Cicada is a cafe, restaurant and bar, which places it amongst one of Brisbane's many jacks of all trades that fail to master any individual one. I've only had breakfast at Cicada, so I'm only reviewing the cafe third of the establishment.
My breakfast choice was the Spanish eggs. These have become a very common item on breakfast and brunch menus. Spanish eggs (huevos a la flamenca in Spain) are a varied dish consisting of whatever vegetable is plentiful and cheap (say, spinach), ham or bacon, a tomato sauce, and eggs baked in a clay pot. These are then usually served in the same clay pot. The Spanish eggs at Cicada were nothing like these. Really, there was nothing Spanish about this dish at all. Instead, what I got was a plate of spinach and fried bacon, with a few stalks of asparagus, topped with two fried eggs. On asking the waitress about this, she replied that the pots they were baking the eggs in tended to imbue the dish with a strange taste, so they gave up on their huevos. Interesting that this choice is not reflected in the menu.
The confusion about Spanish or not eggs, the meal itself is relatively ordinary. There was little flavour in the dish, mostly because the majority of the dish was a pile of spinach which was in no way reduced or altered by cooking or spice. The eggs, while excellently executed with nicely runny yolks, could have done with the addition of some herbs or even salt to enhance their flavour. The tomato chutney in the dish was too strong in its curry notes and sweetness, easily overpowering whatever it was paired with. Not really what I expected from a dish labelled as Spanish. Overall, the menu tends to veer on the pricey side.
The coffee at Cicada consists of the standard espresso-based coffees. Though their long black is well made with no bitterness or coffee grindings in the aftertaste, their latte had a thick layer of foam uncharacteristic of a standard latte. The coffee--like their food--is somewhat overpriced given these misgivings.
The wait service were very attentive, though a little confused, bringing a coffee but not clearing old cups. Aesthetically, there is nothing particular about Cicada. It has a rather sterile corporate feel, though the noise levels are pretty good given it's proximity to Adelaide Street. That is, unless City Hall bells are a ringin'. read more