The Tree House

Opposite the Mantra Hotel, the Tree House is in a convenient location for many people staying over at the hotel. A bit astray from the main dining stretch near the cinema, this is a little more relaxing and quiet than other options. That may be for a reason though, as it does most things right but needs a better business model.

After meeting a friend for lunch, he felt like going to get a coffee. I knew of a few places, and this was one of them. Walking down here, it looked good and that is about it getting here. The anecdote is as simple as that.

The service is novel. What happens is that you approach the counter, place your order and then they bring it to you. It is named the Treehouse for a reason, and that is the hidey-hole that is the second storey which overlooks Grey Street. While on the pavement there are a few tables, it was the aforementioned aspect which was chosen. Up the stairs the two of us went, and enjoyed the breeze from up the top. The barista there at the moment was a pleasant young woman, and she brought the drinks up in an efficient manner.

For something with a name that would ignite all kinds of childhood imagination and fantasy, it feels a bit contrasted with the plain steel work aesthetic that they have. This is a bit bland, and with the indie music posters the target audience gets a bit mixed up. A few aspects are tried like the treasure chest housing sugar alternatives, and more kinds of nick nacks in this vein would really help the look of this place. I suggest really go for it if you want to, that way a character of its own can thrive.

The Treehouse serves mainly coffee and tea, and they also serve several kinds of frappes, and hot chocolates if neither of those are your thing. As well as that, the basic beverages of water, Coke et al can also be grabbed from the fridge. As well as something to drink, the selection of food is limited and mainly a few different pastries, sweet and savoury plus a ham and cheese toasted sandwich. This is a simple menu for a simple setting.

The coffee that they use comes from Surpreme Roasters, which is definitely one of the best roasts from around town. That is starting to become one of the signs that I look out for, and when I see it get an optimistic feeling that it is going to be good. Well, it can continue that reputation as the coffee that I had from here (as always, the doppio) was smooth, strong, just the right drinking temperature for drinking and slightly sweet as well. It had a good aroma, and smooth texture without any residue down the bottom - basically, all that is needed in a coffee.

On the side, I just grabbed what looked like the best sweet at the moment. From the looks of it, I would hazzard a guess that it was a marble melting moment. There were two cookie slices (with a marble pattern) sandwiching a layer of dark chocolate. This was also good. The two biscuits were crumbly, and delicious with hints of chocolate in the mixture and adding on to that was the dark chocolate filling, thick and slightly rich.

The Treehouse is mostly about the concept that's been described rather than being a coffee shop. Make no mistakes about it, the concept itself is definitely a cute one. Beyond the fact that the coffee is ordered and made downstairs then brought upstairs might be about the single distinguishing aspect about here. It might be counting a bit too much on novelty, and novelty that is not really all that present. It's cute, I will give it that credit, but overall they might have to try a bit harder in order for them to be distinguished from all the fierce competition that is down the road.

The Tree House is a great-quality, decently priced cafe tucked into a cosy nook of South Bank. The staff are genuine people and very friendly and a great group to wake up to in the morning. The cafe has a quirky seating area both next to the coffee/ordering station as well as upstairs with a balcony overlooking Grey St. Great customer service and great coffee, this cafe is a delight!