Brasserie Bread, Banksmeadow

Ok, I admit it. I'm not a morning person. Call me out for breakfast and I'll probably turn you down in favour of sleeping in. But there are some places that I will make an exception for - and this is one of them. Tell me you're taking me to Brasserie Bread for brekky and I'll gladly leap out of bed to join you.

Walking into Brasserie Bread we were greeted with the smell of freshly baked bread and a whole wall full of artisan breads, including their famous garlic bread. There were also various pastries and cakes on display, as well as preserves and olive oils. But more about that later - first, breakfast!

Brasserie Bread is split in half with one side being the bakery and one side being the cafe. We headed over to the cafe side of the establishment and made our selections from the menu board. Luckily it was still early and there were plenty of seats available but half an hour later the place was starting to fill up quickly.

Sourdough pancakes with stewed berries and honeycomb cream - $12

The sight of the sourdough pancakes made us glad that we ordered two servings of them! The sourdough pancakes are made with Brasserie Bread's 14-year-old sourdough starter in the batter, making them deliciously light and fluffy. The mixture of stewed raspberries and blueberres are slightly tart and go well with the smooth and sweet honeycomb cream.

Sourdough pancakes with banana and maple syrup - $12

The other variation of the sourdough pancakes are banana-flavoured with maple syrup and flaked coconut. These pancakes have chunks of banana in them and are flooded with maple syrup, sprinkled with flaked coconut and dolloped with cream. It's a little bit sweeter than the other version but equally as delicious.

Slow cooked lamb, potato and spinach hash - $14

We also order two savoury dishes to balance out the sugar and also so we don't feel like we're having dessert for breakfast (although there's nothing wrong with that, is there?) The slow cooked lamb, potato and spinach hash comes with two toasted slices of bread. The bread has a wonderfully crunchy crust and a chewy inside, and is amazing when slathered with butter. The lamb is also nice and tender although a bit on the salty side.

Tasmanian smoked trout with cucumber salad on rye bread - $12

The Tasmanian smoked ocean trout with cucumber salad on rye bread is cool and refreshing compared to the rich slow cooked lamb and is also drizzled with the olive oil sold in the bakery.

(left to right) Strawberry tart, chocolate caramel tart, lemon tart

After a satisfying breakfast, we head over to the bakery side to make our selections to take home. Apart from the big loaves of bread, there are also small bread rolls and seeded buns which you can sample. The pastry cabinet also contains some beautiful eclairs and tarts. Here, I also met the lovely Mei who writes In The Dough, the Brasserie Bread blog.

 

Coconut Teacakes: (left to right) strawberry, Jaffa, lemon and summer berries

There are 4 flavours of coconut teacakes and we buy one of the lemon ones. It has a layer of sweet icing on top and inside the moist light cake is a lemon filling which is wonderful citrussy surprise.

(foreground to background) Rhubarb tart, chocolate brownie, raspberry and pistachio friand

We also buy one of the flourless chocolate brownies which are made with Callebaut chocolate and have Californian walnuts studded in them. These are dense and rich and even a small piece is enough to satisfy my chocolate cravings. It doesn't stop me from scoffing the whole piece though.

Apricot and frangipane tart

I can't resist a fruit tart so we select the apricot and frangipane flavour amongst several other fruits (rhubarb, apple, and sour cherry). I love the buttery shortcrust pastry and the frangipane and the apricots have been baked just so they are starting to caramelise at the edges.

Last but not least we buy a loaf of the garlic bread to take home. The whole roasted garlic cloves hidden inside the bread are sweet and caramelised - it is honestly unlike any other garlic bread I have ever tasted. Sorry guys, no pictures of this because it was gone in a flash! But take my word for it. Best. Garlic. Bread. Ever.

Brasserie Bread
1737 Botany Road
Banksmeadow NSW 2019
Ph: 1300 966 845
Open Monday - Friday, 7am-3pm
Saturday & Sunday, 8am-2pm
Closed on public holidays


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