Set at the end of an Elizabeth Street driveway and tucked beneath Archives Fine Books, John Mills Himself sees no shortage of natural light filtering through high-set windows, revealing the detail in the exposed brick walls, tiny hexagonal tiles on the floor and dark timber beams. The owners have completed much of the interior themselves, including the long marble-top bar. Succulents dotted about bring an element of nature into the inner-city space, while a mirror along the back of the bar, lets you peek at the baristas’ handiwork.

The cafe will rotate local blends from The Single Guys, Cup Coffee Roasters and Uncle Joe’s Coffee House across three grinders, with two dedicated to espresso-based coffee and one to filter blends. Ask for your preferred bean or let the gents behind the machine recommend the best blend suited to your milk choice or style of coffee. While aeropress filter coffee is available, the cafe is also serving a new technique dubbed a Filter Shot, which will be served five different ways – long, short, iced, sparkling and steamed. Lighter roast filter beans are pulled through the espresso machine in a longer extraction for the shot, resulting in a black coffee, without the waiting time of other alternative brewing methods and less bitterness than a regular long black. The current Ethiopian Yirgacheffe blend from Uncle Joe’s produces notes similar to a strawberry jam donut. Crust & Co. Artisan Baking pastries and croissants will be filling the petite space with buttery smells soon, with the usual sweet suspects from Levain already lining the counter.

The bar half of the cafe will run from 12:00 pm until late, and will launch in about two weeks. Harking back to the drinking habits of days of old, a five-ounce glass with the nostalgic pet name of ‘pony’ will serve up local beers. Beers taps will host brews from Stone & Wood, Bacchus Brewing Co., All Inn Brewing Co. and Green Beacon Brewing, with an additional tap dedicated to seasonal or experimental beers, as well as a cider. Wines are being sourced from Southeast Queensland, including Barambah and Ballandean Estate Wines, opting for unusual grapes or those suited to the local area rather than your well-known varietals. Spirits are coming from around the country, including Tasmanian whisky, 666 Vodka, The West Winds Gin and Maidenii Vermouth. Softies are by Crows Nest Soft Drinks, including tonic water made especially for the bar. There will also be basic rotational cocktails, with local salumi, cheeses, bread and housemade pickles available to nibble, as well as organic hot-roasted, spiced peanuts from Kingaroy.

John Mills Himself
End of driveway, 55 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane City
Open: Monday to Friday 6:30 am to 3:30 pm