Has to be the best place in Sydney for delicious coffee, yummy food and friendly staff. Found this…read morelittle gem randomly and have been multiple times in last few months and always excellent. The smashed Avo and corn fritters are family favourites!

Dropped in on a Sunday around 10am for brekky. Quite busy, we had a short 10min wait for three…read more The venue itself is pretty average. Nothing that really stood out. The staff were all friendly. Some more attentive than others but they all seemed to be with the program. I had a soy mocha and I was pleasantly surprised, so much so that I ordered one for the road when we left (a very rare occurrence). Strong and sweet, as a good mocha should be. The food was great. I ordered the smashed avo and my wife had the corn fritters. The smashed avo was $21 and it is from memory the most I've ever paid in Sydney for two pieces of bread, some avocado, seasoning, and one egg. I actually really battled with justifying ordering this dish at such an inflated price. However, I will say, this was the best smashed avo I've had in Syd and I would gladly order it again. The avo itself had an excellent taste, not overpowering at all. The toast had some sort of a sun dried tomato past/spread over it and I think this really set off the flavour of the avo. Quite nice. My wife reported the corn fritters to be good, not bad, but not nothing spectacular. Obviously not a signature dish. Anyway, definitely worth going out of your way to make the stop.

Hubby and I dined here on a Saturday Night before a show at the Enmore theatre. Luckily we were in…read moreearly, as the the restaurant soon filled with kiwi expats with a sense of nostalgia, wanting a reminder of their Island homeland across the ditch. The restauraunt itself has a rustic beach house feel scattered with kiwi nik naks and some unfortunate reminders of their brilliant rugby team. The drinks menu featured kiwi inspired cocktails, beer(bottled and on tap), cider and wine. The cocktails were a little hit and miss. The dinner menu contained meals inpired by ingredients sourced from New Zealand and Australia. We decided to order the prix fixe 2 courses for $35 or include dessert for $45 which was great value. I also liked the sound of the kina and prawn arancini with kataia fire mayo. Kina being Maori for sea urchin. This was a tasty morsel, with a crisp fried outer crust with a tasty risotto filling with nice flavour and the chilli mayo to add a bit of a spicy kick. For our entree we shared the cuttlefish as well as the king fish sashimi with tomatillo. I was happy to see that they had cuttlefish on the menu, although similar to squid and octopus. I prefer cuttlefish especially if it is well prepared. The cuttlefish in this instance was well prepared. It was tender with delicate flavour. The chilli, garlic, lime dressing and squid ink mayo enhanced the flavour. A great starter and share plate. The king fish was also a good option, nice and fresh. As this was a cold winter night we both decided on the slow cooked meat options for our mains, to help warm us up. I had the venison stew with corn bread to mop up the sauce. This was a hearty meal with rich flavour. The kiwis like their lamb nice and tender and that is how it was delivered. This was absolutely delicious, it was literally melt un your mouth. 16 hours slow cooked lamb shoulder served witb carrot and brussel sprouts. Up there with the best lamb dishes we have eaten. We also shared the jelly tip with white chocolate mousse. A nice way to finish the meal, light fluffy white chocolate mousse filled with jelly. Good food, in a relaxed casual evironment and for a reasonable price. Make sure you book, as this place is popular. Service is incredibly fast, which I love!

This new modern kiwi restaurant seems to be a hot commodity in Newtown. They were bustling when we…read morewalked by around 7:30pm on a Saturday. We were lucky to nab the last 2 seats on a communal table. After that while we eat there were loads of people lining up. So lesson for you, make a booking. We ordered crispy duck confit, kipflers with aioli, cuttlefish and chicken liver pate. Our page never arrived but it was good because the other 3 dishes made us really full. The cuttlefish was so amazingly tender and flavourful. The duck fell apart at the touch of your fork and the beans underneath was so full of flavour. The kipflers were baked with just the perfect amount of spice mix. It was delicious.

From the outside, you're undoubtedly in Tamarama. But step inside Barlovento and you're immediately…read moretransported to a tiny cafe in South America. Miranda is blasting (think: Argentine electro pop) unless of course you're treated to live spanish guitar. The only thing more tempting than the tapas menu is the list of beautiful Malbecs, Syrahs and Tempranillos. I stumbled into Barlovento (which translates to "windward" in Spanish) after a tiring morning of rushing from flat to flat on one of those torturous back-to-back viewing sprees and my life was saved by a bowl of bircher muesli and a strong long black. (You know how bad it's been when I make a note of the wine list at breakfast...) But I'd definitely recommend this tiny local spot any time of the day. In fact, I think their chalkboard sums in up perfectly with this: "Wine. Beers. Cocktails. Tapas. Coffee. Love." El Disco De Tu Corazón!

Barlovento is a locals favourite, nestled away on Fletcher Street this tiny little cafe/bar serves…read moreas a spanish-inspired cafe by day and a romantic little wine bar by night. By day there's an excellent all day breakfast menu featuring scrambled eggs on toast, bircher museli, brownies, muffins and all the usual cafe food. Then comes the delicious spanish-inspired meals Huevos Rancheros, spicy beans and chorizo on toast, garlic mushrooms on toast, chilli con carne. It goes on and into the evening there's also charcuterie and even pizzas made on thin tortilla's. In summer this dark little cafe is a welcome relief from the soaring temperatures and at night it makes a romantic and chilled out little bar, courtesy of candles and mood lighting. Grab a bar stool order a banging cocktail or sample some of the superb wines on the menu and prepare to chill out, Tamarama style.

A pleasant little kiosk in the vast expanse of Sydney Park, and with no other food or beverage…read moreamenities within the park, the only option to get food and drinks. Coffee is good, but being inner Sydney you would expect nothing less. Bacon and Egg roll was decent too. As it's name suggest it's only a kiosk, so don't go expecting full blown sit down meals or anything overly fancy, but it's decent for what it is.

I love a cafe where i can make myself comfortable, read my book or newspaper and take my time over…read morea snack or a few cups of tea or coffee. Gusto is not that kind of place for me. It is more of a quick cuppa or take away sandwich place. Not knocking it in any way. I've had a fairly decent bite to eat there and my chai tea was good, albeit not quite hot enough. i just didn't find it comfortable enough to want to hang around beyond my food and drink. It's really small inside and the tables and chairs are pretty close together so you feel a bit squashed and conspicuous. It seems to me that it is more of a meeting place for a coffee and perhaps a treat (of which there are some delicious looking ones) And I don't suppose it claims to be anything else either. Its right there on Fiveways, that great junction in Paddington. So a better location you could not ask for and many of the pre-prepared lunch meals were sold out by the time I got there later on in the afternoon, so clearly it is fairly popular. For all I know it could be legendary with the locals! it was my first visit though and first impressions were 'nice, but nothing too special.'

I loved the vibe I got first time walking around Five Ways in Paddington. There's a small town…read morefeel and a certain tranquility that you don't find in other Sydney neighborhoods. Gusto is the perfect place to let the day pass by as you sip a macchiato and munch on sweet treats. This café and delicatessen reminds me of ones you would find in Europe, with locals socializing here habitually. My cappuccino was above average and executed with precision. Their banana bread is a divine slice of heaven on a plate. I also tried a fudge brownie with chocolate chips that was intensely sweet but packed an equally strong cocoa punch. Gusto also sells a variety of fresh paninis, wraps, and salads that will tickle anyone's taste buds. I would suggest that you try your hardest to get a seat outside to marvel at the harbor views. Also, you're a people-watcher like me, this is the place to do it. People flock to Gusto on a regular basis, so you might find yourself waiting to get a seat. Even so, you can still experience their tasty sandwiches on the go. The servers aren't very approachable or welcoming, but they do their job well.

This little eatery is just off the main drag & a local took us there. Otherwise we may have looked…read morefor somewhere that looked a bit more exciting. So glad we ate there. I had a great steak sandwich which included beetroot & bacon. My friends had the fish & chips and a chicken melt. Everyone was happy! Delicious food, good prices and really friendly service. Give it a try!

So I am slightly torn about this place. The people that work here are extremely friendly and you…read morefeel right at home. However, the food and the coffee here are not equal to the quality of the staff. Firstly, the coffee here is below what you would expect - especially as there is so much better coffee in the area. The beaches are now beaming with good coffee, so I am was extremely disappointed with the level of coffee. The food here is not bad, but it is not good. It is quite average. On the plus side the food is served on the larger portion side, and is reasonably priced. But again there is better cafes on the Northern Beaches, and so I was again disappointed. So in summary, I probably won't be coming back to this cafe, even though it looked good.

I was very happy that this cafe was close to the accommodations we had! We came in a couple times…read morefor coffee, every time we did come in, it was nice and lively but not crazy busy where the wait would take forever. The coffee was nice and they have a good selection of milk alternative although no macadamia milk which I view as an Aussie treat so I always ask about it. I also had a smoothie one day and it was so good! I had mixed berry and mango and the most delicious thing is that they put cinnamon in their smoothies, which apparently is a thing that people do, but this is the first I've ever experienced so now I'm going to do that at home when I make a smoothie!! I was only in their for food once and I had a delicious toast covered in house-baked beans with a perfectly poached egg. It was one of their daily specials which I saw on a chalkboard. Their regular menu had lots of options. The baked beans on toast thing gave me inspiration for breakfast food at home too! The service was great! Since I had gone in there a couple times, I should have asked for my server's name but she was absolutely lovely! It's like she knew exactly when I was ready to order, ready for coffee, ready for more water, etc and she was so kind and great. This a cafe is a nice, cozy, inspiring neighbourhood gem!

AVERAGE at best…read more Mr/Ms Gordons owner. Keep the Cafe, the location, the menu... but get rid of your staff! They're miserable! I've tried too many times to go back and "give it another shot" because I want it to be better than the last time, but one bad experience after another at Gordon's makes me permanently move the 4-5 minutes up the road to somewhere else. Food is ok, standard - but ok. It's the staff that are the worst. Every. Single. Time. I'm disappointed by the staff at Gordons. Order a take away coffee to a rude lady behind the counter who ignores you for 10 min before looking up. Only to wait a further up to 20 min (yes 20 min) on a takeaway coffee, then when you go up and ask if it's far away, you get glared at and handed a coffee without any words. They had a steady stream of customers, but by no accounts were so busy that the 3 people behind the counter could not get a take away coffee done in 20 min. Dine in is no better. 15 min for someone to clear a table (on a quiet day), a further 20 min for a menu, a further 15 min for someone to come back to take an order, a further 15 min for a Soda bottle to be brought to the table all while the wait staff ignore you and chat to each other.. and honestly, look miserable. In saying this, there is 1 nice lady who works there. In summary, walk the 5 min up the road and go somewhere else. Here are some of my favs to get you started. The Village Man and Monkey Clodelly

Nice little gem of a coffee place located near the Bronte Rd bus stop at Bondi Junction. Probably…read morethe best coffee in the immediate vicinity of Bondi Junc. Upon walking in the place, you are greeted with a coffee roasting machine that is humming away doing its magic on some Sumatran beans (they roast their beans in-house daily). The staff are always super friendly and the place is my number one pick (pun intended) for a coffee while shopping at Westfield or when a caffeine hit is needed before boarding a bus to Bronte. The place itself is nicely decorated with comfy lounge style chairs if you feel like having a pastry or sandwich with your beverage (yep they'll satisfy mild hunger pangs too). To add to the atmosphere, the walls are adorned with coffee information and shots of the owner in action preparing syphon coffee and other various coffee related acts. Can also buy some coffee hardware here too (percolators, syphons and other coffee paraphernalia). Top spot this one..

Probably one of the worst coffee blends I've ever had. I have to stop ordering espressos in Sydney…read more I'm sure that as part of a mocha or a latte it would've been ok. Thankfully it was part of quite abundant yet lacklustre affogato, which for $5 in Bondi Junction was quite reasonable. The atmosphere is awesome despite being small and tucked up in a sidestreet that you wouldn't choose to walk down on unless you knew this place was there. The staff is friendly and the service fast. The takeaway here: Sydney doesn't cater to Italians and other espresso drinkers. This place is no exception but it's quite a nice and cheap alternative to the thousands of coffee shops that already exist.