Symposium Cafe - CLOSED

Overview

All-day breakfast. Those three words alone will be enough to convince some that Symposium Cafe is worth a try. Who likes to drag themselves out of bed on a Saturday morning and be dressed and out the door in time to catch the end of breakfast service.

If those three words failed to entice you, then these three things may succeed: paleo, vegetarian and gluten-free. If you have not yet encountered Brisbane's fledgling relationship with paleo, then read all about it here. Like fellow 'caveman' eateries Primal Pantry and Paleo Café, Symposium Cafe offers dishes with organic produce, grass fed meat, no grains, no dairy, no preservatives and no processed sugars and oils. Unlike the two aforementioned paleo restaurants, Symposium Cafe offers quite a few conventional alternatives.

So, if you're not the type who needs to eat their bowl of granola or plate of eggs at midday, or who is generally unimpressed by the parade of health food fads trotted out by various Brisbane establishments, then there is a final hat-trick that may persuade you. Three dishes served up by Symposium Cafe: grass fed pulled lamb shank with sweet potato mash and wilted spinach, truffle eggs benedict served on zucchini fritters with a choice of double smoked bacon or hot smoked salmon, Kobe beef burger with bacon, cheese, tomato, fried egg, spinach and relish with onion rings and served on a crusty bun (or without if you prefer).

These dishes are satisfying, quite wholesome and should suit everyone from the least health-conscious eater right through to the most committed of health nuts. That said, it seems to be those closer to the latter end of the spectrum that Symposium Cafe attracts in great numbers. Visit on a weekend morning and you will see tables of post-workout parties, still glistening with the signs of their most recent gym session, boosting their kale smoothies with maca and cacao, chia seeds and protein powder.

The coffee is above par, with beans produced by Veneziano in West End. Full cream dairy milk is offered, along with trim, Zymil, organic soy milk, organic almond milk and coconut water. Or, if you dare, try the bulletproof coffee with grass fed ghee and coconut oil.