Bangbang Espresso Bar & Cafe

My workplace is the centre of a hub of amazing cafes, lunch hot spots and good coffee… but I still find myself every once in awhile scratching my head and wondering what on earth to eat. It could be the fact that my palate is itching for something new and the excitement of discovering somewhere unknown. After a 15 minute trek, we reach our destination. A little cafe hidden amongst the media agencies and terraces of Surry Hills. Dark and black from the front, but inside its quirky, white and nicely illuminated.

Bangbang “Bocadillo”

Posh fish finger “Sarnie”

The first sandwich is a crispy chorizo sausage sandwiched with roast red capicum, rocket and aioli on soft sourdough bread. A delicious combination and very generous with the chorizo that has a little spice kick. My sandwich on my second lunch adventure is the “Sarnie” – fresh breaded flathead fillets with the Bangbang tartare sauce served between sourdough. A little more ordinary but the fillets are filling and the house tartare sauce has the right amount of tang.

Bangers and Mash

My eyes steer over to my colleague’s Bangers and Mash, with two oversized free range pork sausages, creamy mash, garden peas and onion gravy. Amazing. And absolutely perfect for the gloomy cold Autumn day we’ve been having. The mash is creamy with perfect consistency, and the garden peas pop in my mouth. The sausages are a little overtop in size, but the gravy conquers all by moulding them all together. Just perfect!

Great little cafe with very welcoming staff – back soon to try their breakfast menu!

Bangbang Espresso Bar & Cafe
113 Reservoir St
Surry Hills, Sydney

Tokonoma

Fuwa Fuwa Martini

Chocolate fondant & Trio of creme brulees

This little bar has been my favourite little bar around Surry Hills, and everytime I visit, it feels as though I’m being transporting away from Sydney into another city. It’s beautifully furnished with a touch of futuristic accents, dark timbers, downlighting, flickering candles and intimate booths. The bar menu is extensive and impressive of a modern Japanese fusion dishes with the influence continued through onto their cocktails. Although, tonight it’s just the sweet to delight, so we snuggle up on the lounge away from the torrential rain to some cocktails and desserts.

My favourite cocktail is the Fuwa Fuwa Martini; vodka shaken with muddled pineapple, cloudy apple juice and Chambord, topped with the sweetest, best tasting, delicate, vanilla fairy floss. Onto desserts, the dark chocolate fondant is warm and oozes like it should. It’s served with a vanilla miso ice cream which gives just the right touch of sweetness to counteract the bitterness of the dark chocolate. The flavours of the trio of creme brulee are seasonal, so it’s green tea, ginger and espresso on the menu tonight. My favourite is without a doubt the green tea, followed by the espresso – not the best in Sydney, but with its unique and dominant flavours, it still hits the mark.

With amazingly friendly and attentive staff and the best background music, this place is should really be kept a secret.

Tokonoma
490 Crown St
Surry Hills, Sydney
www.toko.com.au

Danks Street Depot

Continuing on my Danks St brunch journey, Danks Street Depot was next on the agenda. Hidden inside a rustic warehouse, the cafe has a mixture of beautiful wooden features and modern metal structures. The best is to book but if you’re stumbling across, drop by to put your name down and wander next door for the Danks Street Art Gallery.

To start off, I devour a bowl of latte, yes, a nice big bowl. No handles, so I cuddle the big bowl within my hands and sip to my delight. Nice, creamy blend that’s not too bitter and not too sweet.

Creamed eggs with roasted mushrooms and truffle oil

Steak sandwich with roasted baby potatoes

I jump to choose the creamed eggs. The eggs don’t lie and they’re served exactly how they are described on the menu; eggy and creamy, served soft and delicate, the eggs are cooked with generous amounts of butter, cream and chives. The field mushrooms are roasted beautifully with a hint of truffle oil and the Roma tomatoes are generous with a hint of herb crumb on top. And you can never go wrong with fresh slices of Sourdough bread…

The eggs used at Danks Street Depot are biodynamic eggs – freshly transported from farms that use organic milk, bran and wheat that mixed as porridge and fed to chooks. The outcome is a sweeter and more flavoursome egg!

My foodie companion devours his steak sandwich – steak slices that are sandwiched between crunchy schiacciata and served with roasted baby potatoes.

Chocolate fondant

Vanilla pannacotta

Continuing our afternoon of indulgence, we loosen our belts and choose some desserts to share. The main star on each dish were delicious on its own, but unfortunately the unnecessary fruit puree left an unidentified sour taste in our mouths. Unusual sauce aside, the chocolate fondant oozed with hot liquid chocolate when we dug in, and the vanilla pannacotta looked a little sad, but the flavours were sweet and subtle.

Brunch on a little bit of the expensive side, but expect fresh produce with simple flavours.

Executive Chef, Jared Ingersoll

Danks Street Depot
1/2 Danks St (Cnr Young St)
Waterloo, Sydney
www.danksstreetdepot.com.au

Rosebud

Rosebud is refreshing. It’s not one of those cafes where we’re bumping elbows with the table behind you, or it’s so understaffed that coffee is finished before the food comes out. There’s enough space between the tables to have intimate conversations and swing around at our delight. It’s also wonderfully lit with light and sunlight to brighten the whole morning up.

Scrambled eggs, mushrooms, bacon and toast

 Beef pie served with sweet potatoes & peas

It’s for one of those mornings where there’s little nonsense and no over inventive menus, so there’s good ol’ favourites like bacon and eggs and pies with fresh veggies. The brunch menu is simple and traditional with some chalkboard specials. My scrambled eggs are fluffy and light juxtaposing the flavoursome, crispy bacon; perfect brunchtime food. My fellow brunchmates choose the homestyle pie with a puffy pie top (yess!!) with servings of colourful peas and sweet potatoes.

Perhaps it’s time to stay back till dinner service…

Rosebud Bar & Restaurant
654 Darling St
Rozelle, Sydney
www.rosebudsydney.com.au

Revolver

Walking into this little cafe reminds me of being invited over into someone’s home for Sunday brunch – equipped with their own cute grandmama wiping down the tables, cleaning the floors with a dustpan and checking on the wait staff. Tucked away from busy Parramatta Rd, this little lonely cafe has great potential and ticks all the great cafe boxes; coffee, food, service and atmosphere. Furnished with a mix of modern art and rustic features with the unique Revolver touch – mismatching floral china and eggs served in a skillet.

Starting with drinks, my latte is delicious – and it’s a really satisfying cup of coffee with a nice creamy blend. The frappes are worth a try as they’re jam packed with fresh fruity flavours which aren’t unnecessarily watered down by too much ice – our strawberry frappe had a hint of sweet and sour.

Eggs florentine served with a pan of wilted spinach, mushrooms topped with hollandaise sauce and sourdough toast

My eggs florentine was a hot pan of surprises – creamy eggs topped with hollandaise, spinach, generous portion of button mushrooms served with salad and amazing tomato sauce. The sourdough bread was fresh with a wonderful crunch, accompanying an olive oil spread. All that was missing from this dish was a rash of bacon, and I would have been super delighted.

Egg & bacon roll with awesomest sauces

My other half opted for the egg and bacon roll with generous servings of rocket, bacon, runny eggs and “awesome” tomato sauces cuddled by a crispy bread roll. There is definitely something about the bacon.

Great cafe for a lazy Sunday morning, or afternoon.

Revolver
291 Annandale St
Annandale