Alberto's Shot Espresso Bar

Agree with many positive feedbacks from other foodies, this espresso bar is an a-must visit place for morning coffee. Located at the other quiet side of Montague Road, this cafe serves many locals in the morning. Lovely family business with strong home feels and very friendly service. Coffee is great with rich taste that attracts me to re-visit. A decent experience to me.

Consistently great coffee and fabulous focaccia from this tucked away West End gem. 💎 I make a point of visiting whenever I'm in Brisbane. The surrounding area by the river adds to the charm.

Like this place. Coffee is strong. Staff are good. Food is ok , not gourmet at all, ingredients a bit on the cheap but enough.
Prices fair. Not everyone ideal but was quiet position too. I go regularly

Had breakfast here the other day and had an omelette which I found two small fragments of egg shells inside. Nothing major but the chef should be more cautious when cracking their eggs... Other than that, the omelette was seasoned very well and the flavors were well balanced and simple. The coffee was good too, and just couldn't resist the doughnut sitting inside the cabinet... So I grabbed it too, It was pretty awesome!

Alberto's Shot Espresso Bar - West End, Brisbane. There is no shortage of places to go in West End for a meal, and there is especially no shortage in sight when it comes to getting coffee. Hence this is a slightly strange case. We are talking down the far end of West End, where it is pure suburbia as opposed to semi-inner urban kinds of living. It is the affluent part of town on the river, and there are not many places to eat at for at least a brief walk. Alberto's Shot stands on its own, taking up the remains of a corner store with free parking (that is a big bonus in this nape of the woods). For a number of reasons, it is hard to dismiss this place entirely - it is not for all tastes as the reception would indicate.

One day when I was at work in the neighbourhood, my big sister was taking her husband and her niece to eat with a former colleague of hers with the aim of somewhere in the local area. This was the chosen place, and is a small drive away for even most local residents It has that look of a greatly-kept secret. There are two specific groups that this place is popular with: the locals, and the Italian residents. For the most part, the former is to be expected; as it should do with the latter, this place means serious business with its coffee.

The owner, Alberto - the pony-tailed likeness of the logo - is quite friendly getting him on a good day. He gets brownie points with the appeal kids eating there has to him for me with my niece there. To know how he rolls, it is good to know how Italy works with food service - in the country, there is a no-nonsense attitude to food and coffee, and the males in Italy do have a distinct form of friendliness; one could say it is slightly surly in nature. Stay on their good side, and all is good.

Even so, there were a couple of aspects about him which made the experience more enjoyable. The first example was putting in an extra shot into my Bonza (a large coffee) cappuccino without extra charge. As for the coffee, it tasted delicious and really strong. Putting the size into perspective, plus the temperature to which it was served (al dente - not too hot) remained consistent and quite warm for the duration of consuming it; often the large coffees cool off after a while. Alberto must have the Midas touch when it comes to all this. The blend that they use is from Piazza Doro Bonza.

To begin and share, as it was a special on the board, an order of fries was placed. Again, a nice gesture was done where two different sorts of sauces were put o the side - the garlic aioli and plain old tomato sauce. Two orders of these were done, they were that good (albeit one to go). The potato inside was soft and hot, with the coating having a firm crispness to them. It was such a generous serving as well; I could not stop eating them. Not really being a fan of tomato sauce (that was more for the bubs) I held onto the aioli - this was tasty and had not-so subtle garlic flavours throughout it.

For lunch, their mainstay is freshly made sandwiches on focaccia. They have Italian names assigned to them, and the combinations are well-thought of and put together. Because one would have been big enough to feed the lot - a single sandwich was purchased between three people; I still had room at the end. The choice selected was known as "Tozzo". It was seasoned Italian sausage with a Napoli sauce and red wine caramelised onions. It was pretty substantial, with the bread being toasted right before the order. It could have been improved with a bit more of a substantial amount of filling; the results were tasty nonetheless.

To finish off, I decided to get a sweet. The one I was eyeing off was a doughnut - the Italian style to be precise. They were all out, however for a last impression and good little gesture Alberto offered to make one fresh. It was a hazelnut filling. There are some kinds of food where the freshly made and cooked version cannot be attained other than freshly making it; doughnuts are one of those examples. The sucker was big, had a fresh hot lot of dough surrounding a big glob of hazelnut paste. This was a fantastic end to the meal, and the end was too good not to share.

Alberto: I like your style.

Cyclist and brekky.. I visit this place regularly...if it isn't filled to the rafters with spandex clad cyclists or teams of dragon boaters (they can quickly fill the place up in the early morning). When the place isn't packed, its a nice relaxing place to be. The staff are friendly and the food is good. I love the avocado toast with balsamic. I have also had the baked eggs in napoli sauce which is fantastic on a cold morning.

Delicious coffee and breakfast, super friendly staff! Loved this place, definitely recommend!!