Philly Restaurant Openings

Aussie Brunch Cafe Ants Pants Has Opened Its Queen Village Location

Flat whites and breakfast all day

by Tim Forster@timothyjforster Sep 8, 2017, 12:17pm EDT

13 years after Liz Fleming and Nancy Silverman opened Australian-style café Ants Pants in Philadelphia, a second location for the popular brunch spot is finally here.

Ants Pants 2.0 is now open for hearty brunch plates and espresso drinks in a 36-seat space on South 4th Street, with wall murals from local painter and sign maker Gibbs Connors (as pictured above).

It follows the same approach as the original Southwest Center City location, which in turn took its inspiration from Fleming’s experience working in cafes in Sydney. The term “cafe” is a bit of a misnomer: in Australia, cafes typically go well beyond just serving coffee and pastries, as is often the case in North America. Instead, they typically serve full breakfast and brunch plates on a daily basis (Wi-Fi access and the laptop campers that typically come with it are also a rarity in Aussie cafes).

Fleming and Silverman have added a third partner for the new location, longtime Ants Pants employee Paul Puma. The menu will be the same as at the original location: brie-stuffed French toast, sweet potato hashes, a maple bacon and egg breakfast sandwich, and a lunch selection of sandwiches and salads.

Coffee will come from Australian-owned Brooklyn coffee roaster Toby’s Estate, and will include Aussie favorites like the flat white (the milky but foam-free espresso drink).