I like it when a day surprises like today when I discovered great coffee in shopping centre food court.
Why open an espresso bar in a food court? Well according to Sarah Morgan of the Mantle Group their goal is to offer good quality coffee without pretence. It's for all the mums and dads out there who like great coffee but don't feel trendy enough to go to hip cafes.
But it's not only great coffee, it's also a blend specially developed by Mantle Group's own Head Coffee Roaster Jolie Beckett who has worked her way up through the coffee world participating as both a competitor and a judge at speciality coffee association events. The Constellation blend, which includes beans from PNG, Sumatra and Ethiopia, will soon be offered exclusively across the eight Mantle Group properties which include Jimmy's on the Mall and the Pig and Whistle, Queen Street Mall, Riverside and Indooroopilly.
It's a sweet and fruit medium-bodied blend with citrus and chocolate note, eminently drinkable. Even better there's an introductory coffee offer until April 13 where the price for a cup is only $1.50. That is awesome value. The espresso bar also sells a wide variety of tempting sweet cakes, slices and biscuits plus rolls and sandwiches.
It's certainly a surprise for me to find a local, family owned company with such dedication to food that they
have their own coffee blend, their own organic farm at Pullenvale, an in-house butcher and French pastry chef and beer, wine and cider under their own label.
Mantle Group’s founder and director Godfrey Mantle said Mantle & Moon is for people who love good coffee, without the pretence.
“It’s a blend, which was purposely created by Mantle Group based on our 34 years within the hospitality industry and listening to what customers wanted from their coffee,” Godfrey said.
“When it comes to ingredients and produce used in our restaurants, we leave nothing to chance. To ensure the ingredients used in our venues are consistently top-quality, where possible, we remove any room for error by cutting out the middle men.
“Our business is completely integrated,” he said. “We are very serious about the quality of ingredients and produce we use in our restaurants.
“Where possible we like to source produce internally and manage every step of the process from paddock to plate.”
Mantle Group has its own herd of Black Angus cattle in the hills of Bilambil Heights, NSW, which provides all of the restaurants with top-quality veal. For beef supplies, they have partnered with one of Australia’s top breeders, Signature Beef, to provide them with their own line of Kimberley Red. The in-house butcher handles all cuts of meat for the venues, including creating their own specialty sausages.
Alongside the butcher, Mantle Group also has a full time French pastry chef who makes all of the pastries and desserts for all of their venues out of their commercial kitchen in East Brisbane. The pastry chef and butcher are joined by a chief saucier who makes all the sauces and gravies.
Organic herbs, curry leaves, fruit, kaffir limes and galangal are grown at Mantle Group’s own specialty farm at Pullenvale in the western suburbs of Brisbane. The Mantle & Moon team are also using Arabica beans from their first small crop at Pullenvale farm and a trial shipment of cocoa beans from Mantle Group’s Bougainville plantation.
“For years we have been following the paddock to plate ethos through relationships with our beef producers, wineries and breweries and now we can say the same for our coffee,” Godfrey said.
have their own coffee blend, their own organic farm at Pullenvale, an in-house butcher and French pastry chef and beer, wine and cider under their own label.
Mantle Group’s founder and director Godfrey Mantle said Mantle & Moon is for people who love good coffee, without the pretence.
“It’s a blend, which was purposely created by Mantle Group based on our 34 years within the hospitality industry and listening to what customers wanted from their coffee,” Godfrey said.
“When it comes to ingredients and produce used in our restaurants, we leave nothing to chance. To ensure the ingredients used in our venues are consistently top-quality, where possible, we remove any room for error by cutting out the middle men.
“Our business is completely integrated,” he said. “We are very serious about the quality of ingredients and produce we use in our restaurants.
“Where possible we like to source produce internally and manage every step of the process from paddock to plate.”
Mantle Group has its own herd of Black Angus cattle in the hills of Bilambil Heights, NSW, which provides all of the restaurants with top-quality veal. For beef supplies, they have partnered with one of Australia’s top breeders, Signature Beef, to provide them with their own line of Kimberley Red. The in-house butcher handles all cuts of meat for the venues, including creating their own specialty sausages.
Alongside the butcher, Mantle Group also has a full time French pastry chef who makes all of the pastries and desserts for all of their venues out of their commercial kitchen in East Brisbane. The pastry chef and butcher are joined by a chief saucier who makes all the sauces and gravies.
Organic herbs, curry leaves, fruit, kaffir limes and galangal are grown at Mantle Group’s own specialty farm at Pullenvale in the western suburbs of Brisbane. The Mantle & Moon team are also using Arabica beans from their first small crop at Pullenvale farm and a trial shipment of cocoa beans from Mantle Group’s Bougainville plantation.
“For years we have been following the paddock to plate ethos through relationships with our beef producers, wineries and breweries and now we can say the same for our coffee,” Godfrey said.
Find Mantle & Moon espresso bar on level 3 of the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre next to Pig ‘N’ Whistle and Phuc Deli-Viet.
Bottom line: Be prepared for Indooroopilly Shoppingtown's teething problems as it morphs into a larger centre. Parking can be difficult.
Best tip: Buy some coffee to take home.
Disclaimer: I enjoyed a free cup of coffee and brought some home.