Another day in Birs Vegas, another cafe. Pearl of Woolloongabba is a timeless looking establishment that I instantly know I am going to like. We wander in at 11am, however, breakfast has finished and there is no lunch until 12pm… Hmmmm. We have a coffee and decide to wait until lunch, which was the right choice as the food is awesome – a little strange though that the menu takes a one hour tim- out… That would not stand in Sydney.
Packing an elegant kid-gloved punch, the coffee is delicious.
I feel like something light and the waitress recommends the house-cured salmon salad with curls of fresh fennel, hunks of beetroot and delicate veins of dill. It is the perfect summer salad: vibrant and satisfying but not overwhelming.
The special of the day is a pulled pork sandwich with sour cherries. Drool. It oozes with juice and is an absolutely cracking combination of flavours. I love cherries. I find they are underutilized here in Australia, and that we do not see them for the jewels they are, unlike the Europeans.
Pearl lives up to its name and is definitely worthy of a spot in Brisbane’s top ten cafes. Lovely service, no pretension. I want to go back to experience whatever morsels of heaven were baking in the pastry kitchen upstairs. You could have a love affair with the aroma floating down.
