Daark Espresso

"9/10 Cafe 5min from uni where med students often hang out (also Claire’s work) and enjoy the balcony view. Visited 24th August 2020 with Pat when the rest of the clinical skills squad couldn’t make it. Shared Creme Brûlée French toast and Okonomiyaki with Pulled Pork, with a Caramello milkshake. Visited a 7th September 2020 with Pat because there were still a tonne of things on the menu we wanted to try. Shared Blueberry Crumble and Salmon Croquettes with a Vanilla thick shake Visited mid 2020 with the family when they came down to visit for the weekend. Ordered Chilli Scrambled Eggs and Summer Frappe (passionfruit/mango/raspberry/banana/apple) Visited late 2020 with mum when I couldn’t come home because of work. Shared Cinnabon French toast and Seasonal Fruit Panacotta with a Vanilla Chai latte and Caramel Brownie for later Visited early 2021 with mum after transporting my curtains down. Ordered the Slow Cooked Lamb Salad with a Refresher juice (orange/lime/strawberry) Visited mid 2021 with mum before a trip to the beach. Ordered Spanned Crab Benedict with a Vanilla Chai latte. Visited late 2021 with mum after transporting lots of my things back to Brisbane. Shared Spanish Eggs and French Toast (again) with a Vanilla Chai Latte. Visited 15 October with Ester, Emma, Cat, and Eesha straight after our final Year 2 exam to celebrate. Ordered the Lamb Burger. Visited 16th October with combined group of undergrad friends and Claire’s group the morning after end of year party to celebrate. Order Pork Belly Bao Meals Creme brûlée French Toast: in term of custard-ness this French toast won, so gooey in the middle and the brûlée topping on the banana was so cool Okonomiyaki with Pulled Pork: perfect ratio of cabbage to batter meant good texture and flavour (particularly with all the little traditional garnishes like ginger and edamame), was also surprised by how well the pulled pork went with it Blueberry Crumble: I couldn’t believe it but this was even better than the French Toast. It came in a little skillet with some of the best vanilla icecream I’ve had, and that combined with the crumble and tart blueberries was to die for Smoked Salmon Croquettes: in another twist this was on par with the Okonomiyaki - crispy with delicious hot salmon and the highlight: lime aoli Chilli Scrambled Eggs: not quite what I’ve come to expect from Daark, they were good but if there was chilli in the actual scramble as well as just sprinkled on top I couldn’t tell Cinnabon French Toast: a near-religious experience that came dangerously close to being as good as the French toast from Elk. The crunchy Cinnabon crust and cinnamon sugar would good but the cream cheese frosting made it great Seasonal Fruit Panacotta: the first massive fail unfortunately, the panacotta had a really weird too-solid texture and just didn’t taste good at all to the point we couldn’t eat more than a bit each Slow Cooked Lamb Salad: the winning combo for me was the flavourful tender pulled lamb with the yoghurt dressing and pickled onion (although I will admit I picked out all the chick peas because in my eyes they just diluted the flavour) Spanner Crab Benedict: we saw this on the new menu and both immediately had to try it (no sharing)! No as show-stopping as some of the other meals but still delicious with a very generous amount of crab/roe and very nice nori hollandaise Spanish Eggs: another dish in an adorable skillet, beautiful flavour on the beans and chorizo (not as good as No Name Lane but eat least as good as Elk) Lamb Burger: once again delicious tender pulled lamb, and when combined with the tart beetroot relish and tandoori sauce was one of my favourite burgers I’ve had Pork Belly Bao: never going to be as good as bao at an Asian restaurant but it actually came very close, best part was how juicy the pork belly was and the sheer amount of hoisin Drinks Caramello milkshake: very good but quite rich and not much caramel (better to have without a full meal I think) Vanilla thickshake: incredible - improved by being a thickshake (so so thick) and the vanilla was strong but tasted natural rather than like a syrup Summer Frappe: very clearly made with fresh fruit, like a boost mango tango crush but even better Vanilla chai latte: hands down the best chai latte I’ve had in terms of sweet vs spicy and texture Refresher juice: funnily enough very refreshing and obviously made fresh Pastries Caramel Brownie: very good warmed up, the brownie was rich and gooey, the caramel sauce was salty and thick I just with there was actual caramel in the brownie itself "