Sometimes in the mornings before tafe I don't have time to visit one of the awesome coffee places in and around south brisbane, and I find myself at Merlo. That sounds a bit mean, but Bar Merlo is just a bit... meh. There are always lineups in the morning - I don't think it's necessarily because it's an outrageously popular spot - it's just the hipster staff are too busy looking bored to serve people efficiently... But if you've got 15 mins before class to wait for a coffee (but not the 20-25 mins to hot step it over to tall short or champ and back again), by all means - get in line.
The coffee is ok. It's not fantastic, but the baristas are not entirely clueless. It's definitely drinkable, the temp is usually spot on (although occasionally you'll get given a scalding hot cup that will burn the skin right off the roof of your mouth... The food is not great, it's ok - if you like pre-mix muffins and average paninis etc. I haven't tried the pizzas/lunch because I only got a 30 min lunch break and if I have to wait 15 mins for a coffee I can only imagine how long a pizza will take! They might be ok - let me know!
I guess Bar Merlo serves a purpose... the coffee at the other coffee shop thing on campus is grossssss so it's not hard for them to win that contest. Maybe they think students have all the time in the world to wait, I don't know... I don't have that much time, actually - so maybe if their staff picked up the pace, my review would be a little bit less judgy... no guarantees though. read more