Era Cafe

Southbank is a lovely whimsical place, you can stroll through bougainvillea covered archways, wet your feet on the shore of the artificial beach, indulge yourself in the arts, explore the markets or numerous boutiques and even pop into a movie. Despite this world of wonder, the biggest issue I have with Southbank is lack of free parking spaces as almost ever single spot is $12 per entry paid parking. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered that Era offers two hours free parking to customers (enter via Grenier Lane).

Era Cafe is the casual offshoot of the more formal Era Bistro and offers diners the flexibility to have relaxed or moreish pick me up breakfast or lunch. So when the lovely Brianna flew down from Townsville we decided to catch up there. Era Cafe make their danishes, muffins and scones on site and Bri couldn't bypass the scones and they came served with double cream and soft blackberry jam. I'm more of a savoury breakfast kid and selected the Autumn Vegetable Hash with Watercress Shoots and Poached Eggs (pictured above). The eggs were perched proudly on top of the Hash and the yolks were bright orange and viscose. While I thought the hash had spent a tad too long in the fryer, the vegetables were harmonious and the smaller portion size was well executed. A large fried style breakfast can leave you feeling queasy ... which is not my preferred way to greet an activity filled day.

No matter how good breakfast is ... your drink can make or break the experience. But I'm pleased to announce that my coffee was great. It was beautifully glossy and went down real smooth. So in summary, I rather like Era Cafe ... it's not as polished as its sister Era Bistro ... but she's a charming little scamp.

Rating: 3 out of 5.
Address: 102 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane, QLD 4101.
Open: Monday - Friday. From 7am. Saturday - Sunday. From 8am. Breakfast and Lunch.
Phone: (07) 3255 2033.
Price: Breakfast: $5.20 - $17.50. Lunch: $6.50 - $22.50.