Sugar 'n' Spice - Brisbane

Their macarons are quite colourful but too sweet for me as an Asian! But if in terms of location, it's really convenient because the shop is near the Central Station. May be it'll be a better choice to choose something else instead of macaron with a cup of tea.

Right outside the train station, admidst the chaos of the main street and not far from ANZAC Square, rests this little hidey-hole. Blink and you will miss it, and that is something you will not want to do. While it definitely does not have the hip or happening vibe to it, the popularity of the place should speak some words about it. Part of me would not be surprised if it were designed with being like London in mind, having a winning place to get tea just shy of the train station. The look of the place is like a tea room. Despite being on the busy main road, the instance that you walk through that door the atmosphere does a complete 180: it is cool in temperature, it is relatively quiet (in spite of the crowd), it is relaxed and the lights are much softer. The look and feel of it is something that is not quite retro, not quite old fashioned but it definitely feels like it is from a different era. It has a medium amount of space in there. There are a number of high tables around the place for people to sit or stand at, resting a bit before either getting the order and going or to sit and have their's there. With all the people in the room, I did not feel that it was cramped or that the wings were being spread too much; ergonomically, it has a good design. Sugar and Spice also doubles as a tea shop. On the far side of the shop, there is a collection of shelves which house tea trinkets and coffee pots plus ground coffee, coffee beans and loose leaf teas to take home. A couple of aspects I particularly liked where the reddish hues, which are oddly calming, plus on the wall having the clocks tell the different times in cities around the world. Taking into consideration how popular it was, and by that I mean you had to squeeze in the entrance and manouever around people, the service was practically rapid fire. This means a huge difference in turn over, and before you know it the coffee order is being called. What I reckon helped with this smooth delivery was the structure: right from the door it is planned like a prodution line. The first station is where you place the order and pay. Got some sweets or a pastry ordered as well? They are gotten from the cabinet and given to you there. Orders for drinks are pushed down to the line to a bunch of baristas constantly busy at work on the machine. It takes less than five minutes here, and this may or may not have been peak hour as well. Not only that, but even in spite of all those orders and the constant motion the staff still seemed calm and collected. This is definitely what I would refer to as an example of professional service. The menu is a really simple one. They serve a range of teas (hot and iced), frappes, and coffees, plus there is a big cabinet that has all sorts of sweets to go with the selected drink. Additionally, from memory they might have been serving some savoury pastries and sandwiches as well. It is more or less a place for afternoon or morning tea, down to the T. That is basically it regarding the food they serve. For me coming here, it was a whole task of finding somewhere new and ducking in before heading back to work for the year. Searching along the routes between the bus stop and work, this one looked to be on the way so it was off to there that I went. After having so many coffees and sweets recently, there had yet to be one for a few months that stood out so well as this. Part of it might have been just how much of a different character the entire place had, but also just how well they care for the presentation of the product. It should be of no surprise hearing the first thing that I ordered - the normal doppio. Memory escapes me of what blend and beans they use to make their coffee; whatever one(s) get selected, they produce quite a reasonable cup. The temperature was not too hot, it was perfectly extracted and the texture was smooth and went down a treat. As for the flavour, not so much on the sweet spectrum but it had that kind of gentleness on the palate often associated with sweet tastes. To split up with the office, the two sweets that I got were a brownie and a blueberry cheesecake crumble. Both of them were a bit more of a pretty penny, and that was for a couple of good reasons. One - the size is actually reasonable for once, and two - the quality of it is high. The brownie had a texture that was completely different to most other brownies that I have had in recent memory. It was not a thick, viscous block nor was it like a smooth cake; it represented more of a baked slice and it was delicious - a lovely mix of dark chocolate and walnuts created a good flavour combination that is a surefire winner. Also, the blueberry cheesecake crumble worked a treat as well. From a taste and texture standpoint with each layer, all three were unique and co-operated to make a light and lithe sweet - the smoothness of the cream cheese body, the tart and juicy filling of berries and the crumbly cookies both topping and forming the base went so well together. When you have a good pot of tea, I can imagine something of this quality is what is expected - and you get it right here. This is another one that I have know about for ages, probably before I even joined up to Urbanspoon, and only really just now got around to coming here. And again, why did I leave it so long? Not being that much of a tea drinker - and that I did not order tea here (as obvious by the review) - I do not have much authoirty in saying just how good it is for getting a pot of tea. It does have the right look and atmosphere for one, and as an oasis it is one place that you can really see the world go by - right outside its door.

My favourite coffee in Brisbane city! The owner is so friendly and knows all of his regulars' orders. The bacon egg brioche rolls and croque monssieur are delish too if you're loking for a warm breakfast on the go. Biggest plus, they are quick and so efficient at serving you but never make you feel rushed. Love!

Great, friendly service and even better coffee! One of the best hidden gems/little coffee spots in the CBD and made especially enjoyable by their trading hours. Perfect spot for a quiet early morning coffee before the rest of the city wakes up. They're fast at getting your coffee to you, however, friendly enough to not make it feel rushed. I thoroughly enjoy their dark chocolate mocha and their vanilla latte.

A friendly little shop tucked away on Adelaide Street. The shop owner is very friendly and the service is very prompt. Ordered a cafe latte frappe- I liked it since it's not sweet and very bitter, the moment you take a sip, the coffee just kicks right in