Pause Button Cafe brings playful brunches and cocktail-inspired coffees to Coomera
When you walk into Pause Button Cafe and find a purple espresso machine behind the counter, ceilings looping overhead in soft curves, and a coffee on the menu that tastes like a pina colada – it’s clear this place was built with a very specific feeling in mind.
Pause Button Cafe is the second venue from husband-and-wife duo Sennie Tee and Stanley Lam, the team behind Humble Cafe in Southport. Rather than replicate what they know already works, they built something entirely separate for the northern end of the Gold Coast. “I don’t think it’s fun to copy and paste exactly the same thing,” Sennie tells us. “Some things cannot be copy-pasted, like the people.”
The pair identified a gap between the Gold Coast and Brisbane for something with a bit more personality and landed on a newly redeveloped site along Dreamworld Parkway, transforming it into a pastel-toned space of soft yellows, lilacs and curved architectural details. Sennie, who worked as a graphic designer before moving into hospitality, led much of the visual direction. “We try to match everything with the theme,” she says. “The food, the drinks, the colours – all together.”
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The menu confirms there’s more going on here than pretty aesthetics. Stanley’s background spans fine-dining kitchens in Hong Kong, Melbourne and Tasmania, and some of that training quietly shows in a brunch list that manages to be playful without being gimmicky. “Breakfast you can get anywhere,” he says. “We want people to enjoy the experience.” The spicy honey chicken waffle arrives topped with crispy fried chicken, gochujang sauce and yuzu dressing, while the octopus ‘nduja scramble folds together soft eggs, smoky octopus, spicy ‘nduja and dill yoghurt on toasted sourdough. There’s also a baked shakshuka with potato gnocchi, a smashed avo with pumpkin hummus and pomegranate gel, and a wagyu beef burger loaded with kimchi slaw and gochujang mayo.
Sennie brings the same creative looseness to drinks, drawing on a decade across coffee, bars and hospitality. Alongside Allpress espresso and classics, there’s a dedicated ‘fun bar’ menu that borrows freely from cocktails and desserts. The Pina Co-Brew riffs on a pina colada with cold brew, coconut water and pineapple cream cloud. The Violet Po-taro Matcha layers purple sweet potato-taro sauce with matcha and cream. There are strawberry matchas, berry fizz floats, boozy brunch sips and milkshakes topped with whipped cream and sprinkles – the kind of drinks menu that makes you want to order two things at once.
Only a couple of weeks in, Pause Button already has the feel of somewhere locals will settle into quickly. The name, it turns out, wasn’t chosen lightly. “I hope this place is somewhere for you to pause,” Sennie says. “To have your own time, meet your friends, whatever. Life goes on, but you come in first, and pause.”
Head to The Directory for opening times.
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