I've been to Picnic three times. I was excited to check it out after I sent the D man on a mission there one day when I didn't have time to join him for breakfast - and he loved it.
Owned by the Venzin Group, Picnic has been around a little while (this year? Late last year?) and is sister cafe to Paw Paw in the Gabba, and Little Paw Paw in Kedron.
Campos coffee is on the menu (yum!), and the decor is relaxed and a bit of fun. Food is served on enamel plates, and there are cutesy knives, forks and spoons with kitchsy patterns on: the picnic theme is noticeable and a bit fab!
A regram of my first breakfast at Picnic with the Dman - can't believe it was 15 weeks ago already!
The first time I visited Picnic with D (above), I had poached eggs on toast with relish, he had the baked beans with slow cooked ham hock and poached eggs. He obviously won! That's what I get for trying to order a modest breakfast! Long blacks flowed and the coffee was great. If you are a baked bean fan (the homemade type) then I suggest you get your tail down to Picnic. They don't have it as a stand alone anymore, but it does feature as a component of their Big Breakfast.
Which brings me to the second time we visited. It was another Friday morning, I wanted a cheeky breakfast and D reckoned we didn't have time. Ha! We drove in separate cars from Tingalpa to Camp Hill, and I had the genius idea to ring ahead and see if they would do a pre-order for me! They did! How lovely is that? Totally above-and-beyond the call of duty.
I ordered the fruit toast and the big breakfast for the big guy.
The Picnic Big Breakfast is a show-stopper. Fried chicken, eggs, ham hock baked beans, fried kale, homemade hot sauce and rye toast. FRIED CHICKEN! FOR BREAKFAST! Woo hoo!!
And it's really good. The chicken is all breast, no bone; delicious. KFC could learn some things. Crispy, not dry, not greasy. The hot sauce is HOTTT! Not for the faint hearted. Every element on the plate was good, and had a purpose. Yes, even the crispy kale provided a nice contrast to the meaty, rich flavours of the rest of the dish. I had mega breakfast envy. D was the happiest man alive.
I'm having a bit of a toast moment. I used to think it was the most boring thing to order for breakfast, but I love the revival of homemade jam that's happening at the moment. So sue me!
Had the fruit toast as I remembered the rye being a bit ordinary on our first visit. It was just okay. Light, not overly fruity, old-school fruit toast. Nothing to write home about. HOWEVER - the jam was YUMMY! You can see the whole strawberries still in tact in the photo - this was a tangy, sweet, strawberry jam that made me wish I was eating scones and cream! Delicious.
So that brings us to this morning! Another Friday pop-in. I must admit, it's D who keeps insisting we go back - the baked beans and fried chicken draw him in every time!
D's Mum is over from NZ, and so we headed over to Picnic with her and D's littlies. Taking a 2 year-old and a 5 year-old to a cafe is always a brave move, but we were hungry, dammit! They were so well-behaved and really loved the Picnic decor.
Unfortunately, this morning the cafe was a bit understaffed. It took quite a while to get water, then menus, then a drink order, and about 15 minutes after we'd finished our drinks, we had our order taken. They've always been prompt in the past, so I'm happy to put it down to an unexpected rush of customers, and a few big tables.
There was much deliberation over what to order, as the menu seemed expanded and very inviting. (You can check it out here)
I settled on the picnic board, D on the big breakfast (no surprises there), the kids got toast and jam, whilst D's Mum ordered scrambled eggs with bacon.
If the ordering process was lengthy, the food sure turned up fast!
The Picnic Board had a lot of tasty bits and pieces
D was stoked with his breakfast again, although he said his poachies were a little harder than he'd like. Mine were perfect, and I enjoyed the fresh vibe of my board. My only gripe was that there was probably just too much stuff, or not enough toast. I cetainly ran out of toast to spread all the lovely bits on. The fetta was a standout - tangy, spiced, creamy. If I order this again in the future, I'll skip the eggs and just make a tartine of all the other bits.
Dylan's Mum's scrambled eggs and bacon looked fantastic, but I didn't get the chance to pap it! She noted the eggs were creamy and the bacon crispy. It was a generous portion, and well priced.
I think the kids actually really won out with their rye toast and jam - a smooth strawberry jam this time- almost more like a coulis - and the toast had improved out of sight since last I had it. We were all picking at their crusts until not a crumb was left in sight! (Yup, I will steal food from children).
The kids enjoyed babycinos. Marshmallows not shown/ I wasn't quick enough!
Overall, this is a great little brekky spot and it comes highly recommended. My next move is to get down there for lunch to try out their Fried Chicken Burger! Looks drool-worthy.
Until next time!
xoxo AB