Riverbend Books & Teahouse

Another weekend, another breakfast with friends in lovely/​quaint/​hip (or style-​over-​substance?) Bulimba. This time we opted for Riverbend Books and Teahouse. The setting is very nice with a bamboo lined wooden deck that is reasonably well shielded from Oxford street. Service was prompt and friendly. Coffee came out lightning fast.
With a group of five we ordered from across the menu, as you can see in the photos. I ordered the Riverbend brekkie; at $ 20 the most expensive on the menu, but it was not stellar. The sausage was great however and almost worth the entire plate. Reviews on the Avo (beautifully presented on nice sourdough — see pics) were good, but the cheese was a bit bland. I didn’t get any reports on the shroom on sourdough and on the croque madame, the latter of which looked quite good and was conquered in record time.
Overall, a very nice place with friendly staff, but not Wow. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back at all, but with so many great options around I won’t go out of my way: 3 stars.

Not just a fine shop to indulge in your book-​obsession, Riverbend also offers a decent café menu. Stopping here recently for a meeting, I opted for a long black with hot milk on the side (Genovese) and the roasted vegetable quinoa salad. My lunch came to less than $ 20 and the flavours in the salad were delicious — roast zucchini, capsicum and onion with a light mint yoghurt dressing. It was the boost I needed to power through the rest of the day.
I hadn’t ever thought of Riverbend as a place to stop, enjoy the leafy surrounds on their outdoor deck and enjoy a decent coffee and fresh salad. How wrong was I? If you’re local or in the area don’t dismiss this Brisbane-​institution as your place to stop and re-​fuel.

The 3 B’s
Having been to Riverbend Books and Teahouse in Bulimba several times, it is one of my favourite spots in Oxford St. Riverbend is to Bulimba what Three Monkeys is to West End. Popular with locals and always reliable. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and will order in any books that they currently don’t stock. But my most favourite aspect of Riverbend is the «Teahouse» portion of the store, which reflects a quintessential Queenslander lifestyle; the casual setting, the large deck, with its timber, stainless steel and bamboo. Whether breakfast or brunch, a full table service, offering delicious food, coffees, organic teas, warm baguettes, or vegetarian options just to name a few. Riverbend even allows the public to book the deck in advance, for special functions, offering canapes and wines for that product launch, or high teas with the girls, birthdays, engagements, or just about any special occasion really. They’ll happily work with you to customise a preferred menu. Every now and then they’ll have special guests, prominent authors, or celebs promoting their latest work, which any one can attend. All you have to do is keep a lookout for events coming up on their website. So if you are ever thinking of books, breakfasts, and Bulimba (the 3 B’s), then Riverbend Books and Teahouse is the place to be (B)

I recently dropped in for breakfast, lured in by the pleasant looking veranda, with its cooling overhead fans and cloistering bamboo. It’s one of those places where you have to wait to be seated and I’m happy to report that I didn’t wait long before I was greeted by a bubbly waitress who found me a nice spot near one of the side railings.
The service here is about as formal as you get for a café with the aforementioned feature, full table service and wait staff who’ll bring you water and pour it for you. The breakfast menu is pretty reasonably priced, with my vegetarian fry up only setting me back $ 12.50 — relatively cheap these days.
I was tempted by the apple, mint and ginger frappé, but was informed they were out of mint. The waitress offered to substitute with orange, but that seemed pedestrian to me, so I declined. So I settled for my food order and water and began to wait… and wait and wait. After half an hour I flagged down a waiter who checked for me then assured me it was being made. It came out another five minutes later.
On its own merits the breakfast was very good; the tomatoes and mushrooms cooked to near perfection, the sourdough toast delicious with a crust of un-​hulled grains, the poached eggs a little on the runny side (but better than the alternative) and a generous serve of lush green wilted spinach.
That said, considering that nothing on the plate would have taken more than 10 minutes to cook, a wait time of over half an hour isn’t really good enough for me. Maybe they’re used to customers sitting down with one of their books and not noticing the passing of time as they wait for their food, but I hadn’t made it to the book shop yet, and I probably won’t anytime in the near future.

If there was ever a business that could be the poster child for Oxford St it would be Riverbend Books, owned by a local family that has been running this business since I was in kindergarten, Riverbend books has merged from a simple book store into also being a teahouse that serves some of the best food in Bulimba.
A Breakfast at Riverbend is a great experience. The hot chocolates are incredible and teamed with some Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon you will walk away a few calories heavier, but with a giant smile on your face.
The book store is also top notch. This can be attributed to the staff all being extremely knowledgeable of every book that moves through the store. The best thing about Riverbend is that if they don’t have a particular book there in stock for you they are more than happy to order you in another copy for you to have in just a few days time.

Riverbend Boks gets five stars because it does two of my very favourite things — food and books — very, very well. It’s so unique, nestled among trees on a shady block… in the middle of Oxford Street?!? Seems anomalous, but there it is, like a haven in a busy concrete jungle. You can go anytime and browse the books and enjoy a cuppa and a bite to eat, get a bit fancier and have a wine, or you can plan your trip around an event. Check the schedule for visiting authors and other activities like book launches or discussions. I saw Tim Winton there once!

When I used to live in East Brisbane it was almost a religious act that once a fortnight I’d go to Riverbend Books to unload some cash on my reading persuasion.
One of my favourite things about Riverbend is that the staff. I don’t know if there’s a screening process but every employee in the bookstore are avid readers. With a multitude of interesting literary works, if I’m unsure about a novel I can always ask is someone. Nine times out of ten my question will be answered.
As a loyal customer, you have the access to join their book club where the more purchases you make the greater discounts you can have on future purchases.
In addition to this, you can become apart of the reading culture Riverbend is always promoting. They frequently have local poets and authors in to talk about their works, giving you an insight into the artistic mind and process.
Outside the bookstore, on the deck, you can order a coffee and meal if you so desire, completing the enjoyable experience. It should be pointed out that, being in Oxford Street the prices for food and drink can seem a little questionable, but it is Bulimba, you have to expect it.

Riverbend is a great little bookshop on Oxford St. You can spend quite a bit of time just browsing through their collection and getting a coffee or meal from their café. The counter staff is always pleasant and ready to engage in some friendly chit chat.
What’s great about this bookshop too is that they hold many events. There’s the monthly YRead book club for Gen Y-​ers out there where for $ 15 you can discuss the monthly book while enjoying a glass of wine and some crackers and cheese. There’s also author events, readings, book launches and other such things, which you can look up on their website or Facebook page.
I must say that the meal prices can be a little pricey but it’s an independent bookshop so just remember you’re helping them stay in business. They do have good coffee; I always go for a mocha. And out of the many places on Oxford, this is a nice place to relax. Definitely worth a visit or two.

Shrouded in bamboo and conveniently situated at the top of Oxford Street, the Riverbend Books & Teahouse is a perfect stop for anyone moseying along this famous street for a day of shopping or whatnot. Surprisingly, it actually has a touch of exoticness because of the bamboo, but it’s equally matched with a quaint bookshop to counteract that. The meal I got was a little on the bijou side of things for the price I paid, but I think that comes with the territory on Oxford Street. That doesn’t seem to deter anyone though because it’s always very busy with people passing through.
Their website has a great little news section so you can keep up to date with all its latest happenings. Stop in at this little landmark for breakfast or lunch and take a look through their bookshop while you’re at it.
The teahouse is open until 5pm, 7 days a week but the bookshop has differing times.