The Establishment

A good spot for takeaway but not the best spot to sit down, as seating is limited. Coffee is not particularly cheap at $ 4.50 for a regular either but it is good coffee. Not sure how much I agree with some of the décor — a wench type figure with a glass plate directly on top on her ‘melons’. Don’t think I’ll be placing my coffee there…

4 stars for the service here. I’ve been here twice and the service was friendly and professional, you feel like their customer not another person to serve.
First time I tried this place they were right on closing and still served me, I call that appreciating the customer. It’s also a great spot to chill and watch West End.
I’ve only had coffee and muffins here, coffee is ok, muffins… hmm please stop heating them up in a microwave. Please, also stop with the smother of powdered sugar. That’s why you lost a star :(
I am dying to try one of their breakfasts, from what I see they look like huge portions and pretty yummy. Perfect for my greedy ass.
I recommend this place, the biggest thing for me is customer service and this place has it down.

It’s a pretty tough ask to be cosy and adorable when the sky is pouring rain on to the streets but The Establishment managed it. And that was with us sitting outside.
It’s a small café with indoor and outdoor seating. The one downside about the outdoor seating is that you’re sitting on the sidewalk so people brush past your table or have to stand right beside you to wait to cross the road which is a little bit awkward and made me a touch uncomfortable.
Coffee was delivered quickly and was pretty decent. You can pick your bean strength which is a nice touch and they have the descriptions for the different beans painted on to the walls. The meals were good and very reasonably priced. I had the artichokes on sour dough with slivered almonds and crispy prosciutto. My friend had avocado with pesto and fetta on sourdough. Both were very good portion sizes and our eggs were perfectly poached.
One downside of the whole experience was we ordered a second round of coffees which just never made it to the table. No explanation as to what occurred and after waiting for ten minutes we just got up, went to the counter and had to reorder them to go. That was somewhat disappointing and really ended the meal on a little bit of a sour note.
$ 45 bucks later and with full tummys I’m pretty happy to part with three stars for The Establishment.

«There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning». And so it is, with The Establishment (Coffee & Catering), West End’s latest offering. This café, by day, Italian eating house by night, recently opened to the public (just before Easter 2014), occupying the old site left by Roundabout Café.
As a regular of the former, to the point of getting to know the owner, and potentially having a dish named after myself and some friends, it was with surprise and sadness to see the site closed. Thankfully, The Establishment seems to have filled the gap very well indeed.
The Establishment is the café arm of the Coffee Roasting business that operates out of Browns Plains, which itself is relatively new (being only a few years old). The part-​owner of that business decided to venture into more than just coffee with his daughter Catherine, and The Establishment in West End was born.
There’s plenty of seating outside and inside is where they’ve definitely done a great job in creating a space that reflects a bit of fun, with a tad of class, whilst still maintaining a casual-​relaxed atmosphere. Fun comes in the funny quotes that you see on the walls, like «A yawn is a silent scream for coffee». The clean black colour of selected walls and funky looking low-​hanging lampshade along with the neatly stacked wine bottles, add to a classy feel, while the indoor small pot plants hanging by the windows facing the street, makes one feel totally at home.
Having just opened, and being quite busy, The Establishment was struggling when we came in to fulfil the all-​day breakfast orders (available weekends only), and so had to close the kitchen for thirty minutes to allow the chefs to catch their breath. Which was fine by us, as we weren’t in a hurry.
Service was excellent, and our expectations were managed well, upon entering. From telling us about the kitchen situation, to seating us, providing water and offering the items available in the fridge; some cakes, wraps, sweets, lasagne and Turkish sandwiches, but we preferred to wait for when the kitchen was ready again.
The breakfast menu is divided into sweets, savoury, eggs, and «extras», and the prices seem reasonable, with nothing over $ 20. Drinks, range from Coffee of course, teas, smoothies, and I noticed that to «takeaway» your coffee is $ 4.50. A little steep I thought, depending on the size of this (as I didn’t ask). Vegetarians and Gluten free people will be happy to know that there are options for them on the menu. I ordered the Bacon & Eggs on toasted ciabatta with grilled tomato, potato cake, tomato chilli jam, and came with eggs ($ 12.90). My other half ordered the vegetarian breakfast with toasted sourdough, crispy polenta, grilled tomato, homemade baked beans, with capsicum relish, and also coming with eggs ($ 18.90).
Coffee was nice. No bitterness at all, smooth but strong, just the way I like my long black. The temperature was very hot, so I had to pour some cold water in. The breakfast was excellent, perfect crispy bacon and fluffy scrambled eggs. Although my order was missing the potato cake. By that stage I was hungry, and just wanted to eat. My favourite bit was the tomato chilli jam. By all accounts the Vegetarian breakfast was also very good. The Chocolate mousse dessert in the martini glasses sitting over by the fridge looked too good to pass up, so we ordered one. Again, it was divine. Loved the taste of the crushed pistachio-​like crumb as you get to the base of the mousse.
The Establishment is a place full of potential. Service is already excellent, and the food great. Once the kitchen, and everything runs seamlessly, West End will have another memorable café, locals will regularly flock to. Looking forward to their dinners, (which will be an Italian menu), and will begin on Tuesday 29^th April 2014.