Not living on the south side of Brisbane, Mt Gravatt is a place I rarely visit and I'm ashamed to say I've never been to the lookout before.
Usually when I'm looking for a view of Brisbane, I head to Mount Coot-tha which is just up the road. There the kiosk has morphed into a cafe and there's also a restaurant. The views are great but it's also very crowded, sometimes with buses full of tourists.
You won't find bus loads of people at Mt Gravatt lookout but you will find great views and a children's playground that's sure to please young and old. We had a bit of fun on the moving platform after lunch but it was a challenge in high heels.
But to the food. I was lunching with friends who were also keen to try out this new cafe/restaurant which quietly opened several months ago.It was a windy day so the only seats worth taking were the ones inside. I could imagine on a clear winter's day the seats outside would be superb.
We chose a trio of dips and Thai-style pork bites from the appetisers menu. The dips were a nice starter at $12.50 with plenty to share between three. The pork bits, also $12.50,were three mid sized balls that lacked a real flavour. Combined with the sauce they almost worked but needed more of a lime hit.
My main was an Angel Bay beef burger $12.50. It came with 'garden greens', tomato, cheese and smokey BBQ sauce and chippies - yay! The beef pattie had a good flavour and the overall burger was great but the slices of raw carrot were a little hard to eat in the burger.
Pinecones chose a steak sandwich, also $12.50, and said the steak was tender and well flavoured. Big Al went for Hoisin chicken and Asian greens, $19.50, which came with jasmine rice piled high. It looked reasonable and she ate it all. It was the most expensive item on the lunch menu.
The Merlo coffee was matched with a custard slice, which was pretty good as far as custard slices go.
The views were spectacular, right across the city and over to the sand hills of Moreton Island. I'd love to see the city view at night.
Echidna Cafe is not open for breakfast and closes after lunch but you can still get a coffee from the kiosk. It opens again at night when there's a different menu.
Judging by the number of people lunching during our visit, it's found an audience.
Bottom line: Value for money varies. Overall reasonable quality food but nothing out of the box. Worth a visit for the views and a simple lunch.
Echidna Magic Cafe,
Mt Gravatt Lookout,185 Shire Rd, Mt Gravatt +61 7 3349 5198
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