You’ll have oft heard me grumbling about not queuing for breakfast and the dire state of parking in popular hot spots around Brisbane on weekends. Well here’s an idea I hadn’t encountered…getting up early. I recently met up with some friends on Saturday morning to fuel up for a road trip out to the Scenic Rim. Whilst I can do early starts, I see no need to do so on weekends unless absolutely necessary. Arriving in James St at 8.30am revealed an unknown world of empty parking spots, no queues and quick service. What a revelation!
Our breakfast location was King Arthur Cafe in the Valley. Don’t worry, there are no Knights of the Round Table themed dishes. The cafe is named after Arthur St, where it’s located. Menus fall into two categories. Those with little to tempt and those with far too much to choose from. King Arthur fell into the second. Was I going to have the smoked fish omelette w green mango, roast pork belly w sweet potato hash on the breakfast special or the goat bahn mi? So much to choose from. In the end I opted by the local mushrooms w harissa, zucchini fritters, labneh and poached eggs.
The serves are big at King Arthur. As I waited for my breakfast, I saw the streaky bacon bap go past and had immediate burger envy. When my own breakfast arrived, I knew I was set for my journey ahead. The poached eggs came firm as requested and the harissa was served as a spicy sauce that really added a tang to the meal. The two zucchini fritters looked similar to felafel in appearance and on this occasion, could have done with some more time in the fryer, at a lower heat to ensure they were cooked all of the way through. The juicy local mushrooms were meaty and very good paired with the goat’s milk labneh. All in all (despite the gooey fritters) a good breakfast for under $20 with plenty of other dishes to return for.
King Arthur has the same owners as Merriweather Cafe in South Brisbane. I attended a Food Connect event at Merriweather and know how committed they are to sustainability and supporting local suppliers. All jams and relishes are made in-house and bakery items are made on premise or sourced from Sprout Artisan Bakery. Have a look at that berry crumble Danish. Doesn’t that make you want to drop everything and head on over? You know you want to.
Visited: Saturday 6th February 2016 – Breakfast Service
King Arthur Cafe
164c Arthur St
Fortitude Valley Qld 4006
www.kingarthurcafe.com
All looks great Fiona! Queuing for brekkie would never be my thing and if there was a hassle finding a park, is always heaps of other options, especially locally here in SA!
Hi Joanne – welcome back. I never queue as you are exactly right, there is always somewhere else!
Hi Fiona 8:30 is the middle of the night in my language 🙂 No wonder there was no one there.
In Brisbane they are out and about (in their lycra) doing breakfast at 6.30am!
What a great name for a restaurant, and a quirky take on the “Arthurian” legend! I really want to try this out. I will take your advice and take my lycra clad body along at an early hour to secure a parking spot and no queues.
Make sure that lycra isn’t too tight – you want to be able to enjoy a slice of tart!
I’m having a good giggle at 8:30 being early as I’m usually up and about at 7am on the weekends 😀
Yes, my Mum is up at 5am but that is way too early for me!
Making me SO hungry this Sunday morning!
It was very good indeed!
yum those cakes look good. there is a cafe called king henry’s down in melbourne where my family lives and i always get these names mixed up. silly me! 6.30am? eek how do they do it?
6.30am? Queenslanders of course!