Espresso Garage – West End, Brisbane
Directly opposite Davies Park on Montague Rd, resides the baby version of the Garage frequented by many of my MAMIL (middle aged men in lycra) buddies at Southbank. I say the baby version because it is a smaller coffee place with more limited food selection than its Southbank sibling. The coffee blend is the same – Super Brazil, the Genovese flagship blend – in both locations, however the atmosphere is less colourful and less sweaty.
According to the friendly staff, the baristas rotate between the two locations, which each have a Wega machine that we concluded was a Sphera. Having had a brew at each location, I think there is a consistency in the cup you will drink at both. Although one order was mucked up (we were the only ones there at the time), I must say we enjoyed our individual cups. The brewed result was a pleasant cup of coffee that was easy to drink whilst we engaged in pleasant banter about coffee, life and work. As you can see we drained our cups with relative ease, and by the time we drew the camera there wasn’t a drop left in any cup.
I have to say that Genovese is easily my favourite ‘mainstream’ blend without doubt. If ever I am on the hunt for a coffee, I will walk past other high profile blends to find a coffee shop with Genovese. The Espresso Garage delivered a good solid cup that was easy to drink and left no bitter after taste or the need to hit the water post consumption. However, the coffee doesn’t really excite the palette as other coffee shops closer to the heart of West End might. If you are keen to have a Espresso Garage experience without the bike riders, this is the place for you. If you are a bike rider – it is much quicker to get a coffee at West End!
Rating: A solid 6 beans
