I’ve been a bit critical of names recently, like “Cafe Cambodge“. When a friend first told me about this place, there was a good deal of back-and-forth to make sure I understood the name: “Brews?” “No, B-R-U-C-E, Bruce.” Who calls a cafe Bruce? Sounds like some crusty old Aussie sitting on the porch downing a VB with his mate Kev. And that’s the end of my criticisms because Bruce is one of the very best cafes Sydney has to offer. The last time I was there, their food menu was simply a series of elegantly flavoured toasties, and although everything we ate was divine, it was the coffee menu that really impressed. It started with their house blend and turned into my friends and I sitting around well after closing time drinking shot after shot of all the spectacular varieties their barista was showing off. And then, because they were closing, they gave us all free batch brew that needed to be finished and, ohh, so much amazing coffee…
Today was a little bit different as I was just getting takeaway in the rain with a couple of babies in tow. The toddler likes to say hi to everyone so he briefly joined a nice elderly couple for their breakfast while I waited for my coffee. Of course it was excellent, but it wasn’t quite as top-tier as I remembered – perhaps because I was drinking it as a flat white rather than an espresso. I was kinda hoping for the best coffee I’ve ever had, and I was still happy, but they’ve set my expectations so high! The banana bread was absolutely phenomenal with a soft, smooth, perfect texture and subtly spiced flavour balance. And I wasn’t the only one who thought it was amazing – I had to resort to “look over there” tactics to sneak my bites off the toddler who loved it so much he was unwilling to share. At least he’s got good taste, because that Bruce banana bread was right up there amongst the best I’ve ever had. Bruce has always been impressive: come for the coffee, stay for the banana bread.
Coffee: 1
BB: 1