Sydney’s cafe scene will continue to grow in 2022. But as it evolves, we’re finding that some new locations don’t fit into a classic “cafe” shape — so this year we’re bringing bakeries and casual eateries into our round of the year’s best cafe openings so far.
There are little holes in the wall devoted only to offering great coffee, a cafe with popping focaccia that will transport you to Italy and an Iggy’s alumnus bakery that changes the game on the lower north coast. Here are our picks for the best cafes, bakeries and casual eateries to open in Sydney this year so far.
AP BakerySurry Hills
We’re just going to come out and say it: AP Bakery is excellent. We love it. The bakery and cafe are located on the roof of Paramount House Hotel, and the opulent space is not only an urban oasis amid the bustle of the city, it is also a hotbed of deliciousness. Striking is almost everything, but we go back for the bread (the bread!), the buttery croissants, the Aleppo pepper-and-asiago cheese roll, toasties and pies. It is run by an all-star lineup: – Russell Beard (owner and founder of Ruben Hills and Paramount Coffee Project), Mat Lindsay (owner and chef at poly and Esther; and co-owner of shwarmama), Ping Jin Ng (owner and founder of Cinema and bar from the Golden Age and Paramount House Hotel) and head baker Dougal Muffet (ex-Esther) – and they’ve just opened a location in Newtown as well, which we wholeheartedly endorse. Fact: Sydney is a better place with AP Bakery.
Coffee SupremeBrookvale
Kiwi roaster Coffee Supreme was one of the first specialty roasters in Melbourne, and the Brisbane branch has been around since 2014. But the Brookvale cafe and roaster is the company’s first physical space in New South Wales – and it was the worth waiting 20 years. Located in a dream warehouse converted, it is where you will find all Supreme blends and single origin coffees brewing under one big roof. Plus a menu of brunch classics (think bagels and BAE sandwiches) and choice toasties filled with bolognaise and three cheeses, or chicken and tarragon. This place is also a one-stop shop that sells all the gear needed to take your homemade game from average to superior.
Fiore BreadMcMahons Point
Fiore co-owner and lone baker Alberto Dal Bosco has some serious flour power on his hands. Before that he made cracking croissants Penny Foursexcellent sourdough with Iggy’s and primo pizza at Love Supreme, where he met Fiore co-owner (and partner) Samantha Dean. All that experience comes together in this little bakery in McMahons Point, which has the spirit of an Italian alimentari, a small grocer where you can grab home baked sourdough, pantry staples and even a few hundred grams of salumi – fresh off the slicer – for takeout. . Also, Mecca coffee and basic sandwiches starting at $6, with fillings like mortadella and Italian cheese; tomato, bocconcini and basil; or aubergine roasted in the bread oven.
Genovese coffee houseAlexandria
Alexandria may seem like an odd first pub venue for a 50-year-old Melbourne roasting company, but once you step into the airy warehouse on Lawrence Street, you’ll find that space is what owner Adam Genovese really needed to make the love of his family to share the Italian cafe culture. At one end is an espresso bar, like you’d find in Rome, where you can read the paper and drink a $2 espresso and be out the door in no time. On the other hand, there are 70s-style wooden tables and chairs like you’d find in an old-fashioned trattoria, but instead you’ll snack on a house-toasted porchetta sandwich that’s like devouring a roast in a bun. What really hits on a rainy Sunday morning is a pillow-soft bombolone delivered to your table on a silver tray with a doily. Outside it may be a busy industrial suburb, but here it is a Roman holiday.
Honey & Walnut Pastry ShopDulwich Hill
Carving into the thick crust spanakopita — a swirl of potato, spinach, and feta — at Honey & Walnut in Dulwich Hill is satisfying. It is one of the secret weapons of the new patisserie: hot lunches lovingly made by the mothers of the owners, filling, comforting and made according to family recipes. That includes their beef and lamb sausage rolls, moussaka, and pastitsio (Greek beef pasta pasta). But strolling out of a bakery with only savory items is a big mistake, huge. Because the European-style patisserie has glass cabinets filled with a rainbow of cakes, from strawberry-topped black forest pie to delicate, creamy millefeuille and dense cheesecake with figs, honey and walnuts. Our advice? Ask for a selection and take a seat at one of the indoor marble tables for everyone to enjoy.
Ickle CoffeeKinsgrove
Ickle Coffee is a delightful burst of color on the rather drab high street of Kingsgrove. Step inside the pastel room for one of the best cups of coffee you’ll find this side of the Princes Highway. Ickle started a coffee roaster (it roasts all its own beans in Alexandria), and owner Rowena Chansiri’s struggle to find good coffee in the area during the pandemic led her to open a cafe to serve the needs of the locals. to fulfil. And coffee is absolutely paramount here. Chansiri is an expert. She’ll be happy to guide you on which beans work best with your favorite coffee, flavor profiles, and what works best with your home coffee equipment. Or let the in-house baristas do the heavy lifting and settle in for some quiet time in the quirky space. While Ickle is so coffee-oriented that it didn’t even apply to the township to serve its own food, you can get pastries from Tuga and gluten-free dishes from Little Secrets Bakehouse. While Chansiri may have craved the cafes of Surry Hills and inland during the lockdown, we can bet that gamblers in those areas will now be making return visits to her own creation.
Junior coffee specialtycrow’s nest
Ask the locals of Parramatta about their favorite coffee joint and one name will likely come up again and again: Circa Espresso† Now the good folks at Crows Nest can get a taste of Circa through Junior Specialty Coffee, a small but mighty coffee shop opened by the same team. It serves Circa’s excellent home-roasted coffee, in espresso, filter, cold-brew, and pour-over formats. And besides fueling up on caffeine, there’s a sleek menu of food that owner Aykut Sayan says you can “enjoy every day,” by Reko Styman, the executive chef who helped open Circa more than a decade ago. While Wagyu has sandwiches and bagels with three cheeses and ham, Junior is another cafe that puts coffee above all else, in an approachable way – and well worth a return visit.
Only Coffee projectcrow’s nest
No chai lattes, and certainly not decaf. Samuel Lee and Quinton Ng are so committed to their schtick, they’ve given their new specialty coffee a name that says it all. But they didn’t stop there – the espresso machine stands at the entrance of the store like a bean shrine. You can sit next to it and contemplate your excellent brew with a smooth soundtrack coming from the cafe’s built-in Transparent speaker† Together with primary and Market Streetthis is currently the only place in australia you will find Sey Coffee, a Brooklyn, New York-based roastery that is considered one of the best in the US. Try it in filter format or grab a bag of whole beans to take home. Be warned – this stuff comes with a hefty price tag.
Two Good Co CafeDarlinghurst
We were already enamored with the great work Two Good Co is doing to support women at risk of domestic violence and homelessness, especially the buy-one-g-one meal model. Now the social enterprise has opened its first cafe – a striking bronze-clad beauty in a former sandstone church on Liverpool Street – now Yirranma Place, a new hub created by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, which is working to end the cycle of deprivation. breaking through. The kitchen is run by Heather Cook, who continues the legacy of Two Good by working with some of the world’s most renowned chefs, and the staff is made up of graduates of Two Good Co’s Work Work program. In addition to cafe staples, the chefs will create monthly specials, and it started with Three Blue Ducks Darren Robertson. Come for the oozie cauliflower cheese toastie, stay for the lovely setting and leave feeling like you’re helping Two Good Co do its great job.
Honorable Mention
Sandy’sAvalon
Sandy’s will open towards the end of 2021 and just missed closing for our year-end best-ofs. But it deserves a look for its fresh and tasty sandwiches by two hospo guns – Andy Emerson, who co-founded the beloved Rushcutters Bay restaurant Acmeand Jesse McTavish, who opened (and has since sold) the hugely popular Melbourne cafe Boiler black and was chef at North Bondi Fish† The two are also behind Bar Elvina, which sits just above, and has become a favorite haunt for the locals of the northern beaches. Rainy days call for ham and cheese toasties with a spicy pickle, while big appetites would do well to order the Schnitty Sandy, which comes with chicken schnitzel, chipotle onion jam and Caesar dressing. It’s a more than welcome addition to the neighborhood, and yet another signifier of Sydney’s sandwich renaissance†
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