Yolk cracks the inner city with a brand-new location on Queen Street
The team behind Yolk has opened a new Brisbane City location, taking its cult breakfast rolls beyond Newstead for the first time. The Queen Street venue is serving up a tight menu of breakfast staples done right, simply reframed for a faster pace. Looking for a new pre-work pit stop? You’ve just found it.
Yianni Passaris has never been one for chasing trends. While the algorithm pushes new specialty obsessions to the fore every few months, the seasoned operator prefers to keep his focus firmly on the classics.
Of his concepts, few embody that principle better than Yolk. Since opening in 2019, the Newstead-based, fast-casual, all-day eatery has built its following with a small menu of crowd favourites done exceptionally well – the chief of these being Yolk’s bacon-and-egg rolls.
That’s not to say Yianni hasn’t considered shaking up the formula, but even as Brisbane’s food scene has diversified, Yolk has remained the yardstick by which many brekkie rolls are compared.
“A lot of people say to me, ‘Yianni, you’ve got to do this or introduce this sandwich,’ but I always think about why Yolk started. Yolk started because of the bacon-and-egg roll, so we’ll always stay true to that,” says Yianni.
“Everyone comes back to the original staples. Yeah, Brisbane has evolved, but we’ve stayed true to ourselves when it comes to the food.”
This week marks the biggest step in the Yolk story since its inception. A brand-new location has just opened in the heart of Brisbane City, with Yianni and his team officially cutting the ribbon on the new Queen Street joint on Monday April 13.
The newbie has been a long time in the planning, with Yianni opting to bide his time until the perfect site revealed itself.
“It took me about three to four years to find the Gasworks site,” recalls Yianni. “I kept saying to myself, ‘Where can I go to replicate another Newstead?’
“I knew that wasn’t going to happen, but it still took another two years to find a new location after deciding to expand. Older buildings can make infrastructure difficult, and we needed foot traffic. When this site came up, I jumped on it straight away.”
Located a short stroll from the Golden Triangle and surrounded by office buildings, Yolk is well poised to capitalise on thousands of passers-by every day. With this in mind, the team has tweaked Yolk’s format, opting instead for a layout geared more towards grab-and-go than dine-in custom.
“Yolk Brisbane City is more of a hybrid,” reveals Yianni. “We’ve got about five tables inside, some standing space outside, but the kitchen is massive – it’s double the size of Newstead. With this first city location, the larger kitchen allows us to focus on catering, or even use it as a central prep space to support other future stores.”
Alkot Studio has been engaged to spearhead the project’s design, with Barbara Albert and her team carrying over the brand’s signature yellow tiling (with coral-coloured grout), contrasting it with stainless steel and raw concrete finishes. A pair of hatch-shaped kitchen passes pay homage to chicken coops, while the vivid ‘Stay Golden’ neon acts as a beacon, luring wanderers with the promise of filling fare.
Speaking of which, Yolk’s full menu is available in The City. The offering can be loosely divided into two sections. The first encompasses Yolk’s range of rolls – the classic bacon-and-egg roll, a steak-and-egg variation, buttermilk chicken burgers and a smashed wagyu patty cheeseburger.
The ‘Not Rolls’ section encompasses the likes of scrambled eggs with papaya salad, chicken rice salad, buttermilk chicken strips with kiev mayo, and make-your-own bowls. A selection of ‘eggstras’ are on hand to upgrade your meal, including crumbed mushrooms, haloumi and hash browns.
For drinks, there’s freshly squeezed orange juice and milk, as well as black and filter coffee from Five Senses.
While the classics will remain, Yianni admits he’s toying with the idea of some menu additions, which may be trialled as specials.
“There are some items we’ve played around with – like a peri-peri chicken burger or a Nashville-style burger, maybe even sandwiches – but it’s about finding the balance,” Yianni says. “I think we’ve got such a good staple range right now, so we want to focus on consistency the best we can. We’ll see what happens.”
Speaking of the future, Yianni is confident that Yolk is arriving in The City at a good time. With renewed interest in Brisbane’s commercial heart in the lead-up to the Olympics, Yolk could be a breath of fresh air for inner-city denizens craving something new.
“This is new territory for us, but I think we’re starting to see a shift, with new venues coming through,” Yianni tells us. “I personally think that if we can bring in some cool culture and some new cafes offering good food and specialty coffee, I think the city people will be happy.”
Yolk is now open in The City – click here for operating hours and other details.
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