A few of my readers and followers may have noticed recently that when I can, I've decided to make a point to get a late brunch on Fridays to get myself in the mood for a relaxing weekend, rather than carrying the stress and anxiety of work with me on my days off. To this point, I have tried several brunch spots in the main CBD area recently and nothing has really blown me away until I venture out to either the Gabba, Fortitude Valley or West End. So my quest continued, and I was lucky enough last Friday to receive an invitation from Troy and Arron, the owners of the Smug Fig, to try out their 7 month new cafe, ED cafe, hidden away in the foyer of IBM Building, up on Edward Street. Grabbing Spiderman with me, we made a trek up the hill past our usual temptations of Charboys and Taros.
Getting there at 11.30am, it we successfully beat the lunchtime rush. I loved the plants, vines and mural on the wall, almost as if to take us away from the cement jungle that we find ourselves in.
I quite liked the menu, which was short, but provided breakfast and lunch options, healthy and hearty options to satisfy both carnivores like myself as well as vegetarians.
The drinks menu was fairly standard and had the usual suspects of coffees, smoothies and iced drinks.
A display cabinet contained an assortment of goodies, I had my eye on the Oreo Cheesecake, but will have to come back at a later date to try it out.
After making our orders at the counter, we got a front row view to watching our drinks get made, as always, increasing my appreciation of our beverages.
Within 5 minutes of our order, our drinks came.
This was the Mango Smoothie, which contained its namesake mango in addition to banana, vanilla bean yogurt, goji berries, honey and milk. He really enjoyed it, especially given the fact that there was a good balance in flavour, all elements being easily discernible and not overcome by any one ingredient.
Wanting to be adventurous that morning, I had the Acai smoothie, comprising of acai, strawberries, banana and coconut water. I too found a good balance in my smoothie, which was undoubtedly smooth but also refreshing. I especially enjoyed the strawberry and banana combination being botoh sharp and sweet at the same time.
After two sips of our drinks, and around 15 minutes after ordering, our food arrived. As most corporate workers in the city are, being restricted by our lunch hour is a major consideration for us in eating out. I was definitely impressed by the timeliness and quality of the execution.
Spiderman ordered the Big Ed, ED Cafe's version of a big breakfast. Comprising of two poached eggs, spanish chorizo, smoked cherry tomatoes, shortcut bacon, mushroom and tomato relish on sourdough. He also added a side of wilted spinach. It made for the most festive and colourful spread. He particularly enjoyed the smoked tomato, which we were later informed was made with liquid smoke to create such a unique and intense flavour. The highlight for me was without a doubt his perfectly poached egg. Cutting it open revealed an immaculately cooked white that left no transparent portions but a wonderfully liquid yolk that bursts open with joy. Seeing eggs like this left me smiling all day, to the point where I went back to work and was greeted by Iron Fist saying "you've had a good meal I see."
Readers will know by now how predictable I am, almost always ordering the same meal from different restaurants. So as my usual brunch selection goes, I opted for the most customiseable option, Eggs your way, that came with tomatoes, sourdough and bacon, along with extras of salmon and chorizo. At the point of ordering I noted the lack of avocado as an extra, which would almost have made this an ideal brunch. Like Spiderman's, my eggs were poached to perfection. I really enjoyed the bacon, which was just the right thickness and had a good crispiness without being oily. Salmon was also fresh and the sourdough light but also filling. 
Being closer to lunch than it actually was breakfast, we got a side of fries (hey, any excuse to have fries, alright?). These were shoestring, my favourite variety, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, served with a side of aioli. Lightly fried and crispy, this was the cherry on top of the cake that was our wonderful meal at ED Cafe. I can't wait to go back.
Espresso and Matcha were invited guests of ED Cafe, but as always, our opinion is solely our own.
Price Range: $15 - $25pp
Taste: 9/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10
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