Travellers, adventurers and coffee fiends the world over are always on the lookout for a café with uniqueness, a point of difference, something maybe even wonderful.
Those who seek such places, and particularly the gems well loved by the locals, will generally be rewarded.
If you ask around Ipswich, there are plenty of favourites that get a devoted mention.
Here are just a few of the many that abound in our heritage city.
Short Black serves great coffee in a den filled with art, mostly by local artists, that the owner has massed over the years. Owner Gareth, has built a loyal following since opening Short Black in the Top of Town stretch along Brisbane St. It’s the coffee, the banter and the vibe that nails the point of difference so well here. And there’s a cake shop next door (BAKED BY Joseph & Ann) if you’d like to BYO a little something to have with your latte, flat white… or short black!
Rafter and Rose, the botanically blessed laneway coffee spot, continues to wow, even under new ownership in the past year. Portia and her crew have stayed true to the made on site ethos for the menu and cabinet offerings and there’s a continued focus on gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options. Items like hearty burgers, fruit and petal spangled waffles and liberally frosted cheesecakes are all deserving of an Instagram hero shot.
And while on the subject of plants, Trevallan Lifestyle Centre has installed a caravan for the serving of coffee and snacks amid the beautifully sprawling plant nursery. I love that there are vintage tables and chairs and cushioned milk crates dotted around. This is a place to come for some serene sipping while the bees and butterflies flit about. Owner Chelsea is a fount of knowledge when it comes to all things gardening too. The centre includes a gift shop with loads of plant pots, handmade homewares and jewellery.
Ellen and Rod is another favourite café with locals. Barista Lo makes the prettiest piccolo you ever did see! This is another kitchen that makes most of the menu onsite. There are tables out on the footpath and, inside, an ever-growing gallery of polaroid snaps of doggoes that have visited with their humans over the years.
If you’re heading out for coffee and a bit as a crowd, particularly with children in your group, Queens Park Café is your go-to. Big rowdy tables fill an open-air verandah here in the heart of Queens Park and there’s an impressively diverse menu on offer. I recently returned for an old favourite – the nachos and can happily report they’re as good as they were three or fours years back when I was more a of a regular visitor. The smoothies are also worth a try – think frosty coconut and mango with pineapple and mint.
For those who have a gluten-free diet, Gluten Free for U is a dedicated café at Brassall doing what the name suggests and there are large freezers filled with pastry, pies, cakes and bread that you can buy to take home.
If you’d like a side of shopping with your coffee, Seed Coffee is tucked in next to the sprawling homewares, gifts and fashion emporium, Country House, in the Boulevard Arcade while The Mill Coffee Shop upstairs in the repurposed old flour mill building on Brisbane St is next to Embers & Twine and upstairs from The Soul Cauldron. Or head to Marburg to see Emily with her Special Branch Collective, a café and garden shop, slotted in between brother Athol’s and father Les’s antique shops, The Black Museum and Scotland Yard respectively. While in Marburg, visit The Soul Nook Collective for shopping and coffee and events in a picturesque old timber church. That’s a whole lot of uniqueness right there.
