Coffee: Refinery Espresso Passion: 8/10…read moreCrema: 7/10 Finding great coffee up north has been a challenge for some time. Sure there are a couple of cafes that make a passable coffee, but I am more likely to drive 30min south to find something enjoyable. So you can imagine how happy I was a couple of months ago to find a cafe in Hornsby that is roasting their own beans. While the first couple of months has seen a refining of the blend of beans, now the mix is much more to my liking (not overly dark). Better still, one the occasion (like today) they are even starting to offer single origin coffees. Today I had a Brazilian single origin from the Dattera Estate which (after getting the espresso shot pulled over a small dash of hot water) opened up brilliantly. While straight up the espresso had a tinge of something dark in the after taste, with the water it was smooth and a little floral. Very enjoyable. So while I will still travel far and wide for a great cup of coffee, it is great to know that I have at least on cafe I can count on closer to home. N.B. No public WiFi is available No #powerwhoring is available Decent breakfast menu available (Via http://bitterbliss.com/cafe-reviews/the-refinery-espresso/ )

This place was ranked one of the top 10 cafés in Sydney. So I decided to check it out. Coffee was…read morefantastic for the North. They brew their own coffee here, so stop and have a chat - they love talking about their coffee. And it is good. The cafe was small and the staff was extremely friendly. They have all day breakfast which a serious plus sometimes. The food here is good. Honestly probably not as good as the coffee, but I can't point out anything bad about it. They have a specials board which changes weekly. And also they have dessert, sandwiches and pastries if you just want a quick bite to eat and not willing to sit down. Worth coming to if you are in the area.

I visited this location during my stay and It was absolutely the best coffee ever!! It was so…read moresmooth and tasty. Service was beyond outstanding! Food on the other hand was phenomenal! I cant describe how amazing everything was her. This is my uncle's favorite spot and flat white is his favorite drink. I can see why. I highly recommend them! Their Avocado toast is one of a kind! I could never get enough of it! Its something else!!!

I was drawn to this sweet little café because it was off the main high street of Military road…read more(despite it's address). But then I saw the leafy fern motif wall and the long narrow layout - Albion's charm screamed sit down, sit down. It's a relaxed atmosphere in here so take a book or a girlfriend for a chat and enjoy the sweet feelings this café induces. The coffee will do the trick too. The barista looks very cosy in the back corner making coffee. Paul Bassett Espresso (World Barista of the year 2003) coffee beans are used to make the hot brew. They serve breakfast (try the Italian baked eggs with tomato, leg ham and shallots for $12.50), lunch (Bruschetta with roasted pumpkin, goats feta and rocket for $12.00 tickle your fancy?) and a few delicious sweet treats. No Wifi, heaters outside. Nice place for a cosy cuppa on weekdays. Susanne - one of the owners - is very friendly.

This is a nice little cafe in Mosman. Down Albion Lane, this is a very small cafe, with a nice…read moresitting area outside. My friends who live here swear about this place, however, I personally don't think it is as good as the Source - but I think most people will disagree with me. As most people in the area are die hard fans. The coffee here is alright, it is drinkable but not brilliant. However, the tea here is great! So if you come here I would order the tea (specifically the Chi) over the coffee. The food here is nice, but nothing amazing. Again, I know that most people will disagree with me. I ordered the salad, maybe it was the wrong thing to order. Saying that milkshakes were impressive. To summarise - this place is nice, but I don't think it is overwhelmingly great. But if you are looking for aumbiance, then this cafe is better than the Source, but I generally care more about coffee and food than anything else. But that is just me.

Hi, the Cafe Manager charged me $150 extra on my coffee order. I went in after music class with my…read moremother and my two year old daughter. I called them and gave them the benefit of the doubt it was a genuine error. They asked me to physically come back to the store for the refund. I've never been treated so poorly but a cafe or any business. They made me wait, and said they were too busy to deal with my request. I had to articulate (loudly) that I'm waiting on their error. They then blamed me three times for telling them the wrong date and amount and they can't confirm. Once the charge was found they refused to refund the money because they couldn't confirm it was me. The Cafe Manager was rude, defensive and aggressive. I left upset and embarrassed by the whole scenario. They have no email to communicate. I will have to escalate to the Ombudsman, because they've my money and refused to refund. I'm most upset because they've ruined my Saturday mornings where I go to music class with my little girl and we have a babyccino and coffee after.

Me and my partner have been regulars at Clover for the past few months. The food is consistently…read moredelicious and yummy! Brunch needs eggs and Clover has a nice range from baked to benedict, but don't discount the French toast which is probably healthier than a regular French toast but just as delicious ;) Overall Clover doesn't have impressive fancy dishes - missing that to get a 5! What it has is nice comfortable food :)

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

Lovely spot for a cafe. Comfortable seating inside and small courtyard outside…read more Nice selections of cafe foods. I like that real milk (opposed to long life milk) is used. Price of a small latte is quite high though. There is small art works for sale. Overall a very sunny disposition.

I always love the freshly baked muffins with a good strong long black coffee. Good selection of…read morebreakfast items and sandwiches. Great spot to fuel up for a bay run or walk.

One of the lovely joints within the Hills Valley where you can have a nice grind while enjoying a…read moremeal of home made sour dough baked to perfection! The coffee was well extracted. The big breakfast was a tat oily but yum. The southern chicken burger reminded me of a healthy version KFC. All in all. Yum! Only 1 small problem. The shop plays extremely loud music. With a baby, it's impossible to sit inside let alone trying to have a conversation. Seating outside it's perfectly fine, so is getting a take away. Anything else however. Just a bit loud.

Such a cool spot in Hillshire serving up some excellent Reformatory Labs coffee from Surry Hills!…read moreThey've got an assortment of pastries and quite an extensive brunch menu, so it's a perfect spot for a nice wholesome brunch. They've got outdoor and indoor seating, but the vibe inside was awesome. I loved their coffee, their honey banana muffin was sublime, and I'll be back for their brunch!

Ok the staff are good. Lily and Pera are friendly. The coffee is very good. If you like a bacon and…read moreegg roll is probably the best, after that the food gets pretty limited. The things that could be improved are air conditioning. There is non and the kitchen can make things hot in the summer. The second Is WiFi. There is none and would help business people and students use the cafe. So even though I would like to give the girls a higher rating for effort. It's a 3 star cafe with great coffee and friendly service

Sorry, I am literally losing my religion here at this establishment. Points are to be awarded (and…read morewell deserved) for extremely fantastic coffee; yet the service and the cramped ambience is such a turn off. This is Balmain; cafes do get crowded so some space is allowed and much needed. The coffee is superb; yet I won't be coming back to this religion in a hurry as the service is just okay; nothing spectacular. Maybe if the staff go on some customer service training, and they open up the space a little more; then most definitely I will give this establishment more of a chance. There is an abundance of choice for coffee in Balmain and Rozelle (let alone in the city nearby) that great customer service and great coffee must go hand in hand. Life is short. Not coming back to this establishment in a hurry, and sadly as well. Maybe if they also got rid of the initial counter service (hey, the latter is also a bit of a turnoff at Rosebud too) and provided full table service; although I don't want to be a business consultant again: it would be a recommendation that should be taken seriously in enhancing the customer experience, and making it more positive in my eyes.