Was very lucky to get in just before a long line formed behind us on a Sunday afternoon. On our first visit we didn't find the cramped space very conducive to a well-considered purchasing decision, as we felt quite rushed. Would not exactly call the service attentive - the staff seemed much more concerned with mucking about with one another than actually serving customers. Having read beforehand it has won best pie in Australia, I went for the lamb shank pie and a much-needed coffee. The coffee was fine, I'm sure there's much better in Newtown. The pie was absolutely fantastic. Huge amounts of flaky and slightly salty pastry, and a flavoursome filling which managed to be delightfully moist without being wet and messy. I definitely hope to return to try some sweets, but I hope I manage to stumble across it at a quiet moment. read more

Quotes from my partner during our first visit of what will certainly be many: "This is the best brownie in Sydney (so far)... This may actually be the best brownie I've had in the world" and "This is the first time since we left America that I've had a mocha that isn't sickeningly sweet." (The only other place that we've lived in since then was Christchurch, New Zealand, and we never found good unsweetened mocha.) That's a solid five stars. Plus, the people working there were really nice despite the (well-deserved) incredible crowd and queue. (We ate the vegan brownie with popcorn on top and an unsweetened soy mocha. Next time: bread and coffee.) read more

Amazing cakes and treats! Strawberry watermelon cake, hazelnut chocolate cake - gorgeous! Will definitely be back to try more. Cute, comfy seating, though limited and doubly so as this place is always packed! My soy cappuccino was gross, though. Lumpy, acidic... yuck. read more

Um why is there no strawberry watermelon cake in the US? This place is the bees knees. Cute hipster shop with amazingly complex pastries and amazing savory snacks as well. Try the quiche. Chase with coffee and cake. Voila! read more

See all

Here's a little hipster haven for a sweet afternoon treat. It's almost impossible to get a seat at Black Star and when you do you tend to have other people sitting on top of your so I recommend grabbing something to go and taking it up to Campo Park for a little picnic in the sun. You'll line up to get in and you'll hardly fit into the shop but for the most part it's worth the cram. Their beef pies can do no wrong but my absolute favourite sweet is their raspberry brulee tart. IT. IS. TO. DIE. FOR. It's seriously good. Treat yo'self! read more

One of the places in Sydney that i always miss when i am overseas. The watermelon cake and orange cakes are awesome. Very delicious and unique. They make good coffee too. Try to visit early morning, as in before 10:30, so you dont need to wait in the long line... read more

Black Star Pastry - Orange cake and watermelon cake with coffee - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

There are some places I go to in Newtown for coffee, other places I go to for their salads, others their muffins. Black Star Pastry is my go to for cakes and pastries. For these and these alone, it is worth the long wait. And you will wait, wait to be served, wait for a table, wait for table water-but what can you expect from such a busy place! Try and visit on a quieter day(rare). But for such necessities as coffee and ambience, there are better cafes to visit. For a more pleasurable experience, I suggest grabbing your goods takeaway and wandering up to Camperdown Memorial Park for a little picnic. Or even sit on a nearby bench and watch the madness of Newtown pass by. read more

Black Star Pastry - 3pm on a Sunday - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

Wow. The strawberry watermelon cake was amazing!! Beautifully adorned by rose petals, strawberries and pistachio. One bite and you'll taste the light cake with cream and a crisp watermelon that makes balanced the sweetness of the cake. Absolutely refreshing. A slice is $8, and you can choose bigger slices up to a cake. The bakery itself is split into two areas with some seating. There's limited seating outside as well. They have a drink menu as well, but the cake is definitely the highlight. When we grabbed a slice, we overheard a couple looking at designs and doing a cake sampling for their upcoming wedding! read more

Place is cozy and ambient. The cakes are wonderful! Don't pass up this place if you are near Rosebery! The watermelon cake/pastry is an absolute delight! read more

I came for the 'ginger ninjas' and I stayed for the salted caramel tart. Sprinkled with sea salt and filled with thick, gooey caramel, this tart is to be slowly savoured. So grab your goods and kick back on the side walk in the sun. But beware, the cafe is very popular, so you may have to settle for a milk crate (but hey, once you fall into a food coma, you won't even notice) and the pastries also sell out. read more

Black Star Pastry - Salted Caramel Tart - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

I had seen a bunch of Black Star Pastry pop up shops around Sydney I wanted to check out this watermelon cake that people had been raving about. So we took an uber to a place near Camperdown to get some cake. First thing, This cake is absolutely beautiful. The colors are so vibrant and was really fragrant. I just wanted to look at it all day. We got the larger cake which was 4 slices to share with a few people. (29 bucks) Verdict: Taste was pretty good, nothing spectacular that I'd travel to try again. But it was really pretty. read more

Black Star Pastry - such a lovely cake - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

See all

Quite possible the best bakery in Sydney, only stellar pastries, cakes and breads are produced and sold here. Based in a miniscule shop on Australia Street in Newtown, it's almost incomprehensible how such incredible edibles can be produced here. Its size also means that Black Star is invariably crammed with people wanting a taste of heaven. A few chairs and stools are set up outside, and you can perch in the window seat if you can find space, but the best tactic is to take your éclair/cake/pastry up the street to the nearby park to sit and enjoy. Black Star is remarkable because despite its popularity, its prices remain very competitive. Their sandwiches - probably the best you'll ever taste because of the exceptional ingredients - cost around $10. Their pies are made with buttery, crumbly shortcrust pastry and filled with lamb shank and red wine ($7.50), mince and black pepper ($6) or beef and pork sausage roll ($5). But although these savoury items are delicious, it's the sweet stuff which gives Black Star its reputation. Their Bread and Butter pudding with vanilla anglaise is warm, marmaladey, stodgy and oh so good. Definitely big enough to share, this would be as delicious for breakfast as it would be for dessert, coffee or tea. Their chocolate éclairs consist of crispy choux pastry, ivory coloured chantilly cream and a rich dark chocolate glaze. The finishing touch is 'Black Star' inscribed over the icing - a nametag worth having. My favourite cake, however, was Maria's Bloody Beetroot Cake ($5). Mahogany coloured, rich and squidgy without being stodgy, I would never have guessed it had beetroot in it. Instead, it tastes heavenly, with a fabulous orangey icing, decorated with flower petals. If you look beyond the cakes, you can see the baking in progress. Mushroom clouds of icing sugar and flour being sieved, shiny cake tins and enormous ovens. As we were there, the plates were being refilled with blueberry custard tarts, chocolate cakes and other masterpieces that I have yet to taste. It goes without saying that I will be back to this bakery of star quality. read more

Black Star Pastry - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

Loved their infamous strawberry and watermelon cake! lucky there was a short line and they still had some left! my friends werent so lucky after i told them after i got it. will have to try other cakes but as this moment their S&W cake has won me over! read more

Black Star Pastry - Infamous Strawberry and watermelon cake with rosewater cream! super awesome - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

She returned with the exact same "new cake", only with a chunk dug out of it. Do you think I'm an idiot? Do yourself a favour and stay away from here. read more

Black Star Pastry - Specialty cake for pickup around 6pm at the Kinokuniya store when the cake presented to me had a fly stuck to it. - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

I was excited to try the watermelon and strawberry cake and I was disappointed. Maybe they had a bad day but I ordered a 4 serve and the best I could say is it was like an average fruit and cream dessert. Wouldn't have it again but am definitely going to try a couple other cakes as there are so many good reviews and hopefully this was just an off day. Would not recommend this cake - it was cream, watermelon and strawberries with a sodden base. Blech. read more

I can't believe I haven't been here until now! I would never have known to cross into this side street if it weren't for yelp. I feel like I discovered a treasure that everyone else has been getting a piece of. The pumpkin bread I had was divine and I was drooling over all of the other pastries. I cannot wait to go back and try EVERYTHING. There's not much seating so don't expect to have a leisurely meal. Also, I was there near closing time and things to run out...the woman in front of me snagged the last piece of lemon myrtle cake and it hurt. read more

Can we chat for a brief moment about the genius of BSP proprietor Chris Thé and his magical pastry elves? Yes, like Keebler, but with Newtown goth hair and tats thrown in for good measure. I won't spend too much time waxing poetic about the strawberry and watermelon cake. OK, maybe just a little. To come up with the complex flavor profiles in this cake is, of course, one marker of Thé's ingenuity. The unexpected pairing of watermelon with rose-scented cream is shockingly creative and refreshingly light. Another marker is in the design. FYI, folks, don't let the perfect photos of this cake floating around on the interwebs fool you. It is not easy to transport, or to eat. The cream tends to deflate, leading to lopsided layers. The strawberries on top come in large chunks and easily fall off. The watermelon slice is presented whole, making the cake nearly impossible to fork, or to divide (the one complaint I have about it). But really, that's just another indicator of brilliance. When a customer can't divide a cake into parts, what does he have to do? BUY MORE. When the cake is so delicate it actually can't sit around? EAT IT QUICKLY (then be forced to BUY MORE, of course). Marketing genius! P.S. -- the canele ($3.30), a rarity in these parts, is also worth trying. Its flavor is spot on with delicious rum, though the texture ran a bit gooey (underbaked) for my taste. read more

I really like Black Star and absolutely love their baked goods. The bread pudding and chocolate eclairs are as good as I have ever had. The only downsides are it gets really cramped with more than just a few customers and they coffee service is very inconsistent. With the many great coffee spots in Sydney and in Newtown I wish they focused on the coffee a bit more. read more

This place is just a couple doors down from my own doorstep and last week I discovered just how lucky that makes me! The shop is all little and tucked away - even living just down a couple doors I had walked by it several times without registering what it actually was. Once I discovered it was a shop of deliciousness, I obviously had to stop in. I was kind of overwhelmed by all the delicious things on display and so opted for the Brownie with a coffee. I took my new treat on the road to be enjoyed (the shop is quite teeny-weeny so don't expect a lot of sitting room. However there are some adorable little stump benches set up outside, usually being enjoyed by mum's with small kids and doggies. The Brownie was delish - rich and thick and yum. The coffee was good too. I also got a good look at some of the other delishey bits on standby while I was inside so I KNOW I'll be back. That strawberry-watermelon cake was caling to me. read more

This is a smaller shop that felt more crowded than Bourke Street Bakery on the same morning, and I can see why! While it might have been too early for their signature watermelon cake, I opted for a kouign amann that did not disappoint! I can't wait to come back to Sydney and try more of their pastries. read more

Just everything. I remember when Black Star opened and won the SMH Best Bakery award in it's first or second year. A lot of businesses wold rest on those laurels, churn out a quick franchise effort to cash in quick and die. Not Black Star. Black Star is as good as it's ever been. It's signature dish, the Watermelon cake is still superb, as is the Lychee, cake, the Chiffon, and most of their pastries including their excellent pies and sausage rolls. For me, the Black Star palmier is less than stellar. A palmier should be a simple miracle of butter, sugar and pastry, sweet, buttery and crisp and the palmier I've had there just wasn't crisp enough. But that's one small reservation among many examples of the produce exceeding expectations. Even the coffee, which has never disappointed either. read more

Great coffee and the best watermelon & Strawberry cake. Lovely just being able to sit outside and watch the activities of Newtown. Lucky to have this around the corner from my place read more

There are some bloody good bakeries in Sydney, but Black Star has taken cakes and pastries to the next level. Worth queuing for.

Only dropped in for some pastries. Queue went out the door but cleared relatively quickly. The cakes seemed to be quite popular but I'm not a cake person - so went for my usual faire of pastries and cookies. The apricot danish was yummy and their oatmeal cookie was really delicious (though strangely, a little too crunchy?). Their cinnamon scroll was a little disappointing though. Appeared to be a scroll / cronut hybrid. Either way, tasty pastries and I'd certainly return if I was in the area. read more

ok but disappointed in the croissants, so hard to get good quality compared to france

watermelon strawberry cake is life changing. i never expected something to taste so good. the queue is long but moves quickly. read more

Black Star Pastry - Strawberry watermelon cake plus rose petals hello my one true love. - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

The strawberry watermelon cake here is AMAZING. Possibly the best-tasting cake in the universe. The lamb shank pies are delicious too. Don't bother with the ginger ninjas though. They may look cute, but they taste no different from gingerbread cookies you'd get at Woollies or Coles. read more

Delicious pastries, cakes and savouries of the very highest quality - all crammed into this tiny shop. Friendly staff and excellent coffee - enjoy it in the sun out the front. read more

Amazing cakes!!!!! Their drinks are good too!!! I live in the U.S. and I still think about their cakes. Wish we had a place like this here. I recommend this to anybody visiting Sydney! read more

I tried their watermelon and strawberry cake at the noodle night market and I don't understand the hype. It was pretty to look at, with the pink and white layers, but that's about all it has going for it. The cream is very non-descript in flavor and the watermelon just doesn't do anything to help. Moreover, the strawberries are masked by their jellied coating. Sure, it's creative that there is a watermelon layered cake, but this is poorly executed. read more

Have only tried their famous Watermelon cake and some other cake which I will update you on later. They were both delish, but other than their cakes, there isn't much of a selection. read more

The strawberry watermelon cake is something quite unique and absolutely delicious. Definitely worth trying!

Love this place! there is always a line (not surprisingly). Their infamous Strawberry/ Watermelon cake will die in your mouth. I would absolutely return and recommend it to all my friends. Well, I guess I don't have to since the images of this gorgeous cake circulates all my social networking mediums. If you haven't been on it, then get on it! :P read more

the strawberry watermelon cake is phenomenal! never thought you could incorporate a piece of watermelon in there...super refreshing! read more

Black Star Pastry - strawberry watermelon cake - Bakeries Near Me - Newtown, NSW

love their cakes especially the strawberry watermelon cake. i love that the one I went to is the one located in a bookstore in the middle of sydney CBD. pity its tiny because of that. but if you want you will get a seat.. but not one you would want to stay for long. would have preferred a bigger cafe area. read more

So delicious! The watermelon cake looks incredible, but went for a croissant the size of a dinner plate instead.

Best cake shop in town! Every little treat is absolutely delightful.

Having heard about the infamous watermelon cake, my friends and I ventured to Blackstar Pastry wanting to try the specialty. Without a doubt, the cake was delicious but the customer service was absolutely terrible! The male staff who served us this afternoon (7th Feb 2013) was incredibly rude to my friends and I from the moment we walked in. He was very impatient and when we asked if he could cut up the whole portion watermelon cake for us, he replied "No". When we asked if we could cut up the cake ourselves, he rudely replied "only if you want to destroy it". This level of service is disappointing and no matter how great tasting your pastries are, they do not make up for a bad experience! read more

This is a very popular place for locals. We love the cakes here in particular the watermelon cake. The problem is that there is often a long line for waiting and lack of seating space inside. read more

The cake we ordered , the orange almond cake with pistachio was simply beautiful to look at and extraordinary to eat. What I was not prepared for was the tiny portions. I chose the 8 person cake which looked to be half that. I had to do a quick upsize and ended spending $42 for a cake that still looked very small given its shallow profile. In short it was a fabulous cake in every way except it's size. read more