HIT THE DECK
From the nautical to the nice, you’ll find all the cafe classics at this neighbourhood hub
THE COFFEE DECK 5 ADMIRALTY DRIVE, PARADISE WATERS
PARADISE Waters, your ship has come in.
The new neighbourhood hub under The Nelson building offers a convenient port of call for locals to meet for a meal or grab a morning coffee.
The Coffee Deck’s treat cabinet does the talking when it comes to first impressions, crammed with house-made cakes, oversized muffins, white chocolate marshmallow slice and grab-and-go meals.
Trendy aqua and yellow metal bistro chairs are a splash of colour in the sea-themed interior, but grab a cushion if you anticipate a long voyage.
Drop lights, a pastel feature wall, plenty of room between tables and an ATM complete the picture.
The menu focuses on classic cafe fare for a fair price, covering breakfast and lunch.
I devoured a breakfast wrap ($16) and was still full by lunch time. The saucy all-in-one option is bulging with scrambled egg, garlic mushies, bacon, spinach, haloumi and a hashbrown.
Lots of creamy hollandaise and a crisp base of toasted Turkish ($16) ensure the eggs benny is also a good choice.
There’s a good level of flexibility throughout the menu, with eight choices of bread alone, along with cheap options for the kids.
The refreshment range revolves around coffee and a comprehensive collection of smoothies and shakes.
They’ve launched a new menu since I visited late last week, with goodies such as ricotta, corn, zucchini and capsicum fritters and a breakfast pizza. There’s also a chicken, bacon and avocado burger that’s definitely a job for two hands.
While unfailingly pleasant, the service wasn’t particularly proactive. The order-at-thecounter system was seamless, but those little touches – like offering table water – would give it more of that friendly local feel the residential setting demands. They do get extra brownie points for efficiency, with our meals delivered in a jiffy and order of takeaway cheesecake neatly packaged and ready to go when we were.