A tucked away gem in the otherwise mundane and standard Wondall Road Village, Banter Coffee House is at the far end in the line of shops and uses the position to the best of its advantage. Hiding behind some grating it is cool both in terms of the temperature and the overall vibe of the place. Well, for that latter there is a very good reason which will come up later on. I generally do not come up to this part of town, so what gives? Well ...
A few weeks before coming here, a big email was sent around the all the members of Zomato in the Brisbane area to have a chance to meet up with the team behind the website. One of the things I often try to do here is to get meet ups with fellow Zomato members, to get into the socialisation of it all but also just to showcase how communal it could be. For the longest time, deep down I had been wishing for something like this - either with the former site, or Zomato. With my house mate also being a member of Zomato, I showed this message to him and ultimately it was giving an RSVP for two. It was to both christen this new place, and to essentially socialise and see the faces behind the avatars.
One thing that is rarely done with my dining buddy and I is going somewhere blindly. These places are usually chosen with a good search for what is either around the local area, or what kind of food sounds good at the moment, or hearsay for something that is the hot, new place and so forth. Done in a more brief sense of the word, the place of interest is usually studied. As per usual, Banter Coffee House was no exception. Much to a great surprise, we found out that this is the little sister of local darling Deedot Coffee House - now that was great news, that place knows about service, marketing and has carved its raison d'etre into being warm, family friendly and wholesome. You can bet that high hopes were up.
So, getting out of bed early on a Saturday (or earlier than usual), it was heading up north. A table for ten was reserved, and as people poured in to sit here there were folks from all areas - only a few true Zomatoans. This was the start of a social, really relaxed and enthusiastic session for a general chat, trying some good food out, and finding something of a community for all these years. Throughout the mealtime, you can bet that with all the Instagram, blogging and reviewers here that it was like a game of musical chairs going around snapping all sorts of pictures of the wonderful food that was served. This is the kind of food that those sites and features are made for. Just to wonder what all the nearby patrons were thinking with all this.
As it was expected from the word go, the service here is absolutely friendly, welcoming and warm. Throughout the meal, the drink that I got was a doppio. This feeds into the service again, where the waitstaff delivered a level of service that is to a really great standard. They were casual about it, checking on people to see how customers were enjoying their meal, complete with smiles and everything. For such a long time, I have used Deedot's level of service - specifically owner Jade - as a milestone for how customer service can really be. It is all right here, with a great presence, enthusiasm and making it as appealing to the customer base as possible. You can bet that this coffee was hot and strong, just how I like it. Throughout the meal, several doppios made their way to me.
Usually it might be the norm when I say that I was having a hard time deciding which dish to have. Well, this was one time when that was completely true. Both lunch and breakfast are served here, the latter being an all-day affair. It gets that mixture between wholesome favourites and being inventive down pact. The latter works more with the care of ingredients that trying to be different for the sake of it. For the most part, it has the wholesome usual items for breakfast - think eggs on toast, granola et al - then it moves onto using familiar items to build up their menu. Classics such as waffles, and eggs Benedict get an twist done on them, and it would not be in the Deedot standard without their classic stacks-on breakfast. Going into lunch, it is a range of burgers and salads with other classical dishes on the menu. All with a focus on being fresh and healthy, with ingredients that are distinct in their own way. With both menus, expect some seafood with it being so close to the ocean.
Do they provide with the drinks, or do they provide with the drinks? Bringing out the big guns first is the coffee, courtesy of Uncle Joe's. This one has eventually grown on me, and with such talented baristas at the helm, they can work wonders with any bean. There is the usual espresso drinks, then a few iced coffees ranging from the cold drip to iced coffee. Specialty teas and hot chocolates are there for those wanting something less full-on. Fearnot if it is a cold drink you want, as they have freshly squeezed juices, iced teas, frappes, and all kinds of milkshakes and smoothies. I have not even mentioned how the cabinet is full of all kinds of tasty delicious treats that would go perfect with a tea or coffee.
What I ended up orderings was a crab Benedict. Think about the classical dish, and see it get tweaked. This has a piece of soft shell crab in a tempura batter on the side, then with poached eggs (as always, yolk requested to be runny) that were topped with a dill-infused hollandaise on top of French baguette, a side serving of pawpaw salad complimented the dish.
With the case of indecisiveness, there is nearly always that order envy, or thinking you should have ordered something else. Well, not this time because I feel that I got the perfect dish, or it was at such a level of deliciousness that I was truly satiated. Honestly, this was such a tasty dish that I could highly recommend it. The eggs were perfectly cooked; one prick from the fork (something I always do to check how well cooked the eggs were) and it was like molten lava pouring over the bread (and that is the desired result). We are already off to a good start.
The runny egg yolk mixed into the hollandaise sauce fantastically, and the French baguette soaked up so much of it while retaining a bit of the characteristic crustiness. This is purely something I like, that I can't really explain and possibly why I prefer to have runny yolks. Different strokes for different folks. Next to it, the soft shell crab was perfectly cooked in a light tempura batter which was crispy, and solid. The meat of the crab was sweet and tender, being like moreish butter in the mouth. Finishing this off was an interesting garnish of pawpaw, which was juicy and a mixture of sweet and tart.
Yep, this was one time I made the right choice then, the right choice in retrospect and even now it was definitely the right choice. So unusual, so tasty, and crafted really well. That, to me, is the pinnacle of a memorable breakfast.
I was alone in this boat, but to truly give this place the full critique that it deserved, I went up to get a sweet. Going through them, a sweet that always seems to take preference - and not without a good reason - took my fancy. That was their macadamia brownie. My dining buddy eventually bucked and gave it a try himself. It was soft and moreish, with a good amount of semi-dark chocolate mixed through, a decent amount of nuts and there was plenty of icing sugar dusted on top. Even as simple as it was, this was worthy to be included with all the other meals both (presumably) taste-wise, and presentation-wise.
On its own accord, I can easily see Banter Coffee House becoming a welcomed local favourite to the area of Manly - especially if they keep the focus of their mother-ship business in mind while running it. In many ways, it might even have many strengths over it. It has the same family friendly atmosphere as before, and I give my best wishes that this will find a place in the heart of Manly and with the local residents. From what I saw this time around, it is safe to say they are off to a good start. Those high hopes were more than met.
Also as a side note, I really enjoyed meeting up with David et al at this place. I really found everyone to be quite friendly, but specifically David. Not only was he such a friendly and personable fellow, but he additionally an ardent eater who loves his food. With such dedicated fellows as him, the dining scene has become more involved and connected over this side of the world and it was wonderful to not only have a cross-over review, but a mass meet-up. Heaven knows I have been trying that for ages. If you are reading this David, much thanks and I hope that more of these will materialise in the future. And to everyone else, more happy eating.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes