This place is very noisy but it is very popular. It is quite a big menu. Plenty of room for prams…read moreso there are families with kids dotted the throughout. Meet and greet at the door allows for seating in an efficient manner too. Only one of our items we ordered was forgotten then quickly provided. Although it did look like our waitress double checked our table and order to see if we were pulling a fast one. Probably an unfortunate thing to do. The food and coffee were good but I tried the manoosh and was disappointed. It was just like a pepperoni pizza. They do a happy birthday sing song; 2 today and it was nearly 3 but I escaped. We were there for 2 hours before we were asked if we were going to order more food. Not too bad

I've eaten late breakfast or lunch here many times and have always enjoyed prompt service and tasty…read moremeals. Good selection of foods to choose from. Cafe El's is very popular so can be very busy (and noisy) at meal times but this has not deterred me from returning for the good food.

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.

5 stars for Babel as the breakfast prices are the lowest I've paid in a long time! Quality of the…read morefood was outstanding and the timing of the service was great too. I had a chai latte which had just the right amount of froth and a ham, cheese and tomato omelette which was half the size of my plate with really nice ham all throughout. Babel are very generous with their ingredients and the sourdough toast that came with it was perfectly crunchy and fluffy when it needed to be. The kitchen was loud as I sat inside and I waited approx. 10 mins for a table on a Saturday morning but it was well worth it.

Update: haven't been back in over 18 months due to the barista leaving and the flies that were in…read morethe shop buzzing around. Most in appealing. Shame this place went down hill.

I would probably have to label this as a railway station coffee shop, though not quite because it…read moreactually isn't in the railway station, it is just across the road from it. So, as you can expect, you are going to get a steady stream of customers passing by grabbing a coffee before catching their train to work. Like many of these places, it isn't all that large, but you will certainly find a seat here on a weekday. I ended up grabbing a pot of tea, which I was able to enjoy without there being too much noise. They also do breakfast, but that option was slated for elsewhere.

New little cafe with Campos coffee I'm a fan, The food is…read moregreat and there is so much competition in this area for good cafe's its a really hard decision where to go all within 50m of each other. I have had to walk past to another cafe several times due to the line up and crowd when in a hurry but if you have time stop in for a cafe and bite. There is a mix of hipster vibe and mums with kids, good balance.

Thank you Chatswood for finally bringing it in the cafe department…read more I came here after a friend posted a picture of the food on Instagram (making this the most hipster cafe find I have ever made) - I had never heard of this place and thanks to the old yelp bookmark I had it parked for my next cafe emergency when I was in the area. I think that this place does all the things necessary to be a good cafe- funky interior, great tasting and interesting food, and not just good coffee- but a rotating bean menu. I had the fresh fig and ricotta on toast which was simply delightful. The combo of figs, ricotta, honey, walnuts and mint was a definite winner. And all the rest of the food I saw looked just as tasty. Brilliant coffee too- I just had the house bean (can't remember what it was) but it was great. Well done elbow room- you just found a special place in my heart

There are a lot of places in Chatswood selling coffee. But by far this is one of the best ones…read more Serving different beans for different roasters this is a coffee lover dream. To add the cherry on the coffee heaven, the food here is fantastic. Now the menus is limited but both my friend and I were ecstatic about our meals. I got the French toast and it was divine. It is a small kitchen, so if it crowded you might have to wait a bit. But that should be expected with any small cafe. What completely won it for me was the friendliness of the staff. A small error was made in my order (which was my fault) and they lady could not be more helpful. I will definitely come here again.

This area is spoilt for choice when it comes to cafes and this place advertises that it has been…read morearound since 1984. We ducked in here for coffee and a dessert as the place we had gone to for lunch did not have any desserts. While we waited for our coffee, we got to see all the main meals being carried out from the kitchen. They all looked pretty good. The place was packed too. Our coffees were nice. Our vanilla slices needed a knife and fork to dismantle them. Worth a second visit.

I was searching for lunch in Balmain and wandering the streets when I heard the word "Reuben" and…read morewas stopped in my tracks. While in NYC recently I had fallen in love with these pastrami filled beasts with their oh so tender and flavourful meat *drools*. So when I started enquiring inside about if the sandwich was served on rye bread, I noticed to my dismay that they used.corned beef and not pastrami .... :-( But... I had already sat down, and still needed lunch, so as is my way, I ordered their burger. I had intended as a backup plan to try their kransky hot pot special, but it appears it had already sold out. AND THE BURGER WAS DELICIOUS!!! Next to the mass of thin fries (that were so plentyful I could not get through them all) was a burger consisting of a juicy burger lavished with bacon, cheese, caramelised onions and plenty of love. Even the bun was awesome, giving me good purchase as I demolished this amazing lunch item. Even thinking about this burger now just makes me drool... I them finished off the meal with a nice little mac. It was pretty damm nice (though not as good as the burger...). That said... it was still one of the better cafes I have found in Sydney, and so well worth checking out if in the area. Cafe Summary ------------------------ Passion for Coffee - 7/10 Coffee beans - Morgan's coffee Crema (1=burnt, 10=velvet) - 7/10 Special coffees avail? - N/A Special Features ------------------------ Toilets

Coffee shop and bake bar in Randwick, they are always busy with parents, kids, cyclists..basically…read moreeveryone on their way to work or school. They do breakfasts like brekkie rolls, eggs including shakahuka, sandwiches and soups. They do make from scratch but also heaps of ready made food to go like homemade muesli and quiche. It's also a bake bar selling a huge variety of artisan organic breads, scones, pastries and muffins. I got the apple crumble muffin which was fresh and tasty with an espresso for an afternoon pick me up. Worth a visit if you're passing by. Quick service and polite staff. No complaints, but gotta be amazing for a 5 star from me.

This place hit jackpot with its winning combination of bakery and cafe. You can see them make the…read morebread and then all of a sudden its on your plate in the form of a gourmet sandwich. Rain, hail or shine, this place is nearly always open. The closing hours are more of a guide, because if people want coffee late, coffee is what they'll get! The stream of people coming and going is great to see, from mums and bubs, suits, friendly catch ups and single caffeine drinkers - it's a place for everyone. There are display salads, sandwiches, quiches and tarts along with other menu items. The desserts are seriously hard to resist - citron tart and other delicious chocolate calorific treats. I was surprise to see they do piccolo lattes which look cute and limit your caffeine intake if you're a bit OTT. The welcoming and warm atmosphere is where I plan on spending my weekends, reading, relaxing and possibly induldging.

Coffee is single origin organic fairtrade. Earthy and smooth. Their loose leaf teas like Japanese…read moresencha and Russian caravan tea are in glass jars lining the back wall. The chalkboard mural is cool - in fact the entire back area of the cafe is black. I like the giant hanging light globes - not particularly energy efficient I imagine but they are funky. Loaves of sourdoughs and ryes line one of the back shelves adding a bit more rustic flavour to the cool black. Music is chilled electronica or the likes of Tori Amos. Staff are friendly and chatty. The special side dish when I was in was Beetroot and feta with pomegranate dressing at $3.50 - tasty and very reasonably priced. Menu picks are Moroccan Roast Lamb Salad ($16), the Wagyu Pastrami with Coleslaw and gherkins on organic rye ($12) and the Grass Fed Steak sandwich ($12) are my picks. Oo I love the round small bowl shaped glasses that the mochas come in. I usually ask for mine in a cup as it's nicer to hold and keeps it warmer longer than the typical coffee glasses but this was a treat and an original touch to the norm. Soy milk used is Bonsoi. Outdoor seating available. Free wifi.

Montagu brings a little bit of Surry Hills chic to the North Shore with all black interiors and…read moreThonet-look bistro chairs. While primarily a deluxe sandwich bar (Lord Montagu was once the Earl of Sandwich and invented the bread-filling-bread arrangement, so Wikipedia tells me), the main wall doubles up as a giant blackboard menu where guests can peruse breakfast and lunch options that offer a whole lot more than the classic midday meal. Like, the Moroccan inspired chickpea salad with finely shredded letuce, currants and tiny bits of preserved lemon topped with lamb strips, which was so substantial I was able to share it with a friend. I came back on another occasion and went for their breakfast panini filled with free range bacon and poached eggs (you could also have them fried, and paired with smoked salmon and horseradish cream or ham and tomato relish) and smeared with a nicely acidic beetroot relish, paired with a creamy Single Origin latte. Tucked away from traffic in a pedestrian zone, this is a buzzing café that I'll definitely return to, not least to test out their organic chicken sandwich with fennel, celery, watercress and mayo.