Denim Co. - South Brisbane

TL;DR: It is not my cup of tea, but for what it is worth Denim Co does do well for itself as another solid and worthy entry in this nape of the woods. The service is dynamic, the whole look and arrangement of the place is a lot better now than what it used to be and looks like it has some actual character now. This is possibly based from an outsiders perspective, but for me I know that it is not my demographics that this is being aimed for. I was seeing a friend of mine in South Bank for the usual catch-up - that is, lunch and then a movie - and usually somewhere between and/or after there is also the prospect of getting a coffee. This time around, it was for after the film since the lunchtime meal was pretty filling as is, and the movie was going to be shown fairly soon. He had his eyes on this one, thinking it was alright and a way to shake it up a bit on what to have. Also after the movie, he likes to sit nearby the river and have the coffee to go so that is what was done. In coming to and around South Bank in what must be in the hundreds of times, I have eaten and tried quite a good portion of the places here - particularly around the Little Stanley Street area. With that being said, often there were a few which I passed by for any number of reasons. This was one of those places, and I have never thought about coming here too much either but that was not a "never" scenario. Like if it were offered and suggested I would not pass it up. Appropriately enough coming here for coffee as apropos to get the feel for it. Think of it as a safe option for those non-foodies out there. Famously attached to a boutique clothing store - hence its name - Denim Co is the pitstop to a shopping trip on this far side of the river. Between the times though it must have had a refurbishment, gone from kind of standard with the plastic tables and chairs on the pavement to a more modern design that is distinctive and organised. The chairs are now aqua and act like bar stools looking out to the parklands over the road. It looks somewhat post-modern, and some of the wall art is appropriate with the focus of the clothing botique store nearby. Even if design is not your thing, credit must go where it is due and this is where it is most certainly due. From the point of view here with the service, it is pretty straightforward. This is counter service, so basically it is go up, pay and then wait. I am presuming that if it is by the table that they would give you a number and then bring the order over to you. As it was with takeaway, they ask for a name and then call it out. It does not take too long for this to occur before you are on your merry own way. They are generally pretty friendly, the customer service is at an efficient level, and the output was something to be noted. So it does have a good baseline to it already. The menu is fairly standard, the usual sort of fare that could be found at most cafes around town. That being said, the major angle which it generally approaches is being healthy and trendy, along with being somewhat characteristically Australian with the choices. They keep it pretty simple all-round as well. What it starts off with is breakfast where the options are a range of the usual favourites, mostly focusing on eggs and bread with many staples being on offer. When it gets to a bit later in the day, there are pizzas, sandwiches, jaffles and other such light fare. Additionally there is a good range of sweets within the cabinet that will go well with tea and/or coffee at any time of the day. Speaking of that, they do pretty well by the range of beverages in which they offer. It includes coffee for the most part - including French-style bowls (another selling point noted), all sorts of hot chocolates, loose-leaf teas, then a whole lot of house-made cold drinks. Iced teas and punches come up first, then it is milkshakes along with all the related drinks to them. Topping it all off, it has the usual sodas and some other iced teas rounding it off well. When it comes to the coffee, the blend that they use - if my memory serves me correctly - is LaVazza. Now whatever it is that I say about this is probably varying slightly overtime but what is consistent is that it is never up there with the best and might need an extra shot or a talented barista at the helm for it to work. When it came to the doppio, I have had worse, but the extraction was not on point and the flavour was a bit more bitter than usual. Not great, it is drinkable, but when thinking about the many other places that do this better around here - it needs to pick up the game a little bit more. When going up to get my order, I realised that it meant an opportunity for another review so in sticking to my guns I also ordered a sweet along with the coffee. Looking inside the cabinet, one that I noted was unique and that I had not tried it before, therefore it was what I chose. That was an Italian peach. If anything is able to be taken away from here, it is that these are most definitely worth trying out. First aspect about it was just how much it looked like a peach complete with the attention to detail. Two separate bits of cake were pushed together, and in between them was some cream in the middle. Topping it off was a mint leaf, and this makes it worthy of a snap alone. It is like a little Instagram-worthy Easter egg hiding in plain view. Like a cross between a doughnut and a small cake, this was moreish and soft. Not overtly sweet like a lot of these sweets are, and the texture was on point. Even if the price was a bit steep for a piece of cake, the portion was at least somewhat reasonable and did manage to be filling. It was powdered with a good amount of icing sugar, and the fact that this one is made in store fresh is a good indicator about it. Denim Co was okay. Maybe it was just the coffee, but it did not do much for me. As with most places, it is definitely not without its strengths and its appeal. The design of the place is bright and quite appealing, and there is often quite a bit of a crowd around it so they must be doing something right. It has focused well on its demographics, partially with So what we come to is another place in which I am not really here nor there about from what I have had, where it is not without some notable strengths in what it chooses to do. The coffee from here is okay, nothing that is to write home about and if it weren't such a mark-up it could have kind of recommendation to here. That is to say that I did not hate it, nor disliked it, since the components were varied in their quality and it is one of those places where the appeal is apparent, and I can easily see it. The thing here though, it is not for me and especially in an area where there is such a variety of different fare to sample this one feels a little standard and behind the times when comparing what else is on offer.

TL;DR: It is not my cup of tea, but for what it is worth Denim Co does do well for itself as another solid and worthy entry in this nape of the woods. The service is dynamic, the whole look and arrangement of the place is a lot better now than what it used to be and looks like it has some actual character now. This is possibly based from an outsiders perspective, but for me I know that it is not my demographics that this is being aimed for. I was seeing a friend of mine in South Bank for the usual catch-up - that is, lunch and then a movie - and usually somewhere between and/or after there is also the prospect of getting a coffee. This time around, it was for after the film since the lunchtime meal was pretty filling as is, and the movie was going to be shown fairly soon. He had his eyes on this one, thinking it was alright and a way to shake it up a bit on what to have. Also after the movie, he likes to sit nearby the river and have the coffee to go so that is... read more

Nice coffee, amazing service, I like the staff so much I'm stating to become a regular here and they welcome me with a smile every time. I tried the chicken sandwich and it was amazing. will go back to try some of their yummy cakes on display.

Ordered a tall iced tea that was listed under "house made drinks". It was takeaway so I had the pleasure of watching it being made. First came the ice, then a scoop of very icy lemon sorbet, topped with - the best part - LIPTON iced tea straight from the bottle. For $7, I could have made at least 10 of these cups at home. The lemon sorbet may as well have been home brand, it didn't justify the cost at all.

The staff here are friendly but nothing over the top or to remember in particular but I absolutely love the atmosphere and they're in a great spot in South Bank. The food is okay, nothing special either but the coffee is good as is presentation.