I drive past this place a lot but it always seems to be after hours. Today as the boy and i had the…read moreday off we seized the opportunity and off we went amongst the 2 wheeled lycra clad locals. We ordered to eat in, I ordered a skim cap in a mug and the smashed avo with a poached egg, the boy ordered a chocolate milkshake and a Spaniard toastie. The wait wasn't long however we received our drinks in takeaway cups (where was my mug?) I had heard great things about the coffee here so as i took my first sip i was anticipating a brain exploding experience however i received a mouthful of lukewarm mediocre coffee. Then came the food, the spaniard toastie was a toasted cheese sandwich with chorizo sausage and the smashed avo was 2 pieces of sourdough with avo, tomato and feta which i added a poached egg to. The food.. while the toastie was delicious i was a little disappointed with the smashed avo. The name of the dish was smashed avo so here i was expecting a substantial amount of avocado however what i got was a small scraping of avocado on both pieces of bread which was over powered by the amount of feta. While the experience wasn't all bad i will make sure i ask for a hot extra strong coffee next time!

Great coffee! A gem in a really bleh area. I also had a meat pie - nothing great to speak of and…read moredefinitely over priced. But the coffee! Do try!

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.

I really liked this place! It's small and unassuming. The staff is extremely friendly and the…read moreatmosphere is casual and relaxed. The coffee was good, not brilliant, but quite good. The little pastries are nice but not made there. But honestly couldn't taste it. I think what helps this place is it is off the main strip and so makes you think that you are not in the centre of the Cross.

Holm is the best!! It's my morning coffee before work cafe ;)…read more Coffee is spot on, not too sweet nor bitter. The staff are extremely friendly, always smiling and I always have a positive vibe. The cafe is tiny, there is sitting inside and outside on leafy Victoria Street. Why stop at coffee though, their lasagna is to die for yum! It's not heavy and doesn't bloat me.

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.

So guess what Kit & Yuen used to do before starting Not Just Coffee? A biochemist and a pharmacist…read more Meaning they have brains the size of Pluto, which they've used to establish what is damn near close to the perfect little cafe in Paddington. Ready for this? 'Cos here we go: An ever-changing menu, like a science experiment. Sugar in small labelled glass beakers, and a brunch and coffee experience that left me somewhere between speechless and begging for more. They're dog-friendly. So crucial for people like me who think dogs are little four-legged rainbows, furry little smile-factories that make the world a better place to live in. They post photos of their customer's dogs up on their facebook page. I know, brilliant. They also support the local arts community, displaying artwork and photography from talented locals, and are looking at live acoustic music. Hey, all other cafes: be more like Not Just Coffee, because they are crushing it, and I am crushing on them.

Great little place on an off street of Paddington. If you go to the top floor and sit at the bench,…read moreyou have a nice leafy laneway view. It's almost like they took someone's unused back yard and properly used the space to creatively make " awesome "!!! Really massive fan of the artwork that leads you to the front door. The staff is nice and helpful and they were able to keep the table water flowing. Asking for some extra special sauce was also a non issue. I really enjoyed my meal. Highly recommend if you're in the local area and want a bite of eat with " cool " thrown in for good measure!

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.

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.