Jason W.

Fact of the day: Cronuts (croissant donuts) were invented in NYC by Dominique Ansel, while Cruffins (croissant muffins) are an Australian invention from Melbourne by Kate Reid. At first glance, I was blown away by the sheer amount of Cronuts and Cruffins on display here. There were no less than 16 flavors to choose from. Naturally, I wanted to try all of them, but I limited myself to just 4, which probably already pushed me past my daily calorie intake (at 11 am, no less). However, that was where the positive vibes ended. Quantity over quality - the mantra struck me repeatedly me with each bite I took into the pastries I ordered. Many of the things I have come to love about Cronuts and Cruffins were missing. The layers in the Cronut were improperly done, and it was lacking in the cream department (what Boston Cream?!). They were even stingier with the Cruffin cream, the smidgen of cream you see sticking out the top is all you get! That made every bite into the Cruffins more disappointing than the last. Call me elitist, but there is good reason that Dominique Ansel Bakery in NYC and Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in SF only serve one Cronut/Cruffin flavor per day, and in limited quantities (usually sold out by 9 am). What Brewtown needs is some serious competition from other bakeries, or it will rest on the laurels of its 4-5 star reviews and continue to produce subpar pastries. Oh, I also ordered the Elvis burger - basically a burger with Cronuts for buns. Sinful, yes. Worth the calories, no. But I must give credit where it is due, and it gets 3 stars for being a decent burger. 2 stars for the Cronuts, and 1 lousy star for the lousy Cruffins average this review down to 2 stars. TLDR: Don't come here if you've had Cronuts and Cruffins from NYC or SF. Elvis Burger is not bad.

Howard C.

Brewtown Newtown is the sister cafe of Gnome (Nom) Cafe in Surry Hills...and true to its name they do a great cup of coffee. As Peter said, the takeaway coffee is peculiarly small, looks like a 6oz cup for whatever reason, while the sit down coffee I had was normal size. Get ready to queue up since this place was packed with hipsters and Asians. We waited about 30 min for a table for 4 for lunch. Worth the wait? Yes and No... It seems like the food was hit or miss for the people in my party. I got the Elvis Burger (cronut burger) which unless you don't mind feeling gross for an hour, is what you should order for a coronary artery workout. Seriously, cronut + bacon + beef + cheese+ mayo? A bite of this is rich, delicious, heavy, and full of regret at the same time. The black sausage brekkie got the half thumbs up, the poached chicken salad with quinoa got two thumbs up, and the baked polenta got the thumbs down as it was bland and undercooked. We also ordered a jam cronut and glazed cronut...cronut overkill, yes. The cronuts here are pretty great though...maybe cause they were pretty fresh. They were moist, warm, juicy and...I'm still talking about cronuts, yes. The cronut here is better than the ones I've had at Zumbo, so there's that. Come here for the coffee and the cronuts, but choose your meal wisely.

David O.

After reading several reviews and examining the online menu, I was happily lured to enjoy a late breakfast. I decided on the 'Grilled black sausage' with two additional poached eggs. The cost per egg is $4.50 which I find to be over priced - I mean come on guys, it's not a golden egg. Adding Canadian bacon and hash browns to share with a friend, also added an extra $9.00 between two people. All up, my breakfast cost $29.50! Although I really enjoyed my meal, it did make it a bit (a lot) expensive. The meal size was generous even without the eggs, but what is breakfast without eggs? The upside is that the from the moment you walk in, the wait staff are very friendly and there is only a 15 minute wait. The restaurant is spacious with ample seating and a great atmosphere. You receive complimentary sparkling water, which was fantastic. I have to say the food quality and service was excellent. Further more, I couldn't resist leaving without getting a Salted Caramel (with Macadamia nuts) and a Lychee Rose cronut to takeaway. They both tasted amazing and satisfied my sweet tooth - like wanting to have more!

Paul O.

After reading all the reviews for this place I had to experience it for myself. The wait for a table was OK and I ordered a take away coffee to sip on until my table was ready. The wait staff are friendly and very obliging. I ordered the much talked about grilled black sausage served on eggplant puree and decorated with a fennel and navel orange salad ($16). I added a poached egg ($4.50) which I thought was pricey for an egg and a side serving of Canadian bacon and Hash Browns ($9). Delicious food but overpriced @ $29.50 for a breakfast dish. The meal was well presented and tasty. Now for the Cronuts. These were exceptional and I have never tasted better. I sampled the Salted Caramel and Macadamia Cronut and the Lychee Rose Cronut and now I want more.

Cindy K.

I've been wanting to try their Elvis Burger since Ben recommended it. Finally the time comes, and it's definitely lived up to its reputation. The tasty beef patty and bacon with the goodness of melted Gruyere and mayo on a CRONUT, served with chips and relish are exactly what foodie dreams are made of. I also tried the Linguini with Garlic Chilli Prawn, Kale and Parmesan. The dish was full of flavour and wonderfully balance. The pasta was handmade and al dente. The prawns were fresh, and the balance of garlic, chilli and Parmesan complements the dish and everything just comes together. Then the Cronuts, oh sweet Cronuts! I've been coming to this place for the Cronuts, with their Nutella filled Cronut being my favourite. So popular are these things that they have dedicated their own little cafe slash pastry kitchen serving Cronuts on the second floor. They're located on a quiet and hidden laneway off the bustling King Street in a converted two-storey warehouse. There's also an airy retail space on the second floor selling homewares and clothing by local designers. With a relax atmosphere, friendly staff and good service there's no reason for me not to come back. The price is very reasonable, definitely good value for money!

Felicity T.

Alright, alright, alright. I hear your cries of outrage when I say I've never been here before. Arguably one of Sydney's most famous cafes and I've never stepped foot into it (and I call myself a foodie! Haha). I answered your calls and dragged my foodie buddy with me (best take one - you'll need help sharing the brewnuts aka cronuts). The decor is modern and hip whilst service is prompt. They serve you carbonated water haha! Good start. Food was quite pricey, I felt, for cafe brekkie brunch stuff (ranges from $13-$18/20). But maybe that's because I'm stuck in the naughties era where everything was cheaper! I ordered the slow cooked brisket on toast with poached eggs and onions and mushrooms. Love the meat's flavour they've got going. Eggs perfectly cooked. We also got the avo bagel with beetroot which was nice was well. Flavours work well together. My friend caved and ordered hot chips - best decision of the day. The brewnuts - here's where the buddy system comes into play. Share the bloody thing. It's so decadent! We got the lemon merengue one which was super tasty and had a nice tartness and tang to it. The Nutella and chocolate ones looked way to lush! Would need to smash that on an empty stomach. Will visit here again - this place represents the Australian cafe culture! And sad face because the Elvis Burger was no longer on the menu :(

Matt L.

Hailing from Melbourne, I always find myself comparing cafes in other cities to the calibre of what can be found in Melbourne's unique and industry-leading speciality coffee scene. These can be largely categorised as "normal" cafes (in lieu of a better word) and food cafes. The rhythmically named Brewtown Newtown is the perfect example of a Melbourne food cafe, but in Sydney. Warehouse-style with exposed structural beams and brickwork, chalk specials boards and tucked down a side street, it fits the description well. Seating is a mixture of bar seating, small tables and benches along the opposite wall. There are also tables outside. The cafe has an industrial yet refined and welcoming feel to it. The food menu consists of a range of breakfast and lunch options with some creative, restaurant quality twists on the usual suspects. Standouts include the corned beef hash with peas and poached egg, smoked salmon with curried Israeli couscous and squid ink linguine with garlic chilli prawns and kale. On this visit I ordered the Elvis burger, a ground beef patty with gruyere cheese, Canadian bacon and mayo, savoury brewnut and chips and relish on the side. One may quickly spot the odd word out in the previous sentence, brewnut. A brewnut is Brewtown's take on the ever growing cronut trend; a cross between a croissant and a donut. In the case of this burger, two savoury brewnuts form the top and bottom buns. This is an interesting and refreshing addition with a nice flakey crunch. Although the contents of the burger minimal, the melting gruyere and flavoursome bacon are all that is necessary. Coffee was on point and is to be expected from a cafe that has micro roastery, a range of single origin espresso and filter options are on offer. Intrigued by the whole cronut thing, I couldn't help having a flavoured cronut as an after-lunch snack. A selection of flavours were displayed on the glass shelving, today's was glazed, cinnamon, lemon myrtle, passionfruit and blood orange. It is easy to see why cronuts are so popular, think a regular flavoured donut but with a curiously addictive crunchy texture. The downside is that they are notoriously messy, judging by the pastry flakes I left everywhere. Situated in the bustling Newtown shopping and food strip, Brewtown Newtown is a great, popular food cafe reminiscent of Melbourne creativity and design.

Ferdinand W.

Yesterday Lunch was great, since I was craving for cronuts for sometimes now, I decided to have "Elvis" burger, ground beef patties, Canadian bacon, on savory cronuts, chutney and chips This modern presentation taken old interpretation of old burger to new level. It's worth to try.

Amy S.

Hooray! I'm probably one of the last people to visit this famous joint! Famous for the cronut and cruffin creations! And boy they did not disappoint! For lunch I got the special which was jamon, minty peas, poached eggs with fennel and apple salad on sourdough. It was ok, needed salt which was provided on the table. My mate got the chicken baguette with walnut and she advise it had wayyy to much mayonnaise that she couldnt really enjoy it. I had high expectations for the coffee so i got a piccolo and it tasted burnt! Sad face! The red velvet cronut and the nutella cruffin were pretty dang good! The cronuts were more a 5/5 and the food 3/5 so a three star seems suitable!

Conor D.

I have read lots of things about the famous Cronut. A combination of a croissant and a donut. That's a wicked combination. Having researched it and pinpointing a location to where to get one. That spot is Brewtown Newtown. I have heard the place is good but today I was only after a Cronut. Can't help but be impressed by busy crowds waiting outside the store. The cafe looks very exciting and as you walk in the door you see the exciting Cronut/Brewnut. The Cronut/Brewnut comes in lots of different options blood orange , tiramisu, ricotta , Nutella , lemon puff. I got excited and my friend and I got tiramisu, ricotta , Nutella and salted Caramel. The salted caramel was first up. It was topped with real popcorn and the first bite reminded me of the freshly baked croissants of Paris. The Cronut was full with salted caramel cream. It was a little rich for me. Next up was Nutella . This was the perfect combination for me. I love Nutella and this was a combo that worked stupendously well. Although got to say I don't think Nutella can go wrong with anything. I was literally exploding at this point and only managed to sample the tiramisu. It was to a high standard too but couldn't manage more then a sliver of it. I decided to share the love and give the rest to one of my friends although giving away such a beauty was hard to do.

Karen S.

I didn't get around to reviewing this place after we visited and I slap myself for not getting to it sooner. Because it deserves attention. Visiting the hip, funky Newtown was like taking a walk through a bigger West End in Brisbane. And using my Beanhunter app to find a decent coffee, we took off in search of this place. Thankfully away from the busy main street, down a side street you come across the two storey warehouse entrance. It oozes charm, ambience and bucket loads of character. It's obvious to us that locals love this place. Because at 2.30 pm in the afternoon it was packed! We weren't there for lunch (bugger because the food going past looked amazing) We wanted a decent, strong inner city Sydney coffee. And to that point we hadn't found one closer to the cbd. Staff were super attentive and friendly, laid back and full of smiles. Nice considering how busy they were. We got sat at one of the few free tables and enjoyed the high ceilings, the unique fitout and the food going past. Two coffees and one of the delicious, tempting cronuts on the counter. And quite quickly after....we were in heaven. Cronuts were sticky, sweet, fluffy, tacky, delicious! Flat whites were rich, dark, bold, robust and perfectly extracted. From beans roasted upstairs! The cups were cute too. If only we were in Sydney for longer this place would have been a definate 'get back to for lunch destination' Overall, we left after paying the bill with a friendly wave and smile from the staff...saying 'see you next time we come down' AND we will!! Love it :D

Luke C.

Out of all the places I have visited in Sydney, Brewtown is the hottest place in town. At any weekend day, you will be sure to find at least four other tables in front you that had the same desire as you. At my first attempt there, the queue was so long that people were waiting across the road, I gave up and left with cronuts as a consolation prize. The time I did get in, was at 8:45am and the wait time was already 10 min. The layout is compact with large communal tables, bar seats and smaller two-seaters. I think the layout is non-functional for people wanting coffee-to-go and cronuts to take-away have to go quite deep into the counter area which is often obstructed by the dine-in queue. MINI EGG BENEDICT BRIOCHE ROLL $8.5 If you're not the big brekky kind of person. This mini bun is just the right size also if you're more of a sweet tooth and a fan of cronuts afterwards. The egg was cooked perfectly, with all the ingredients in harmony and it offered more of a gentle wake up in terms of flavours. GRILLED BLACK SAUSAGE HOME MADE HASH BROWNS, CANADIAN BACON AND HOUSE RELISH WITH BOILED EGGS $16 Beautifully presented dish, the main element of this dish, the black sausage is to die for. All together great mixture of textures and flavours. If you have a big appetite this is surely not enough. CRONUTS & COFFEE The coffee is well above average. My personal favourite is the jam one but all are worth trying. Chocolate is the newest addition to the family of flavours and its pretty good, but the jam one still is the best one for me as it brings some moisture and another level of texture. Conclusion Spectacular breakfast, I can't wait to come again for their lunch time menu. The cronuts are good but the star of the show are the dishes on the menu especially the Black Sausage dish. It is well-priced for the quality on offer. @thesydneynoob

Shani M.

This place has become a destination and urban legend in the newtown area however I think that traveling down the lesser traveled path will lead you to tastier fairs in newtown. Be prepared for a wait of you are here over the weekend. The food is what keeps bringing me back despite the sullen looks from the wait staff, the noise of the cafe and the 'arnt we cool' attitudes of the other patrons. The food can be great - the zucchini flowers are well worth trying and the coffee is pretty consistent. Be prepared to pay the price for dining at this urban legend - 6$ a cronut, breakfasts towards 20$ and if you are temped to have any extras...$$$$