Brot

Nice solid bread, good sandwiches, delightful little pastries.
And pretzels! Anywhere that sells pretzels gets an automatic +1 from me. I could pretty much just eat pretzels all day. But today I did get a silverside sandwich as well, which was tasty but not soggy or too full.

These guys bring it in loaves. Calling it European might be a bit of a stretch but what they do, they do bake well. Each morning their display cabinets are replenished with freshly baked panini rolls and there’s a selection of salad rolls for the lunch time crowd.
While it might be a fairly basic looking bakery-​slash-​café, I prefer to think this is because they focus their energy and money on the baking skill and equipment and I think it shows in the quality of goods.
Alas, I tend to really only visit Brot to pick up loaves of Zehnder’s Gluten Free loaf and have always found the staff to be helpful and cheery. It’s easier to park in the underground car park for Woolworths and walk around to the store.

Brot is the most simplified description of this bakery which produces little mouthfuls of heaven. It sells far more than just bread, and you can literally smell the yeast and sweet pastry from around the corner.
Everything in this little bakery is absolutely delicious, and really, you have two choices when you walk in. One, is either to select just one pastry and then endeavour to return the following day to sample another. Or alternatively, do the smart thing and literally buy one of each pastry. That way you can determine your favourite whilst being able to complete a fair comparison. Having done this, I have made the firm decision that the guava danish is my absolute favourite, with the vanilla twist coming in a close second followed by the cinnamon whirl. But that decision changes every week.

Pretzels! Real, New York style pretzels. You know what I mean: big, chewy, bagel-​like in texture, and covered in salt crystals the size of my fist. There aren’t many things I like more than a good pretzel and until Brot opened, Brisbane was completely devoid of one.
When Brot opened they were located on Adelaide street just near the corner of Edward street. Those were glorious days because I could grab a pretzel or… ahem…two whenever I was in the city. Their lease there ran out and Brot moved to Ashgrove. A less convenient location, but the quality of their pretzels is evident in that I will get in my car, drive to Ashgrove, and find a park just so I can sink my teeth into one of those twisty beasts.
I realise that this whole review thus far has been about Brot’s pretzels, but they have delicious bagels, breads, and baked treats like Portugese custard tarts. I’m yet to have anything from Brot that hasn’t been fantastic. The staff are super friendly and helpful, and you can even place bulk orders.
Brot is German for bread and they sell themselves short with that name. They should call themselves Sehr Sehr Fantastich Brot.

Every time my parents mention one of their trips to Europe they tell be to go and visit Brot.
To begin with I ordered a few basic rolls for home made sandwiches. Next I began to buy a loaf here and there if I was going to a part or just to have at home for my morning breakfast. Next I began to visit every morning to get a coffee on my way to university or work. Then I began buying a desert for my wife and I for after diner. It was an unhealthy but satisfying obsession.
At one point I think I’d had one of everything from the store and than it hit me. I just got over it. It got to the stage that I’d kybosh any suggestion of buying anything from there.
After a while, a few months, my wife came home with a pastry and we sat on the veranda sharing it and sipping a coffee. When I asked where she had got the desert from she told me Brot. The obsession had gone.
My suggestion is to not hammer Brot because its definitely a joint to can overdo, moderation is the key. But if that’s not your bag — go for it — hell to leather.

Brot serves some of the best tasting coffee in Brisbane and that’s not even what they do best. A café/​bakery hybrid brot’s shelves and display cabinets are filled with delicious looking pastries, crusty bread and freshly made rolls and sandwiches. With an emphasis on gluten free breads and organic coffee there is likely to be something to appeal to most people. My advice is to get the biggest coffee they have and supplement it with their unbeatable pecan and maple plait or a tasty little portogese tart.
Situated right on the corner of Ashgrove Avenue and Waterworks Road brot is a surprisingly quiet little café. For those who like their cafes kooky and eclectic brot may leave you a bit cold. It’s décor is sharp and clean with its orange and brown logo splashed across the wall as if they’re a world renowned franchise. And if they keep producing the goods at this rate they may well get there.