Pawpaw Cafe for Lunch

Pawpaw Cafe
898 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba

I'm developing a theory that friendship ismay be built on rituals. The daily texts. The weekly coffee sessions. The monthly girls night out drinks. Or, in mine and Nina's case, the brunch/lunch dates in one of Brissie's best whenever she's in town. Ever since my most faithful dining buddies have decided to move on to other parts of Australia (Mochi, I'm looking at you :p), I'm finding it more and more difficult to bother checking out new places. I can't drag Marc up that early and while I used to find motivation to visit cafes alone, I seem to have (at least currently) lost that drive.

Nina's trips back home have become something I really look forward to. I gave her a list of cafes I wanted to try and she selected Paw Paw, based on their menu. I've been to Green Papaya many years ago and Pawpaw is the casual, cafe project by the same people. I parked down the street but then discovered they had a parking lot adjacent to the building. It was easy to find street parking anyway.

The cafe has a wide open front window, but you enter from an obscure back door. I ordered a watermelon and apple juice when I got there and it was served very quickly.

Watermelon and apple juice

I'm loving all the quirky beverage vessels we see in cafes nowadays. Yes, it does make a difference! I'm a sucker for these kinds of things and whilst sipping out of a jar may have seemed hick in the old days, I find it adorable.

Flat white

Nina wanted a coffee as soon as she arrived but there was a pause in waitstaff attention. By the time someone did come to our table, we were ready to order our food as well.

Israeli breakfast - house made falafels, red pepper hummus, dukkah, grilled flatbread, boiled egg, fresh chopped salad

For food, I went with the Israeli breakfast because despite its title, it sounded perfect for a light lunch. The presentation was delightful. Falafels are often dry but this wasn't the case here. I enjoyed them and they had a nice, crunchy exterior. The salad was fresh, vibrant and zesty too.

Avocado plate - red pepper hummus, house marinated fetta, dukkah and dressed rocket on toast

Nina went with the avocado plate, which was my runner up option. Her plate had some similar components to mine, namely the house-marinated feta (definite win) and hummus.

Aside from the initial wait to order our food, service at Pawpaw was steady. The cafe was surprisingly busy for a weekday lunch, considering its location. We love this style of food that's simple, healthy and focused on flavor and freshness. This could easily become a regular spot because the food isn't overbearing.