The Gunshop Cafe - Breakfast worth waiting for?

http://www.thegunshopcafe.com/

Everybody deserves a 'mental health' day.  SC and I have been working pretty hard and its been a while since we went away anywhere, so we decided to co-ordinate a Monday off and have a nice relaxing day to ourselves.


A key part of our plan was to kick off the day with a breakfast somewhere and that somewhere was The Gunshop Cafe over in West End.  Our plan for getting there was a leisurely walk through the CBD, over the Victoria bridge and down Melbourne Street, which pretty much takes us directly there.  What we were not counting on was it being 28 degrees celsius by 8am and making the walk just a little sweaty.  When we finally arrived at the Gunshop cafe we decided that after a long hot walk that sitting outside in the back courtyard area would be the best option and it was like arriving at an oasis after wandering lost through the desert.

It seems as if the Gunshop Cafe has been around for ever as a cafe and a little digging gives a clue to its past and, while not surprisingly it was an actual 'Gun Shop' from the 1950's until the mid 90's, the building actually started its life as a tailors and then housed a locksmith for many years before transitioning to its namesake.  Not only has it been around for years, its won multiple awards for its breakfasts.   All of which has made it extremely popular for Saturday and Sunday breakfast hot-spot,  which often results in long queues to get a table.  SC and I hate queuing which is why we waited until our Monday long weekend to come on down.



I have to admit, when it comes to breakfast, I am not very adventurous and pretty much stick to scrambled eggs, tomato and bacon, sometime stretching it to chorizo or mushrooms if on the menu, so the wildly creative menu at the Gunshop was a little lost on me.  It was no surprise that I ordered a Gunshop classic, double smoked bacon, scrambled eggs, bella rossa tomatos, herbed hollandaise and sourdough.

The scrambled eggs were cooked just the way I like them, with folds of egg that were quite firm and held together but pliable enough to spread over the sourdough toast.  They were nice and creamy and full of  eggy goodness.  The oven roasted tomatos packed in loads of flavour and were really tasty and exploded nicely when cutting through.  I did not really pick up a smokey flavour with the bacon, it tasted great and was again cooked just the way I like it, but definitely no smokey flavour at all.  Really delicious and completely filling, I was stuffed by the time I finished.

I also ordered a side of the sautéed mushrooms, which were fantastic.  Sometimes sautéed mushrooms can be a bit slimy if not cooked just right, but these had been sautéed really well and had the right texture and taste.  They looked to have been cooked with olive oil and butter and were firm and hot.  Well worth the extra $$'s

After considering and then dismissing some of the more exciting choices on offer, SC decided on a special for the morning, Green Eggs and Ham.  In an homage to Christmas, the ham was freshly cut off the bone and was sweet and delicious.  The green eggs consisted of poached eggs with a green hollandaise sauce, wich was coloured with spirulina and pesto, and asparagus.  The eggs were cooked just the way SC likes them with oozing yolk and the hollandaise sauce worked really well with the eggs and ham.  SC really liked the addition of asparagus and commended that it too worked really well with the hollandaise.

A great way to start off Breakfast was a Berry Smoothy this was perfect
after the long walk in from the CBD in 28 degree heat

SC opted for a coffee and even though it was a hot day said
that it hit the spot and was perfectly brewed

Like a lot of the really popular breakfast spots around Brisbane, there is a no reservations policy for breakfast here.  As a consequence, I have never eaten at the Gunshop on a weekend, although a few times we have wandered by to see if we could get in without queuing.  No luck.  Ever.  This is a testament to how popular the Gunshop Cafe is for breakfast.  Does it deserve the awards and the notoriety as one of the best?  It sure does, the breakfasts here are superb and it's clear to me that for many it's worth waiting for.....  But, I just can't bring myself to wait anywhere for breakfast, so the Gunshop will have to remain as a special treat for SC and I for those special days when we don't have to work.

 @FoodMeUpScotty

Cool looking ceiling fans helped keep us cool after
a long walk from the city to West End

The awesome courtyard area is perfect for a hot morning or afternoon
to sit back and chill out