My first thoughts when I heard the name, The Drowned Rat were 'huh...what...my daughter won't be happy when I tell her we are off to The Drowned Rat'. See she has a deep affection for rats {yes she's a rat kinda girl not the cuddly Koala type}. Then my mind pondered, what on earth does it mean? Drowned rat, hmm, the owners must have a good sense of humour!
Well it turns out there is a fairly simple explanation; Clontarf's newest-eclectic-cool cafe, The Drowned Rat Expresso Bar was named after the 'unofficial' dog off leash area along Hornibrook Esplanade where the super cute cafe resides. Owner, Georgie Hitchlock, {may or may not of} took her dog for a swim there and later commented he looked like a 'drowned rat' - uh-huh! Yep I get it and the name instantly forms a lovely connection with a local pastime.
Well it turns out there is a fairly simple explanation; Clontarf's newest-eclectic-cool cafe, The Drowned Rat Expresso Bar was named after the 'unofficial' dog off leash area along Hornibrook Esplanade where the super cute cafe resides. Owner, Georgie Hitchlock, {may or may not of} took her dog for a swim there and later commented he looked like a 'drowned rat' - uh-huh! Yep I get it and the name instantly forms a lovely connection with a local pastime.
On entering the cafe I was in visual heaven, the citrus tones, vintage knick knacks, the hand painted mural, the comfy chairs and long wooden tables and then the pop of sweets on the counter sitting next to an impressive coffee maker.
Rose & I ordered the sweets platter, an iced tea and iced chocolate. Out came the sweets presented perfectly on a cake stand & the drinks arrived in super cool jam jars with paper straws. The paper texture as I sipped the gorgeous beverage just added to the decadent experience, not that paper straws are terribly decadent but they certainly are the 'in thing'.

I felt a little 'in' chillaxing with my jam jar.
I asked Georgie a few questions about the inspiration behind her divine cafe so we could all get to know the lady behind this wonderful new addition to Redcliffe ~ a place to wind down after a run along the beach with the furry friends.

Inspired by dogs enjoying a splash!
Q. What was the inspiration behind opening The Drowned Rat Expresso Bar? How did you settle on the location? Love the connection with the name & the unleashed dog area on the beach!
"After having my now 1 year old son I was feeling unchallenged and told my partner Matthew I was feeling less than excited about returning to work in the city as barista manager of an 80-kilo per week high volume espresso bar, he suggested I open my own and the seed grew....driving home one day I spotted the newly built and unfinished space at 80 Hornibrook Esplanade in the new apartment block and realised it was the old Jandals cafe site and 'felt' like it was perfect. The beach across the road is an unofficial off-leash dog beach, horse swimming beach with the occasional pod of dolphins and the lovely pelicans! It made sense to us to make it locational with regards to the name 'The Drowned Rat' which may also have a lot to do with our puppy's first swim there and looking like a wet rat indeed!! 'The Drowned Rat is crazy and unique so you definitely can not mix it up with any other coffee bar and it sets new customers expectations quite low as they come in and see whats happening inside!"
"After having my now 1 year old son I was feeling unchallenged and told my partner Matthew I was feeling less than excited about returning to work in the city as barista manager of an 80-kilo per week high volume espresso bar, he suggested I open my own and the seed grew....driving home one day I spotted the newly built and unfinished space at 80 Hornibrook Esplanade in the new apartment block and realised it was the old Jandals cafe site and 'felt' like it was perfect. The beach across the road is an unofficial off-leash dog beach, horse swimming beach with the occasional pod of dolphins and the lovely pelicans! It made sense to us to make it locational with regards to the name 'The Drowned Rat' which may also have a lot to do with our puppy's first swim there and looking like a wet rat indeed!! 'The Drowned Rat is crazy and unique so you definitely can not mix it up with any other coffee bar and it sets new customers expectations quite low as they come in and see whats happening inside!"

Q. The design of the cafe is super cool, what processes did you go through when designing it and then rolling it out? The mural you've been working on is beautiful!
"If you're serious about serving good coffee you have to be prepared to put a bit of money into your machine and grinders and so leaving little in the kitty for fit out! This is where I think Redcliffe is an amazing place to live because of the amount of retro, antique, vintage and second hand stores throughout the Peninsula!! I can happily confirm that there is at least one piece from every single shop in the Peninsula in my coffee bar! The costs associated with setting up any business can mean you have to get thrifty and hands on and I am so grateful to my partner who nailed, hammered and sawed his way through benches, tables, seating and bar after bar to appease me! The outside porch was a dark grey and I decided to carry the dark grey in and add pops of colour throughout the bar with lots of bits and pieces and of a course a big yellow piano! We also have our own drowned rat custom blend coffee with the ecuadorian zumba adding a smooth rounded caramel taste to our coffee that was cupped and blended by myself and local roaster Ed Thomas from Neli. Ed has entered my blend in the national coffee roast awards and already won a medal."
"If you're serious about serving good coffee you have to be prepared to put a bit of money into your machine and grinders and so leaving little in the kitty for fit out! This is where I think Redcliffe is an amazing place to live because of the amount of retro, antique, vintage and second hand stores throughout the Peninsula!! I can happily confirm that there is at least one piece from every single shop in the Peninsula in my coffee bar! The costs associated with setting up any business can mean you have to get thrifty and hands on and I am so grateful to my partner who nailed, hammered and sawed his way through benches, tables, seating and bar after bar to appease me! The outside porch was a dark grey and I decided to carry the dark grey in and add pops of colour throughout the bar with lots of bits and pieces and of a course a big yellow piano! We also have our own drowned rat custom blend coffee with the ecuadorian zumba adding a smooth rounded caramel taste to our coffee that was cupped and blended by myself and local roaster Ed Thomas from Neli. Ed has entered my blend in the national coffee roast awards and already won a medal."

Fitted out with local finds from second hand stores & coffee sourced from local roasters, Neli Coffee
Q. Tell me about your menu? How did you decide what made the cut? What other surprises are there to find at The Drowned Rat Expresso Bar?
"We specialise in coffee 'additives' and by this we mean mostly sweets! we have experimented with quite a few different types but settled on some staples: chocolate brownie bites, carrot cake, orange & almond cakes, passionfruit and coconut slice, caramel fudge, chocolate and cookies. I let the customers decide what stayed by what sold the most and added two savouries in there to go with our breakfast snack items such as fruit loaf, muffins, scones etc. The cakes had to be moist and the eggs had to have been cracked by hands!! which our bakery does! I also made it imperative that we offer at least four gluten free options for food and lactose intolerant milk options. We like to add in something new every week or so and look forward to our Christmas treat offers. We will be getting our food licence shortly and offering bacon and egg rolls for the men!!"
Q. Tell me about your menu? How did you decide what made the cut? What other surprises are there to find at The Drowned Rat Expresso Bar?
"We specialise in coffee 'additives' and by this we mean mostly sweets! we have experimented with quite a few different types but settled on some staples: chocolate brownie bites, carrot cake, orange & almond cakes, passionfruit and coconut slice, caramel fudge, chocolate and cookies. I let the customers decide what stayed by what sold the most and added two savouries in there to go with our breakfast snack items such as fruit loaf, muffins, scones etc. The cakes had to be moist and the eggs had to have been cracked by hands!! which our bakery does! I also made it imperative that we offer at least four gluten free options for food and lactose intolerant milk options. We like to add in something new every week or so and look forward to our Christmas treat offers. We will be getting our food licence shortly and offering bacon and egg rolls for the men!!"
Q. What are your opening times?
"We are open 7 days a week from 6am-3pm Monday to Friday and 7am-3pm Saturday and Sunday. We have free wifi and iPads that can be hired for browsing, work, or watching movies for the kids while mum has a nice coffee date with her girlfriends! We cold brew coffee and our organic teas; make our own cold press iced coffee and iced teas served in funky jam jars and paper straws. We offer various spaces and sweet catering for group bookings and also do a 1 or 2 person petite treats high tea on saturday and sunday afternoons. We are looking to offer live music sundays in about three months and want to hold coffee appreciation & dessert nights in the near future along with wonderful expansion plans."
"We are open 7 days a week from 6am-3pm Monday to Friday and 7am-3pm Saturday and Sunday. We have free wifi and iPads that can be hired for browsing, work, or watching movies for the kids while mum has a nice coffee date with her girlfriends! We cold brew coffee and our organic teas; make our own cold press iced coffee and iced teas served in funky jam jars and paper straws. We offer various spaces and sweet catering for group bookings and also do a 1 or 2 person petite treats high tea on saturday and sunday afternoons. We are looking to offer live music sundays in about three months and want to hold coffee appreciation & dessert nights in the near future along with wonderful expansion plans."

Q. What do you love most about being a {hip & happening} business in Clontarf?
"We are some of the few people who get to live and work here in the Peninsula and avoid the dreaded 'commute'. We love that we get to meet so many wonderful locals who have lived on the Peninsula all their lives and can tell us so much of its history, offering good coffee served with smiles and mixed in with laughter. We enjoy what we do and we want everyone to feel relaxed, content and of course looking at the water all day is good for the soul so we feel that everyone should experience it!"
"We are some of the few people who get to live and work here in the Peninsula and avoid the dreaded 'commute'. We love that we get to meet so many wonderful locals who have lived on the Peninsula all their lives and can tell us so much of its history, offering good coffee served with smiles and mixed in with laughter. We enjoy what we do and we want everyone to feel relaxed, content and of course looking at the water all day is good for the soul so we feel that everyone should experience it!"
Q. Where do you go to chill in Redcliffe {other than your own gorgeous cafe of course with its sea views & dolphin spotting opportunities}?
"My all time favourite place to go have great coffee and awesome food here on the Peninsula is Workshop Co Espresso Bar on Redcliffe Parade: 3 Hat-chef-owner-Vince, is also a business mentor of mine! The place to go to for a wicked pork belly sandwich and two piccolos finished off with coffee talk and bizzo advice! Delicious!! There is only so much cake and cookie a girl can handle!"
"My all time favourite place to go have great coffee and awesome food here on the Peninsula is Workshop Co Espresso Bar on Redcliffe Parade: 3 Hat-chef-owner-Vince, is also a business mentor of mine! The place to go to for a wicked pork belly sandwich and two piccolos finished off with coffee talk and bizzo advice! Delicious!! There is only so much cake and cookie a girl can handle!"
Be sure to pop in and see Georgie & Ebony & let us know what you think! I'm sure you'll be in swoon heaven.
The Drowned Rat
www.drownedratespresso.com.au
Facebook
80 Hornibrook Esplanade
Clontarf Q
The Drowned Rat
www.drownedratespresso.com.au
80 Hornibrook Esplanade
Clontarf Q

GIVEAWAY~
We have 4 Coffee & Cake vouchers to give away, each worth, $10.00. Simply RSVP to Handmade Redcliffe for our upcoming HANDMADE REDCLIFFE SAND & SEA market this Saturday 2 November 2013 2.00pm - 7.00pm. Collection is from Handmade Redcliffe this week, good luck! Enter here ~ RSVP or email us your RSVP if you're not on Facebook here.
We have 4 Coffee & Cake vouchers to give away, each worth, $10.00. Simply RSVP to Handmade Redcliffe for our upcoming HANDMADE REDCLIFFE SAND & SEA market this Saturday 2 November 2013 2.00pm - 7.00pm. Collection is from Handmade Redcliffe this week, good luck! Enter here ~ RSVP or email us your RSVP if you're not on Facebook here.