Fancy a short black in the sun, accompanied by a real life French pastry? Or perhaps something a little more wicked and sweet, like a sacher torte and hot chocolate? Banneton Bakery, nestled quietly in amongst a rather industrious strip of warehouses and stores in Woolloongabba, hits the mark when it comes to sweet or savoury treats of the French variety and is probably one of the best I’ve tried on the South side of the river.
MM and I were seeking a relaxed, low key breakfast over which we could nurse mild hangovers and enjoy some spring time sun. Banneton Bakery is in our local area and always seems to have a gentle but manageable gathering of patrons at its doors.
On this occasion the queue was at a minimum, however, the girls behind the counter seemed a little flustered and reluctant to make eye contact in fear they may have to attend to more work. Nevertheless, our orders were taken with a hint of a smile, and we retreated to the pleasant outdoor dining area to soak up some rays.
MM wanted to devour everything in the cabinet, from the gorgeous little cakes and slices, to the baguettes, croissants and pastries. He settled for the ham and cheese savoury croissant and the pane chocolate, with a cappuccino.
The savoury pastry option was just oozing with gooey melted Swiss cheese in between a beautifully buttery, flaky, melt in your mouth croissant. Whilst I didn’t have the pleasure of tasting the pane chocolate, it was made evident that it was delicious, up there with real French pane chocolate from real French patisseries in real France! It was clearly too good to share….
I decided to try the ham and cheese brioche, as well as a pumpkin scone with butter and strawberry jam. The brioche was creamy, sweet, salty and slightly bitter all at the same time and the flavour of the cheese was exceptional. Unfortunately, a little too much onion for my liking (and it’s my bug bear when restaurants don’t confirm its presence in a dish description). Even so, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
The pumpkin scone was the fluffiest I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting; light and savoury, but with a gentle, pleasant sweetness to it, I could’ve eaten two or three more!
It has to be pointed out that the coffees at Banneton Bakery were exceptional. MM and I are self-confessed caffeine snobs and it’s not often we stray from our regular weekend spot; it’s good to see the baristas here are on the money. All up, our mellow breakfast set us back $34, which also included a couple of ciabatta loaves to take home.
Banneton Bakery is barely big enough to swing a cat, so don’t head there expecting to have a lot of room to settle in; chances are it’ll be a spot on the footpath, or perhaps a milk crate-style seat – a high portion of patrons order their pastries and coffees to go. While you’re there, the wood fired breads ranging from dinner rolls, cob loaves, ciabatta and many, many more are well worth a try too.
- Banneton Bakery – 25 Balaclava St, Woolloongabba +61 7 3393 2111
