New affordable cafe / restaurant opens in Robina
You may have never heard of Bear Espresso in Robina’s M1 Business Precinct, but that’s about to change.
Having opened in December last year, the little cafe is on a mission to change the way you think about fine dining with highly experienced chef Michael Smith at the helm.
With affordable good food at front of mind, Michael is out to make the kind of fine dining experienced in the best of restaurants available for under $20.
“We’re serving a fine-dining standard of food in a casual setting for people who maybe can’t always afford it, or maybe they’re turned off by the formal atmosphere, ” said Michael.
The atmosphere together with the size of the beautifully plated meals is real point of difference at this welcoming little hub.
“The food is next level for a cafe, with a focus on presentation and technique, because that’s my background.
“We’re making everything in house – and it’s just me doing it – and that’s where we are saving on costs.
The new venture also represents a fresh start for the chef and his young family.
“More or less I was tired of cooking for other people,” said Michael.
“That was always about maximising profit, but I want this to be about building goodwill and respect.
“I’m inspired by the casual food scene in Melbourne – it’s a completely different league; up here people seem to be scared to do anything different. ”
Gourmet food on the menu for lunch and breakfast
If soft tacos with saffron and lime crumbed whiting or Byron Bay pork and ginger rolls for lunch or the breakfast waffles with vanilla-bean mascarpone sounds alluring, you may want to quickly mark down the address and head over to Energy Circuit as soon as possible.
⊕ Hot Tip! Are you a local Robina worker?
Bear Espresso has a $10 workers lunch menu available only to local workers from Monday to Friday.
Get your coffee fix
Of course if you’re looking for a caffeine hit, the cafe doesn’t disappoint with beans sourced from Southport roaster Silipo also available for sale.
With coffee available from just $3, it’s friendly on the pocket too.
The cafe is currently open for breakfast and lunch daily from 8am – 3pm with plans to expand to dinner for Thursday to Saturday.
“We’re a destination venue – you do need to come look for us – but I think if you have good food, good coffee and friendly staff you can’t go wrong no matter where you are.
“At the moment we have about 30 seats, but in the next stage of the shop we’ll put another 30 seats outside,” he said.
Find Bear Espresso
You can find Bear Espresso in the newly built Ravia@Robina complex at Unit 21/6 Energy Circuit in Robina – just off Scottsdale Drive, opposite Robina Police Station, and next to the newly opened Bounce Inc.
Visit www.bearespresso.com for more details including menu and pricing.
