Manuka's newest food hotspot may have gone global on social media this week, but it also proved people were prepared to wait for the chance to indulge.
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The frenzied response to a report on Patissez's freakshakes attracted attention from England to India, but it was Canberrans who were braving the cool and giving up their time to wait for the mouth-watering desserts – with some spending two hours before they had their drink.
And while reality cooking shows like Masterchef build tension with tight deadlines for their amateur contestants to meet, an office query soon drew out some other popular venues where taste has, or still does, trump time.
Brodburger
From their days selling out of a caravan from February 2009 to their prime Kingston Glasshouse location today, Canberrans have been prepared to set aside a few – or few dozen – extra minutes for the popular burger venue.
Owner Joelle Bou-jaoude said phone bookings and the introduction of a smartphone app – appropriately named Qhopper – last year had largely ended the mammoth physical queues of its earliest years, but waits remained.
"The worst case scenario is about an hour and 10 minutes, the best case scenario is 20 minutes, as that's as long as it takes to cook them – as soon as the grill fills up that becomes 40 minutes," she said.
"If you have a great product, people will be willing to wait for it," she said.
"That's why we will never shortcut – we could sell more burgers precooking them, but people would notice the quality."
Patissez
Co-owner Anna Petridis has led the small business on small media, and her daily posts have gone beyond food pics to trying to manage wait time expectations. On Saturday a new system began where customers already at a table took priority. "We realised it didn't make sense for people to be waiting an hour for a table and then more for their shakes to arrive," she posted.
The cafe makes almost all the ingredients for its four freakshakes (it sold 332 on Friday), regularly running out before closing time.
The new cafe does not take phone bookings, but instead names and numbers from people out the front and calls back when a table appears. For those not wanting to browse Manuka shops or sit in the car until then, Ms Petridis said the second store, to open in Marcus Clarke Street in about October, would have triple the size.
The Cupping Room
A project of world barista champion Sasa Sestic and his team, and with cronuts and salted caramel and popcorn shakes in addition to its specialty coffee and varied meals, The Cupping Room in Civic has also attracted strong crowds, particularly on weekends.
Manager Max Owens said a 40-45 minute wait during peak morning periods was "probably the extreme" and that was generally for groups of six or more. Coffee waits are aimed to be no more than 10 minutes, he said.
"We do everything we can to try and keep people warm, we've put a heater outside, we've dropped the awning," he said.
"Definitely never sacrifice quality for speed – for the new guys, keep your standards high, and communication with customers is key."
N2 Extreme Gelato
They look somewhat illicit with the syringe of topping stuck into the frozen dessert, but that didn't stop young and old lining up for more than an hour at this year's Night Noodle Market to try the smooth gelato, shaped by liquid nitrogen.
Like Patissez it's a dream for tastebuds and social media pictures, but permanent stores are open only in Sydney and Melbourne, so it's capacity to draw a Canberra crowd in the middle of winter has yet to be tested.
Jamie's Italian
The global powerhouse keeps about half of its restaurant seats for guests that have no booking, and had some serious queues when it opened in Canberra in November 2013.
Jamie's Italian Australia general manager Karen Westfield said on most occasions diners could now be sat immediately, and otherwise give their name and number for a call back on busiest times, mainly Friday and Saturday nights.
