Campos Coffee , Gasworks Newstead

Unless you live a boring suburban life and never get out of your outskirts Queenslander haven't been around the city in the last 2 months, you definitely would have heard about all the buzz around the new 1,1 $bn development at Gasworks.

With a brand new Woolies and trendy Market Food Company stocked with gourmet foods, the area is now the 'IT' place to do your grocery shopping - in case you didn't know that groceries shopping can be done in style - trendy mummies with branded prams, 'suited up corporates, and LornaJane clad fitness girls sipping on LornaJane smoothies (yes, I a referring to the new Active Living Room Cafe opened at the Lorna Jane Gasworks store - welcome to the Lorna Jane Cult!) - they all shop at Gasworks.

Source:goodfood.com.au

Gasworks also boasts a selection of casual cafes, restaurants, take-away eateries and coffee shops, speaking of the latter - the new Campos Coffee definitely beats the coffee competition. It is amazing how the Campos brand conquered Australians' hearts - I don't think I have heard anyone so far saying they dislike their coffees. Brisbanites love Campos, and I am one of them.

Source:www.camposcoffee.com

 With my unhealthy addiction to love of coffee I couldn't go past Campos Coffee  once it opened its doors at Gasworks  and I have been back many times since. Regardless of the time and day of the week Campos is always buzzing with people - office workers, mummies, ladies of leisure, retirees and freelancers.

If you are wondering why, the answer is simple - coffee is delicious, staff are friendly and helpful, service is efficient - what more do you need from a coffee shop?

Design:   8/10

Drinks:   10/10

Food: 5/10

Service: 8/10

The highlight: Coffee

Disappointment: Food options are limited - so won't be good for a breaky

Splurge: $

xoxo

The Foreigner

Bonsai Botanika

Bonsai Botanika is a new Asian edition to Elizabeth Street in the CBD. Offering Japanese-style food as well as organic coffees, loose leaf tea, hot chocolate and 'to-die-for' brownies Bonsai Botanika is a pretty unique place thanks to stylish design in the best traditions of the current trend of the eclectic mix of modernism, earthiness and retro - think wood, grass, organic produce and retro milk jars.

Source:brisbane.concreteplayground.com.au 

A successful combination of a restaurant and a coffee shop - all in one place keeps the place buzzing all day long till late in the evening even on a weeknight.

I have been to the place 3 times, first was during the pre-official launch.  The service was incredibly slow and the staff had no idea what they were doing, but the food was yummy - being a newbie on the block I cut them slack and showed up again to test the waters in about a month after opening.

Source:omggimmenow.blogspot.com

This time the place was packed with a very diverse crowd - students gossiping and posting selfies on Instagram  doing their assignments while overdosing on caffeine and sugar loaded frappuccinos,  ladies sipping on their wine, groups of friends enjoying delicious japanese food and couples sharing desserts, feeding each other from cute tea spoons...

Source:www,visitbrisbane.com.au

We shared a bowl of soup, which was huge enough to feed My Man and myself and if we had a cat we could have brought some for her too! The laksa soup was delicious, so was the flour-less chocolate brownie - in fact I have been craving the dessert since, however the service has still been slow and slightly disorganised, although the staff have been incredibly friendly and polite, which, combined with a heavenly dessert made me come back for more!


Last time I only had a tea and service was superb: friendly, efficient and no fuss.  In fact I was one of those annoying bitches customers who changes the order 3 times and nothing was a problem, my  requests were accommodated with a smile and the Aussie 'no-worries-mate attitude', which means I will be back.... to order 3 chocolate brownies.

Design:   9/10

Drinks:   8/10

Food: 8/10

Service: 6-7/10

The highlight: Design and brownies!

Disappointment: Service is not streamlined

Splurge: $$

xoxo

Foreigner

Three Monkeys: West End

With my  crush for  West End and its funky eateries oddly enough  The Three Monkeys has never been a topic of a discussion in the Foreigner's Diary..and yet, it just seemed unnecessary to bring up  a West End Iconic coffee place that is so well known to the Brisbane crowd that even I have known about it for a while.

The Three Monkeys has been around since early 90s if not earlier, and  the menu probably hasn't changed much since, and the options perhaps are not as exciting and sophisiticated, as expected, but, realistically, who cares when there are all these cakes! :

• the place is open 7 days week from morning till late,
• the selection of teas and coffees is great and a Chai Tea is to die for... and the size of the bowl easily replaces dinner,
• the prices are more than reasonable
• and the most important reason for every 'respected' Brisbanite to  pay a visit to the 3 Monkeys - the ambience and the vibe of the place!

If you have been there before you may as well not  waste your time reading any further, as the rest of the post is dedicated to me raving on about the utter cuteness and uniqueness  of the West End Monkeys. 

To put it simply - Three Monkeys  is  a calm place. On the days when the world is particularly evil to you and you hate everybody   3 Monkeys  is peaceful and kind, even when the rest of the humankind is not , nobody there seems to be worrying or rushing - it is one of the few places in Brisbane, where you can come alone get yourself a bowl of cofee and get immersed in reading 50 Shades Of Grey a book ...
 

Design:   9/10

Drinks:   8/10

Food: 6/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: Ambiance!

Disappointment: The food is on the ordinary side

Splurge: $

xoxo

The Foreigner