Melt Brothers - Brisbane

Incredibly disappointing. Cheap, tasteless cheese (and hardly any of it - check out my photos) and cheap, white bread. I had the Mouse Trap (apparently 3 different cheeses - havarti, American and aged cheddar) while my friend ordered the Holy Cheezus (+ham). Both were equally bad and neither of us bothered to finish them. Can someone please bring quality and flavour to the game!

Someone, somewhere at sometime must have been playing a lot of games on the website Flipline Studios when they were a bit younger. Seeing how popular something can get, and how customers will frequent the snacks even more readily than most other places - whether they are willing to admit it or not. Trying to find that right niche, something that is specific enough to draw a person in, that is straightforward appeared to be the go. But which one? The city is inundated with burger places, along with bubble tea joints, and some others are going to need sit down. Hey now! The perfect idea is right there. The grilled cheese sandwich, the toastie, the hot item which is frequented at a lot of cafes. That seems to be a good item alongside the burger, the hot dog and other foods that are simple and easy to eat by hand. Also, the points go there for being unique. It can be a selling point, such as a potato crisp cafe in Belfast (seriously, it exists - Google it), so how can it be expanded and improvised with? Also, so much more can be done with it than people think, and it is easy to do on a budget - also, plenty of room to be creative. So here we are at Papa's Cheeser...... uh, the Melt Brothers Company. Seriously though, the Melt Brothers was started up by a duo of brothers, one whom had a vision about such a concept to bring it into the streets of Brisbane. All that needed to give the brainchild brother that final push to pursue it was that a similar venture had found success in Melbourne. It also got influence from the alleyways of big cities like New York - which Gretchen Lane more or less is akin to. It is one of several small hole-in-the-wall eateries, that stand a little like a food court, each offering something specialised and distinct. Many office buildings are close by there, and these all cater well for that target demographic. The newest one is specialising in the grilled cheese sandwich. At this hole in the wall, the choice colour is yellow. All the boxes are piled high to ceiling, awaiting an order to go. The design choice is necessarily simple. There is a small bench with a few high stools and one high table adjacent to it. For more seating, there are the benches across from the eatery. Collections are done a bit like a tuckshop where the kitchen is in the back, and there is a hole right there to collect the orders when they are done. You are given a buzzer which goes off when they are ready to collect. However, that can segue to the service with me being a lucky duck right then .... So as per usual the buzzer was given, but this was a quiet time between the lunch rush and possibly people getting a snack on the way home or after work. Additionally, while a lot were probably elsewhere considering the heavy rainfall. This time, with no real rush or anything, I got the table service treatment which was a bonus. It is all done fresh to order, the guy at the counter knew the language and even went another extra step - the sandwiches being done freshly would mean some take longer than others, and a coffee is doable with less than an email check - so he asked if the coffee would be good right then, and I said yes. All was good thus far. As per usual, it was a Wednesday and that meant I went on a hunt to find somewhere to get a bite to eat before heading some for weight training. More often than not, I attempt to keep it as cheap as I can - more challenging than it should be. This time around, I had a vague idea about what to get, and was doing another errand beforehand. In honest, at that time I was sort of chasing a coffee and was trying to find a certain place. It was around this time that it started raining quite a bit, and I was near Gretchen Lane and the Melt Brothers were one idea that I had in mind to get to. So, it was cold, it was wet, I was hungry, something hot would be perfect - all the right signs aligned up. Well, it has already been mentioned several times that this is a grilled cheese sandwich place. It is my obsessive nature to assign cuisine when I can, and this is well and truly American. The aesthetic even reminds me of a fast food place in the states, with the bright colours, outlay and everything. Also, unofficially the grilled cheese is the second favourite sandwich in the States (as I've been told, and for the kids that is), some of the designs here are either based of American sandwiches or have ingredients associated with it - particularly Southern style fare. Also, c'mon! They also have taters tots on the side. That is pretty much in the vein of an American place if you ask me. In addition, there is a special design every so often plus a dessert one on the menu. Drinks come in the form of sodas, beers, ciders, juice and coffee. That is it. Whatever the case may have been, there was not a chance I was leaving without getting a good coffee. That came in luck just by seeing the coffee machine. With no sweat invovled, I got the good old doppio. In fact, what finalised that decision was that they use one of the best beans around - Fonzie Abbott - which is always a good sign (some time back, I would have said it deserves more coverage and now it is getting it - I am sticking by these guys). Whatever blend they were using, it was not the Highside blend. I know because that is one I am familiar with, which has more of a cocoa note to it than anything. This was closer to a fruity or floral note. As always, a lovely flavour that is hard to pinpoint because it is not quite sweet, but definitely far from bitter, the texture was smooth and it had a lighter note to it while delivering a good amount of strength. It was all that it needed to be. At that time, and quite often, it is the thought of having fried chicken which gets me drooling. Some other places were also circling my head, this one as well since one of the items had that on it. Well, no surprises so far, and continuing that trend - the BFC is what I got. This means "buttermilk fried chicken". What was on the sandwich as well was some slaw, an aged cheddar, and buffalo sauce. As a neat extra, you can get any of them loaded with tater tots for about a dollar extra. I don't know about you, but I have always been one to put the fries on my burger when I get it (or the potato crisps on a sandwich or whatnot), so seeing this option is a pretty effective and efficient way to get the whole meal in. It was a simple meal to be sure, and one that might not have been the biggest meal around, however how it made up for all that was being solid and filling. The chicken was tender, juicy and just fantastic. It was obviously cooked right then and there for the sandwich, and the coating was hot, crispy and slightly spicy. Eventually it is envisioned that they might serve this as its own item on the menu - that is something that is just waiting to happen, and could bring in a whole new swarm of customers. These bits are also big pieces as well, so there is no shafting either way. The slaw was simple, done with purple Russian cabbage and a sprinkle of vinegar, and the cheese was simply good. Nothing wrong with cheddar, and it being mature gave it a stronger flavour. Those tots were also a great addition, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It all made for it being good. So, all that has been said so far is what is needed. It is streamlined to the point of absolute simplification and for what they do, they do it to a T. Often something like this doesn't really warrant to high of a score - don't want to blow up expectations too high - so with a 4.0 score that I am giving it, this means that they have the edge of distinction where what they do, they do it really well. Complete with connections to UberEats, Deliveroo and others, it is fair to say the Melt Brothers planned far ahead and are already reaping the rewards. TL;DR: Grilled cheese, why not? Various variations galore, and the whole service from every angle is done right. They know the prime target to attract, and that is doing it like bees to flowers. The young men behind here deserve recognition and applause.

Someone, somewhere at sometime must have been playing a lot of games on the website Flipline Studios when they were a bit younger. Seeing how popular something can get, and how customers will frequent the snacks even more readily than most other places - whether they are willing to admit it or not. Trying to find that right niche, something that is specific enough to draw a person in, that is straightforward appeared to be the go. But which one? The city is inundated with burger places, along with bubble tea joints, and some others are going to need sit down. Hey now! The perfect idea is right there. The grilled cheese sandwich, the toastie, the hot item which is frequented at a lot of cafes. That seems to be a good item alongside the burger, the hot dog and other foods that are simple and easy to eat by hand. Also, the points go there for being unique. It can be a selling point, such as a potato crisp cafe in Belfast (seriously, it exists - Google it), so how... read more

I was out with a friend on St. Patricks Day and after a few drinks we decided we’d better eat something to line our stomachs so the night doesn’t come to a screaming halt too early and we thought ‘what could be better than a grilled cheese when you’ve had a couple of drinks?' It was okay but we didn't think it was at all impressive. The bread tasted a little stale, it could be the fact we went at night rather than during the day though, I’m not sure. I got the mouse trap which was simple but good. It’s $6.50 which makes for a very cheap dinner and although the sandwich is quite small, it’s a good size if you’re just after something while you're out drinking; small enough so you don’t feel bloated but enough to know you’ve eaten something. My friend got the mac and cheese one which was okay but the mac and cheese on it was super bland. We also got the loaded tater tots… Yum! Really wished that the cheese sauce was actually drizzled over all of them though because it was so tasty but it was basically only on the top five or six tater tots so it seemed like a bit of a bit of a rip off.

I was out with a friend on St. Patricks Day and after a few drinks we decided we’d better eat something to line our stomachs so the night doesn’t come to a screaming halt too early and we thought ‘what could be better than a grilled cheese when you’ve had a couple of drinks?' It was okay but we didn't think it was at all impressive. The bread tasted a little stale, it could be the fact we went at night rather than during the day though, I’m not sure. I got the mouse trap which was simple but good. It’s $6.50 which makes for a very cheap dinner and although the sandwich is quite small, it’s a good size if you’re just after something while you're out drinking; small enough so you don’t feel bloated but enough to know you’ve eaten something. My friend got the mac and cheese one which was okay but the mac and cheese on it was super bland. We also got the loaded tater tots… Yum! Really wished that the cheese sauce was actually drizzled over all... read more