TL;DR: Quirky, but solid and audience pleasing second chapter from the smart girls behind Hallowed Grounds. With a good outlay, a menu that is fresh but also tasty and inventive, and a little bit hidden from the main stretch of town, St. Coco's does deserve to be given a go.
Nestled in the backstreets of Daisy Hill, right in possibly one of the last places one would expect to look, the sheer hype and praise of St. Coco goes to show that no matter where it is, when the news is good enough for the locals to seek it out, it does not stay hidden for long. That is especially when the crew behind it have already struck success, that only adds more to the intrigue. The challenge is for it to get its own identity, yet still be recgonisable as being in the same vein as before - here, they have succeeded.
The house had just been emptied on the dawn of the weekend, which meant a return to form regarding the usual schedule. One of the biggest parts of this return of normalcy meant getting back into finding new places for either breakfast or lunch during the Sundays of the weekend and it is safe to say there is quite a range of them to seek out. Two big ones were on the horizons in my house mate's eyes, one of them being this neat little find right in the center of the much under-rated, and rich gem of a gourmand haven, Logan - particularly Logan Central.
One of the big factors that was getting the two of us excited for here was that it was headed by the same duo who have managed Hallowed Grounds, which does one of the greatest coffees within the general southern area of town. That is a rare case where the quality of the coffee is not the only notable aspect about it, but also aesthetics and ambiance; this was especially a challenge - for Hallowed Grounds - being right on a stretch of main road. Through smart marketing, and good customer service to this day it manages to be packed each weekend. Luck has managed to strike twice for the lucky sisters, since St. Coco right here is able to rest comfortably alongside the original location, getting a good solid base of delicious fare, a good outlay, and service which is efficient.
When critiquing - or more so - describing a place for its choice of interior, part of it is all up to chance and placement within the town. Here, it must have been a big shot of luck for the managers when they were searching for a new site. The coordinates on the map led us to the local IGA, which afterwards also had the sign pointing that it was there. Upon going in, at first neither of us could find it and a few minutes were spent walking back and forth on the road until after going back to the junction of shops, I noted it out of the corner of my eye. It is across on the other side of the carpark, and might have once being a garage, a garden shed or something, which was apparent from the skeleton outlay of the place. This helped with its characteristic aesthetic and layout, something which would not have been so possible if it were another shop in the aforementioned junction.
St. Coco does pretty well with the design and aesthetics. The whole shop space area is pretty spacious, and inside with the seating is quite comfortable. Much of what helps for this is the ergonomics, with plenty of space and a nice through-flow of air, when it is a warm day with some wind, it could really cool down the clientele. Several plants littered around the place give it a fresh scent, and using the shop front for al fresco dining helps add a more communal appearance to this already well-designed location.
Overall, I rate the service as pretty fine. The moment you walk in the door, it does not take them long to guide you to a seat. It is a little lackluster, as they more or less point, but it still gives that welcoming vibe to make yourself comfortable. The timing is pretty right between seating the customers, getting the coffee orders, and then bringing it to the table. That latter part is being partial literal, since this is service that is faster than normal and they cook it all pretty fresh. What also is good about the service is the way the young women glide around the tables, possibly looking for all the small touches to do including clearing the tables. Just short of being memorable, they could occasionally go up to clients and ask them how the meal is doing; nothing too big or significant, however that touch definitely shows they care about what the clients think of the meal.
When it comes to their food, presumably they change it according to the seasons and with what is available at the time. At the time of writing, the breakfast menu is still fairly standard as far as it goes. There are the classics here and there, though they pull out a notable number of twists and takes on other classics along with an occasional dish of their own. Jump to lunch time, and it is mostly twists on some of the cafe standards including a pasta dish, burgers et al. In addition to that, at least as far as this visit is concerned, there are further specials on the front page, so that means that they have several bases covered and should please most people.
Going on to their drinks, they have quite the variety in addition to that. The first one to notes is the coffee, which is sourced from the Wolff Coffee Roasters. Through this they have several modes of preparing coffee, starting with the usual espresso and extending to filter, cold drip, V60 and nitro-infused cold brew. Going away from the coffee, they also have loose leaf tea, freshly squeezed juices and both milkshakes and smoothies. All of that will just as much satisfy as the food range does.
Getting onto the breakfast, the first things first was drink orders - and that meant getting some coffee. Upon seeing that filter coffee was available, that was my order. There were a couple of options there, and I can't remember which one I ended up with, but regardless of that fact, the texture was smoother and cleaner than espresso often is, there were noes of berries in the beans, with a slightly astringent after-taste occasionally. The serving size was good, and the temperature was pretty mild. This is the kind of coffee that slowly perks you up.
As for the breakfast item, it had to be the bratwurst Benedict. Let's just say that if nothing is added onto it - like I would often get bacon - then it had to sound too good not to try out. With this breakfast, it sounded very German. Think of sliced bratwurst that was poached and then pan-fried, with the additions of red cabbage sauerkraut, poached eggs, and a mustard-based hollandaise sauce on rye bread ... that was basically it. The sausages were plump and plentiful, the hollandaise sauce had that definite distinct taste that mustard has, the eggs were plump and bled well, plus the caramalised sauerkraut added another unusual note to the well put-together meal. That all on top of solid, well toasted bread proved itself to be one worthy take on the breakfast classic.
In giving this a 4.0 rating, this is one of the most solid and well deserved ones so far in being given that distinction, where they have done enough to distinguish themselves, along with the follow through of making good quality foods, and most of the right aspects are done on point. It might still lack a couple of essential aspects here and there, which includes the service - again, was not bad but could have been fine tuned to truly resonate - and maybe up the presence a little more, since this time around they definitely have an advantage.
With all being said and done there, this was definitely a return to from when going out for breakfast. For once they had focused well on the quality of the food, making sure that the transition between ordering and getting the fare on the table was practically seamless, and they are certainly doing something right as the place began filling up more and more near the end of the meal. Even if I don't agree with the consensus - as it happens sometimes - I will still see to it why, and this time around I definitely agree that it is as popular as it should be, and can see why it is so apparent.
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