Always on the lookout for funky new cafes that serve breakfast, I'd heard some whispers about a new cafe that was underneath a new hotel in Spring Hill. With that tiny bit of information, I started to dig around in the interweb to see if I could track down any new dining spots in the area. Luckily, it didn't take me long to find out that Jak and Hill was the new cafe sitting underneath the Punthill Apartments & Hotel, a chain that I'd stayed in while visiting Melbourne before, but was completely surprised had opened up in Brisbane.
There was double reason to head out for breakfast, it was Sunday and it was Australia Day, not that we ever need any reason to go out for breakfast! Jak and Hill is located in Spring Hill but is actually right on the city fringe in Astor Street and is a very short walk from our apartment. I always get excited about new dining spots that are within walking distance and it's fair to say that there are not a lot of weekend breakfast spots that we can get to on foot, so it was even more reason to get excited.
It has been years since either of us had walked down Astor Terrace and as we walked towards the cafe, we saw that there was another dining spot that we'd been meaning to check out for dinner. We initially thought that the O Bar was our targeted destination but as we walked closer it became clear that there was another spot close to home that was open for breakfast (a fact stored away for next weekend). We were running out of street when we finally stumbled across the Punthill Apartments and found Jak and Hill.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you realise you don't know your local area as well as you thought you did? Well, this was one those moments for me, we were literally only five hundred meters from our house and we'd stumbled upon stuff we had never seen. Upon first inspection, Jak and Hill looked pretty awesome and was much bigger than I expected it to be. Usually dining spot in Spring Hill are little 'hole-in-the-wall' spots but this cafe was huge, with a funky interior that just suited the area perfectly.
It was fairly early in the morning still but there were half a dozen or so tables already occupied with customers, some of which looked like they had stumbled down from the Hotel and Apartments upstairs. There were plenty of seats available so we grabbed a seat near the front that gave us a chance to have a good look around the cafe. As we sat down our waitress hit us up for drinks and feeling like she needed a bigger jolt to start the day, SC went for a full strength latte. After I enquired if they did smoothies, I was directed to the only smoothie on the menu, the brekkie smoothie with berries, banana and ice cream, which was perfect anyway.
Jak and Hill is not just a breakfast spot, it does lunches and dinners too and the menu encompasses all the food available at all times of the day and night. While there were some great looking lunch and dinner options, we were there for breakfast and were impressed with the range of mainly traditional breakfast offerings.
After having a heap of sweet breakfasts of late, SC decided that she would run with something a little healthier to start her Australia Day. The toasted muesli with vanilla poached pears, honey yoghurt and pistachio looked like a great way to start the day and the healthy looking muesli was presented on a board with one of those old style milk jugs that you don't see around any more. After getting straight into her breakfast, it was soon clear that something was missing in the bowl and after looking at the menu again, we realised that the vanilla poached pears were missing. After pointing it out to our waitress, she went to check what happened and came back with the missing pears. It was a good thing that SC checked in and asked about them, the muesli was much nicer with the added soft texture and sweetness that the pears provided
It was happy days for me when I realised that I'd be able to order my perfectly balanced breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, chorizo, mushrooms and tomatoes. My plate of food was massive and I knew I would struggle to get through the lot, but I was determined to give it a try. I started off with the mushrooms, which were sliced really thin and then sautéed and thankfully cooked with the right amount of seasoning. Those of you who are regular readers of my blog know how much I hate it when mushrooms aren't seasoned well. There were no real standouts on my plate, the eggs were well scrambled and tasted nice, as did the bacon. I quite liked the pile of glistening cherry tomatoes on the plate and amused myself chasing them around the plate trying to spear them with my fork. Probably the only element on the plate that I didn't like was the chorizo, which wasn't the good rodriguez chorizo that grills up so well.
We did enjoy our breakfast at Jak and Hill even though it wasn't quite perfect it's definitely a place that I would (and already have) recommend people check out. The food was well cooked and it seems like there are a lot of great looking options to go back for, not just for breakfast but lunch and dinner too. One of the reasons I quite enjoyed our breakfast was that Jak and Hill really is a cool little spot, there is an awesome urban vibe going on that is offset by the quirky interior.
The staff that helped us out on the morning were all nice and friendly and were extremely prompt and apologetic about the missing pears on the muesli. It's nice to head off to somewhere new, feel welcomed and have a decent breakfast, especially when it's so close to home. Yep, we were completely surprised that the little pocket of Spring Hill where Jak and Hill resides has developed, so we will be back to see how the dinner menu goes... I think we will have to check out the O Bar next door too.
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| Lovely colours in the muesli which was nicely toasted and had great flavours and texture - which were vastly improved with the addition of pears |
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| A huge plate of food that I mostly finished - I didn't really like the chorizo |
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| Jak and Hill has a cool urban feel to it |
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| The dinner specials look pretty good - will have to get in to check them out |
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| Lots of little benches and tables in the surprisingly large space |
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| The Puntill Hotel and Apartments are part of the complex |
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| Outside would be great on a warm morning or evening (it was a bit cold and blowy on our visit) |
I had to check out the brekkie smoothie and roll, both were delicious
ReplyDeleteSweet, glad you liked it Mark
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