, but filling. They were out of the scallop dish unfortunately & I didn't want to go for the calamari & that was it for vegetarians (who also eat fish once or twice a week) They graciously offered to make me a vegetarian gnocchi & upon receiving it looked OK however I did think the gnocchi themselves were a little doughy, not light & fluffy. A tasty dish all the same. We also enjoyed a rather pleasant pinot gris.

Took a Groupon deal to have dinner at this newly opened restaurant located just across the road from RWBH. Three things of this restaurant earn my appreciation. First, the owner is very friendly to provide high level of of hospitality service to diners; second, the management really welcome you under their promotion through on-line purchasing voucher; and last, we can absolutely feel the passion from the chef. We had the bruschetta to start our food journey. First tapa came was the chicken liver parfait, not the first time to have similar dish but the parfait we had this time was the lightest and richest in flavour, particularly match with the homemade jam, spot-on! (4.5/5). Second came the Beef Rib which was the best so far that I had. Over 24 hours slow cooked beef ribs really melted in our mouths, particularly with dashes of lemon sauces and the fine sliced vegetables, no greasy feeling at all (5/5). It may be the beef rib was too good so when the Harvey Bay scallop came to the table, the taste of the scallop did not reflect the sweetness from the seafood, however, the presentation was not bad (3.5/5). Last dish of shared dessert was the panna cotta that "sing" with good taste and sexy movement. The walnut pralines and cognac figs brought the whole dish to another level, thumb-up (4.5/5). Overall, I urge other foodie to give it a go, they surely would not let you down. Well, another local gem in Bowen Hills.

Up early and off I went, Brisbane City here I come. Popped into this little place before an appointment. Juice, Benedict Stack and.....why not a home made blueberry muffin.... Please :D Yum, Friendly and Welcoming. (Love the Aframe sign! Although I was the only one there mmm... :D

Great lil meal + coffee in your own reusAble cup! Booyeah

Small Cafe, lovely food. Had the baked Camembert with quince, followed by a prawn pasta. Both were delicious. The Camembert came with small triangles of toast, was very nice. They made me a milkshake as well, even though they don't actually have them on the menu. So very accommodating!

Very friendly. Lots of coffee flavors - and with friendly judgement for flavour additives from these coffee purists. Good atmosphere. Can be noisy with road noise. Excellent food range and service. Looking forward to them reopening post renovations.