I’ve always liked Ella & Beau. They were the closest cafe to my old work and although their coffee wasn’t the best, they had good made-to-order breakfast rolls and a variety of mushroom dishes, so I ended up going there pretty frequently (although I would walk the extra distance to The Annex if I wanted something better). True to form, […]
Ella & Beau, Forest Lodge
Cafe Training
My toddler surprised me today as he was riding his little bike around Camperdown Park. He pointed over to Store Espresso and said “I wanna get nana bread”. How could I say no? He’s actually getting to be a pretty good judge. While there are a lot of different variables at play, he’ll always get stuck into a really good […]
In The Annex, Forest Lodge
Having been a regular at The Annex for about 6 years now, I’ve seen first hand how this cafe has really grown into itself. Unlike all those ex-hipster cafes that get bought out and turned profitable, with a little Asian fusion thrown in where it doesn’t quite fit, In the Annex serves its fusion well-executed and beautifully presented with legitimately […]
Two Fives, Rosebery
Driving past Two Fives, the first thing I noticed was their cable-reel tables out front. About 10 years ago, when the industrial chic thing was really trending, I had a brief hands-on hobby rescuing these from demo sites and cleaning them up for exactly this purpose. It wasn’t particularly profitable, but at least I contributed to making a few cafes […]
Sweet Lu, Newtown
Sweet Lu is a Taiwanese dessert cafe, so I wasn’t really expecting a classic flat white and banana bread. The service was excellent, and given that my friendly barista this morning was very, very not Taiwanese, she knew a lot about their products, and was an excellent barista to boot. She took pride in recommending the Reuben croissant and she […]
Brickfields, Chippendale
It just doesn’t get better than this. The Brickfields Bakery has limited, highly-prized seating space, but it still serves a gorgeous array of baked goods alongside a beautiful dine-in menu. Their coffee is to die for, but most importantly, the Brickfields banana bread is my all-time favourite. It’s packed with real bananas for that fresh, authentic flavour, and has a […]
Queens Park Kitchen
Oh how I love a fantastic cafe right next to a fantastic playground. My coffee was excellent. It wasn’t milky, watery or weak, just nice, hot, smooth and almost fruity-flavoured. The banana bread was baked in-house at Centennial Homestead, but there was nothing dinky and “homebaked” about it. It was a high-quality professional-looking-and-tasting banana bread – the kind you could […]
Toby’s Estate, Chippendale
If you’re walking through Victoria Park and all you can smell is burnt toast, don’t worry, you’re not having a stroke, it’s just the Toby’s Estate mega roastery roasting away. The cafe here at the roastery is very cool, offering special tasting events and other fun things, so their cafe is inside out – the pick up counter is up […]
Firestone, Marrickville Metro
Oooooh wholemealy! Said no-one ever. Except the banana bread at Firestone really was wholemealy good. It was hearty, oaty and a bit coconutty, definitely made with wholemeal flour, but without that overpowering floury taste. Excellent! I actually bought the banana bread for the babies while I treated myself to an espresso-flavoured Thicc cookie, but it was so good I ended […]
Pasture, Balmoral Beach
Pasture is a bit of a fancy place in a bit of a fancy location. Not quite fancy enough to be considered posh, but definitely fancier than your average suburban coffee place. Notice I didn’t use the word “cafe” – after having tried more enough “coffee places”, not everywhere that sells coffee is a cafe in my books. But Pasture […]