Groove Cafe

This is place is a little gem- I really like the back to basics menu. The cheeseburger is to die for and the coffee has always been excellent. I generally come here mid-week, and I've always found the staff polite. I very much like that there are options for people with tight incomes- it's nice to be in a place that's down to earth and not over run by yuppies. I'd come here more regularly if there were more options on the menu for my vegetarian partner, and I'd make it in for breakfast if it opened earlier than 8.30am, but I still think this place is a little standout winner in a city where breakfast offerings are often pretentious and overpriced.

This is my Go To Place!! i own my own cafe and on my day off i love to sit in here and catch up with ME.. i also share with close friends too... The food is fresh and home cooked, i love the Mushroom Ragu with a side of Local Smoked Bacon.. umm hello.
Home Made Goodies are always available on the counter and i never pass up.
 I will always be a fan and the Girls are just so awesome. :)

Groove Cafe - Annerley, Brisbane. Both hard to miss and difficult to find, depending on which approach you take to locate it, Groove Cafe is a characteristic and low-key cafe. On the Ipswich road, it is a tiny space just on the corner of an arcade entrance. Go through that little red-painted door to get into a vintage haven. It is usually up to opinion, but in the closeness to objectivity there is little to no pretension to be found at this place. The menu is very small, mostly doing all-days breakfasts plus for lunch they have a few burgers as options. All of it is wholesome, simple fare. Plus that, there is the selection of drinks: think tea, coffee, milkshakes - each given with due care to quality and preparation. Service is lovely, and mostly done by going up to the counter and paying.

By the looks of the decor, it is obvious that they did not have a huge budget for it. However, they really make up for it with all sorts of cute and clever touches. There is a nostalgic and vintage feel with old-style posters around the place, and the seating is old style with booths not unlike 50s-style diners and seating which my dining buddy told me was exactly like what he grew up with. Plus there is a modest and eclectic selection of books and magazines to peruse including some picture books and board games for the kids in case they are bored. One last final touch is the small fish bowls perched high up between the booths.

One morning the two of us were here to support local business, and because the suburb Annerley is richly developing its own dining scene gradually. This certainly includes a number of high-quality coffee shops. Slowly but surely the residents are getting the variety. Digressing though. Going here, it was also to get a spot for breakfast after hearing a lot of glowing reviews about it. Wholesome is probably the most apt word to describe the fare, and it was tasty and filling. You do not leave here either hungry or feeling bloated.

On to the coffees, they use Blackstar as the roaster for their blend. More specifically, it is the Revolution blend. Three different origins for beans are combined into a fruity, complex mixture of flavours. Most importantly for me, with two shots in my cappuccino, it mattered that it was strong and woke me up. The flavour was definitely there, and they extracted the espresso well, plus texture the milk brilliantly. The cups they were served in were brightly coloured, adding more to the aesthetics.

For breakfast, I got an order of their sweet corn cakes. These were topped with tomato relish, sour cream and plenty of rocket. On top of that, I ordered a side of bacon. It was a feast for the eyes, well decorated with the colours of the Italian flag. Most importantly, it was also enjoyable on the tastebuds. The corn in the cake was still crunchy and had a sweet flavour with the cakes themselves managing to hold together. The bacon was really crisp, plus the combination of salsa and sour cream gave it a tangy and slightly Mexican flavour.

My dining buddy went for some pancakes. These were straightforward, and merely had some bacon with maple syrup. They were a couple of big suckers, and the amount of both the syrup and bacon was generous. It was delicious, with the fluffy pancakes acting as a sponge to soak it all up and the sweet and salty duality between the bacon and the maple syrup was present. All that was missing for the Canadian style perfection was a couple of bananas.

With all the hype heard about it, I decided I had to give their salted caramel milkshake a try. Not having really tried the flavour, or at least really knew what it was (aside from salt and caramel combined; it was the difference) my dining buddy asked the waitress as she walked by and she explained - it was essentially a way to make the flavour less sweet. Another throwback to old-style preparation, the milkshakes can come in the metallic cup or the thin glass; I struck lucky because the quantity was too big for the latter which it was meant to come in. This meant that the extra remnant came in a separate cup for my dining buddy The milkshake was how milkshakes should be- really creamy, made with good quality ice cream and whole milk. On the top was a generous amount of cream, giving it a thicker and smoother consistency. It still had the good flavour of caramel, and the sweetness was cut back a bit by the salt.

If not more for the food, it is certainly the look and aesthetics to this place that make it worth trying. In the eclectic part of town that is Annerley, this is well-placed. With a reminder of older days similar to a milk bar cafe, and prices that are reasonable - as are the portions - this should be on any breakfaster's list to visit if they can get to it.

The salted caramel milkshakes are life changing.. Popped in here by accident one day and was pleasantly surprised! The food was pretty good, but the salted caramel milkshakes? Out of this world! I'll be giving this place another try sometime soon. The opening days throw me for a loop though, seems hard to find a nice place to get a bite on a Monday in Annerley!

A great local- this cafe serves tasty food at a great price. Visiting at least once a month, I love the baked eggs or scrambled eggs with chorizo for breakfast. The coffee (black star) is a bit too bitter and strong for me, so I stick to the freshly squeezed juices instead. Great options under $15.