There is a near endless number of cafes in the inner west area. Places with great food, loads of seats, in warehouses, hole in the wall....there is just so many that even if you went out every weekend, there will not be a time when you can confidently say that you've been to them ALL.
This weekend, we decided to mix it up a little and travel further out to the North.
No offense to anyone but personally, anything that involves crossing the Harbour Bridge is considered too far and requires pre-planning. So we packed our bags, charged our mobiles, brought water and snacks and proceeded with the adventure for the morning. I jest...
Now the guys at Bean Drinking are serious about their coffee. Not only do they have their own roasters,they also sell an assortment of Hario brewing equipment. I will in no way try to pretend that I know half of the things on their coffee menu which includes coffee that can be ordered in an assortment of brewing methods!
Ambiance wise, this place is really nice. there's a little park just opposite the shop where you can sit under a tree and sip your coffee whilst watching the kids play, the dogs pant or just doze off.
The coffee art was good with no complaints from my friends. The hot chocolate was dranked down in a jiffy. I ordered something called an "Arnold Palmer" thinking it was somewhat like a long black but mixed in with lemonade. it was just ice tea with lemonade but the tea was replaced with Cascara (coffee cherry pulp) :P
Bean Drinking focuses on fresh produce and what's in season. With that I hope that the chicken meat in my toasted "Perfect Chicken" was free-ranged and corn fed. Portions were nice and large so at least I was full and only needed my next meal about 5hours later. :)
Wenni and Hubes had the "breakfast Brioche" I personally think Brioche anything is good! It definitely looked it. Should have asked for a bite....
Lou had the Brioche French Toast. I'm not sure about how it tasted. I didn't ask her. Maybe she can comment on this post to tell us exactly what she thought of it. Hmm... I've got a craving for this now...I know what I'm going to order next week.
Mishy had the "Hearty Breakfast Board". I didn't like the presentation of this dish as it looks as if everything was just chucked onto a chopping board and served. Mish did say the
mushrooms were too vineger-ry for her.
Crows Nest has it's fare share of 'crazies' too. The guy sitting behind us was barking to himself. The girl sitting next to him moved at the first chance she got. lol
So...my take on this place.
As a place to catchup with friends for coffee and maybe a slice of cake, sure thing!
As a breakfast place that I'll keep in my list of top 10 which ticks every box, probably not.
Bean Drinking
Shop 1, 13 Ernest Place, Crows Nest
opening hours : Mon - Sun 7am-6pm
Website : link / Google Map
On Sat 08 Mar, 2014
We were meant to be camping this weekend, however with the rain that has been happening for the past few days, and also the weather forecast, we had postponed it. So what can be replaced on the weekend? A nice breakfast at a nearby cafe! And we have decided to come to Sonoma Cafe in Alexandria.
I had been this one before, and had great memories about their coffee. Apart from this particular one, there are 5 other ones around in Sydney! So, if you are meeting friends in one, make sure you communicate well to state which one you will be going!
We had a rather large group of people (8), it's great that the place is big, and allow bigger group of people to enjoy food and coffee together. It wasn't long until we were shown to a table.
It's not table service, so you have to line up, order your food, and grab a number back at your table. This gives you the opportunity to look at all the mouthwatering pastries at the front. Ming ordered some croissants for the table, and my opinion on them was 2 thumbs up! I love it!
The coffee here is how I remembered it, great aroma, great taste. The latte art is pretty good too, you can feel the work has been spent in making the cup of coffee.
And the breads that are used in the mains are simply awesome. I just can't get enough of it. They are soft in the centre, and crunchy on the crust. I wish I had another piece of bread with the scramble eggs. I also had tried some of the chorizo with the baked eggs as well, it wasn't salty, and just right!
Overall, here is my opinion for this cafe...
Cafe: 8 / 10; Services: 8 / 10; Coffee: 9 / 10; Food: 8 / 10
Comments: One of the better coffees around the area, the food (especially the bread) will definitely draw crowds as well. Will definitely come again!
Sonoma Cafe
32/44 Birmingham Street, Alexandria
Opening Hours: Daily 07:00 - 16:00
Website: Link / Google Map
Picture this. You have an appointment in 1 1/2 hrs time. You have nothing to eat at home. There's not really enough time to drive out, look for a cafe, possibly queue up, wait for your food and maybe deal with traffic on your way home.
What.Would.You.Do.
I took this as an opportunity to pull my finger out and try the cafes that are literally just around the corner.
It's funny how whenever someone askes me where I went over the weekend, I would tell them of places far and away and of the dishes I had and what thoughts were about it. I've never spoken about the the places that are close to home, nor have I ever given it a chance.
With that, my missus and I decided to walk out to the Wolf and the Honeybee.
This place has been here for since 2011 and as small as this cafe is, it certainly makes up for it in quality. You can't go wrong with Campos coffee. The tea supplied here is from Teacraft. And the bread...my god. where do I start, the bread's REALLY GOOD! Ordered in daily from Brasserie Bread.
We seated ourselves outside of their shop and ordered our coffees immediately whilst looking through the menu.
Happy with the presentation and taste. No problems with it whatsoever.
Now, I don't know why but I must have unconciously felt like eating healthy for a change so I opted for the vegetarian smashed egg roll.
I can't tell you exactly which bread they used but boy was it tasty!! I'm usually not a fan of Sourdough but this was refreshingly crunchy (not the "rip the top of your mouth up kind) and soft on the inside. In between 2 slices of awesomeness was scrambled free range eggs, grilled haloumi, tomato and homemade capsicum relish.
I'm pretty sure Wenni was sick of hearing me say "This is really good!" by the end of the meal.
This was evident in the fact that I didn't pay attention to her ham and cheese croissant nor did I take a photo of it. :D
When paying the bill (cash only premises), I asked the cashier how did the name come about. He explained that the owner's surname (Conal) in Gaelic means Wolf, and then he mumbled something about the ex-girlfriend being the honeybee... or something like that. I didn't question him further. :)
If you want to stay away from the hustle and bustle of Newtown but still be within walking distance, visit this place!
The menu may be limited but the quality is certainly there.
The Wolf and the Honeybee
Address : 206, Edgeware Rd, Newtown
Opening hours : Daily 8am - 3pm
map / facebook
On Sat 1 Mar, 2014
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| First Drop Cafe |
It's always great to catch up with old friends at brunch! Finding out how they are doing nowadays with the smell of a nice cup of coffee in our hands, what more can we ask for a Saturday morning?
We had been to the First Drop before, and the food was as how I remembered it last time, simply awesome!
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| Mediterranean Brunch |
The cafe was really busy on the Saturday morning, a sign of a good cafe! I ordered the Homemade beans, the taste was great, a full meal for brunch, I polished it everything on my plate.
There are a few different choices on the menu which I will definitely give it a go the next time around. The scrambled eggs also look so delicious!
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| Homemade Beans |
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From Paris with Love
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| Special |
Overall, here is my opinion for this cafe...
Cafe: 8 / 10; Services: 6 / 10; Coffee: 8 / 10; Food: 9 / 10
Comments: Another great little cafe, definitely a cafe that is worth another visit! The only faults I have with this cafe is that the coffee was a bit slow. I ordered the coffee with the meal, but the coffee came after the meal, which I think that is a bit slow.
First Drop Cafe
Address: 69 Baptist Street, Redfern
Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 07:00 - 17:00 / Sun closed
Website: Link
