Brightbird Espresso

The best coffee in Warrnambool. Great consistency and worth coming back for.

Great coffee, and really helpful, happy and kid-friendly staff, especially early morning!

STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE AT BRIGHTBIRD ESPRESSO ----- The décor at Brightbird Espresso has a clean minimalist design, large tables, and an open and airy dining area with a number of seating options. Two benches cater for those wishing to sit outside, allowing six to a table. Staff are friendly and welcoming. ----- We headed to Brightbird for lunch and coffee. Sitting outside we had to discover for ourselves that no table service was provided. We then discovered that no menus are provided either, as the menu is written only on a blackboard inside. We had to leave the table at the risk of it being taken by other diners. ----- Two lattes were ordered (1 soy, 1 regular = $8.40). Lunch was ordered, 2 x BLT's, which included avocado and Parmesan cheese ($10.90 each). I requested that my BLT have no Parmesan cheese, and my friend didn't want avocado. Not all went according to plan. ----- “We can't actually do that. All our Turkish breads are pre-made,” replied the waitress to our order. ----- I took a glance in the glass cabinet where the food is stored and saw the offerings. It wasn't impressive; the BLT looked flat, thin on filling, with cold bacon, and didn't look worth the $10.90. The way the meals were stacked up looked like stock standard fare from a city food court. I cancelled the order. ----- “I can pick the cheese out for you,” said the waitress, as she attempted to rescue the sale (even though the cheese looked as though it was melted onto the bread). ----- Having my lunch picked at doesn't sound very appetising. The sale had sailed. ----- There are a few issues with Brightbird. ⎯ With five staff working, during the summer holiday period and having only several customers seated, it doesn't seem like table service would be unreasonable. ⎯ The lack of physical paper menus creates another unnecessary hoop for customers to jump through. It could be imagined that this is to give the impression of being environmentally aware, but a few pieces of paper aren't going to do any significant harm. ⎯ The most annoying and obvious flaw is that Brightbird has the complete inability to cater for individual requests, or prepare food to order. This is an establishment with a large amount of space, and there are plenty of staff, so it seems unfathomable that this is not possible. ----- From looking elsewhere I have seen that Brightbird prides itself on its coffee. The coffee is of a good standard, but nothing that makes it stand out from other places visited during my coffee drinking adventure around Warrnambool. Other places are actually a little cheaper, and often offer superb views. Brightbird also appears to pride itself on its apparent uniqueness, but this is in contrast to its “pre-made or the highway” approach to food. ----- Service, while the staff are very friendly, lacks to a point where the customer has to fend for themselves. Witnessing two staff members take turns utilising one of the prime street-side benches while they ate their lunch during the midday lunch hour probably wasn't the best impression to give. This became especially apparent when I noticed the man who had been eating his lunch on the other bench, watching us as we were trying to figure out how the service worked, was actually a waiter. He was on a break, so I guess there was no requirement to assist. ----- For Warrnambool standards, Brightbird is “alright for a coffee, but let's go elsewhere for lunch.” There are many other places around Warrnambool that will provide better service (and menus), make just as good coffee, and who will make food to order where the choice is yours.

Good coffee, although too hot. Great food. Decor okay, but relative to Warnambool, it's outstanding. Hip place, go here

Perfect little gem for an early morning coffee, good selection of good quality coffees made well by capable barristers; Something for every coffee snob. Good quality food, high quality ingredients the BrightBird is now my breakfast cafe of choice when in Warrnambool :-)