Have you seen all the eateries that line the street opposite Dee Why beach? Luckily SeaChange was recommended to me as I would've walked straight past it. Tucked between Sea Bar and WockInn this little beachside cafe has good food, generous servings, a great atmosphere and best of all - all day breakfast.
There's always a queue here on weekends but you wouldn't know it. Instead of waiting in a line outside, they take your number and call you when a table is ready. It's perfect so you can go for a walk to the rock pool or wait by the beach and watch the surfers.
It's a busy little cafe with a tiny kitchen but that doesn't stop the food being served fresh and timely. The coffee is a little weak in flavour and aroma but depending on the day, you might get some clever latte art. Freshly squeezed juices ($7.20) and acai drink ($8.60) are also available amongst the many options for cold and hot drinks.
When asked about the most popular dish, the waiter said the Californian. Good thing she suggest half size as it was a pretty generous serving. The grilled salmon was tender and flaky and the housemade potato rosti, deliciously floury fluffy.
Here the local is served with turkish bread and poached eggs all piled onto a plate of tomato, crispy bacon, a chicken sausage and that potato rosti. The real challenge was how to eat it without spilling it.
If you're after a vegetarian option, get the Veg out. The kumara and corn cous cous cake was moist (oh I hate that word) and so tasty with fresh avocado, poached eggs, tomato, rocket and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
If you like omelettes, there are five different choices. The fisherman's omelette has fresh salmon, red onion, capers and potatoes folded through eggs and swiss cheese. It's baked so it has a nice thin crispy crunch and oozing with swiss cheese.
You can also get eggs benedict with their housemade hollandaise that you really can't fault. Named after the cafe, the salmon version had tender, flaky grilled salmon. Other options included the Dee Why sunrise with smoked bacon, Green sea with spinach or Ham benedict with ham.
If you are after some healthier, lighter options you can get toast or the housemade muesli and yogurt to name a few. They do cater for your needs and offer a selection of toasts including gluten free (extra $1), eggs your way and you can even take your leftovers home.
SeaChange has been around since 2002 and no doubt will stay popular. I love it's simplicity and humbleness. If you're not a local, it's worth the trip to the northern beaches particularly in the warmer months so you can go for a dip at the beach too.
SeaChange Cafe - 3/20 The Strand, Dee Why
http://www.seachangecafe.com.au/
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| Dee Why beach, taken while waiting in the "queue" |
It's a busy little cafe with a tiny kitchen but that doesn't stop the food being served fresh and timely. The coffee is a little weak in flavour and aroma but depending on the day, you might get some clever latte art. Freshly squeezed juices ($7.20) and acai drink ($8.60) are also available amongst the many options for cold and hot drinks.
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| Californian half size $16.90 |
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| The local $18.90 |
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| Veg out $17.90 |
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| Fisherman's omelette $18.20 |
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| Sea Change $19.20 |
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| Dee Why sunrise $17.90 |
SeaChange has been around since 2002 and no doubt will stay popular. I love it's simplicity and humbleness. If you're not a local, it's worth the trip to the northern beaches particularly in the warmer months so you can go for a dip at the beach too.
| In a nutshell Breakfast Coffee ●● Food ●● Service ●● Price $$($) Atmosphere | ♥♥♥ All day, everyday $3.80 (regular), momenti coffee Cafe modern Australian Friendly, fast food Turkish toast $5.60 Relaxed, no fuss, child friendly. Suits all |
http://www.seachangecafe.com.au/
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Eeeny meeny miny mo... to which Surry Hills cafe should I go?
Rustic Pearl is a small intimate cafe serving up the most delicious Mediterranean, Turkish, Balkan inspired dishes and drinks. The all day breakfast menu is a winner for both vegetarians and meat lovers and my beloved eggs benedict makes an appearance with a choice of either bacon, ocean trout or lobster.
Yes, you guessed it. I got the Bosphorous benedict. Huge juicy chunks of lobster pop in your mouth while the brain processes the oozing egg yolk, avocado and hollandaise. Served on turkish toast, it's a refreshing combination and thankfully there's no heat from the chopped chilli - yum!
I would struggle miserably on a Masterchef ingredients test. Looking at the pile of sauteed mushrooms on this bruschetta all I could see was errrmm... button mushrooms, shitake? All I can say is that it worked a treat with the herby goat's cheese and that green spread of agresto (tasted like parsley pesto).
This is definitely "dude food" sporting the delicious sucuk sausage. Did you just try to pronounce that? With an Aussie accent it may sound rude but the c is a soft j. Mixed with sauteed spinach, olives, cherry tomato and dried apricots, the labne and baba ganoush softens the dish in a delicious mouthful of flavours. Recommend adding the poached eggs.
I didn't know you could get sweet gozleme but here's one filled with melted nutella, warm slices of banana, coconut and almonds. The pastry is slighter thinner and crispier, perfect on a cold winter's day.
There is a bit of everything on the drinks list. Hot and cold drinks, fresh juices, smoothies, frappes. The tea is loose leaf served with cute little tea glasses and if you order a large coffee, you'll get a bowl to sink your face into! The turkish apple iced tea is refreshingly sweet on a hot day with slices of apple and cucumber.
So many little things stand out here, like the sharp knife to cut through those crusty sourdough slices of bread, stainless steel straws and fruit to seal your water bottle. They even apologise that wait times apply as everything is made to serve to ensure it's freshness.
Eeny meeny miny mo... pick Rustic Pearl if you get a chance. Blink and you'll miss this place so make sure it's on your radar. Don't be surprised if there is a weekend queue, there's limited seating with seven tables for two inside and two tables outside but it is worth the wait.
In a nutshell ♥♥♥
All day breakfast
Coffee: ●● Mecca
Food: ●●● Delicious, cooked to order. Mediterranean, Turkish inspired
Service: ●●● Friendly, attentive
Price: $$($)
Atmosphere: Small, cosy, homely with Turkish tunes. Suits singles or groups of 2 or 3.
Rustic Pearl - 415 Crown St, Surry Hills
https://www.facebook.com/rusticpearlcafe
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Rustic Pearl is a small intimate cafe serving up the most delicious Mediterranean, Turkish, Balkan inspired dishes and drinks. The all day breakfast menu is a winner for both vegetarians and meat lovers and my beloved eggs benedict makes an appearance with a choice of either bacon, ocean trout or lobster.
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| Bosphorous benedict $25 |
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| Mixed wild mushrooms bruschetta $16 |
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| Spicy Sucuk bruschetta $18 with extra poached eggs $3.50 and avocado $4 |
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| Nutella gozleme $14 |
There is a bit of everything on the drinks list. Hot and cold drinks, fresh juices, smoothies, frappes. The tea is loose leaf served with cute little tea glasses and if you order a large coffee, you'll get a bowl to sink your face into! The turkish apple iced tea is refreshingly sweet on a hot day with slices of apple and cucumber.
So many little things stand out here, like the sharp knife to cut through those crusty sourdough slices of bread, stainless steel straws and fruit to seal your water bottle. They even apologise that wait times apply as everything is made to serve to ensure it's freshness.
In a nutshell ♥♥♥
All day breakfast
Coffee: ●● Mecca
Food: ●●● Delicious, cooked to order. Mediterranean, Turkish inspired
Service: ●●● Friendly, attentive
Price: $$($)
Atmosphere: Small, cosy, homely with Turkish tunes. Suits singles or groups of 2 or 3.
Rustic Pearl - 415 Crown St, Surry Hills
https://www.facebook.com/rusticpearlcafe
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Tucked away from the busy centres of St Leonards and Crows Nest, get ready to be whisked away at the Wooden Whisk. One of my favourite brunch spots, I am never let down and the seasonal specials keeps things interesting.
On arrival, I am always greeted immediately and luckily haven't had to wait in a queue (yet?). Once seated, a menu and tap water is provided and my coffee order is taken. This is often now seen "as expected" at cafes but I am always still delighted when this happens.
The coffee is a Wooden Whisk blend by Single Origin Roasters and is very easy to drink. It is more on the sweet side without the bitterness.
The first time I was here, I ordered the breakfast special stack ($16.90). Stacked beautifully was grilled haloumi, roasted tomato and poached eggs on sour dough bread. It tasted as good as it looked but I was naughty adding bacon ($3.00) to a decent vegetarian meal.
On another visit, I got the the Crossfit ($16.90) from the seasonal specials which was an enticing spread of avocado, haloumi, hash brown, crispy bacon, poached eggs and sauteed kale and cherry tomatoes.
From the regular breakfast menu, the classic croque madame ($14.50) is served up with a perfectly poached egg. The toasted sandwich contained double smoked ham, swiss cheese, french mustard and oozing béchamel sauce. Also available is the croque monsieur ($11.50).
My trusty benchmark, eggs benedict hits the mark here with a choice of bacon, ham, mushroom, spinach or smoked salmon. The classic is dressed in a rich and creamy housemade hollandaise and sits on a toasted muffin that is still soft on the inside but crispy on the edges.
There's a great selection of hot and cold drinks. For fresh juices there are four set combos which are very appealing - Beet Beauty? Vegie Patch? Kale Crave? The Detox?
The Kale Crave ($6.20) is a refreshing mix of kale, apple and mint with cucumber to balance the sweetness. There is also the option of creating your own juices.
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The Wooden Whisk is a place where you can easily sit back, relax and enjoy your brunch and even take advantage of their free wi-fi. The kitchen noises mixed with the many conversations creates an upbeat buzz and you will always see Sean (the owner) working hard on the floor and wiping down tables - now that's special service!
Original post 16 March 2014 ♥♥
Re-review post 8 February 2015 ♥♥♥
In a nutshell ♥♥♥
All day breakfast, Monday - Saturday
Coffee: ●●● Single Origin Roasters Wooden Whisk blend
Food: ●●● Delicious, fresh, good variety, organic and gluten free available
Service: ●●● Friendly, attentive, efficient
Price: $($)
Atmosphere: Relaxed, busy, homely. Suits singles, couples. groups, families, pets
The Wooden Whisk - 38 Albany St, St. Leonards
http://www.woodenwhisk.com.au/
On arrival, I am always greeted immediately and luckily haven't had to wait in a queue (yet?). Once seated, a menu and tap water is provided and my coffee order is taken. This is often now seen "as expected" at cafes but I am always still delighted when this happens.
The coffee is a Wooden Whisk blend by Single Origin Roasters and is very easy to drink. It is more on the sweet side without the bitterness.
.jpg) |
| Breakfast special stack $16.90 with side of bacon $3.00 |
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| The Crossfit $16.90 |
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| Croque madame $14.50 |
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| Eggs benedict with bacon $15.50 |
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| Smoothie, fresh juices $6.20 |
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| Kale Crave $6.20 |
The Wooden Whisk is a place where you can easily sit back, relax and enjoy your brunch and even take advantage of their free wi-fi. The kitchen noises mixed with the many conversations creates an upbeat buzz and you will always see Sean (the owner) working hard on the floor and wiping down tables - now that's special service!
Original post 16 March 2014 ♥♥
Re-review post 8 February 2015 ♥♥♥
In a nutshell ♥♥♥
All day breakfast, Monday - Saturday
Coffee: ●●● Single Origin Roasters Wooden Whisk blend
Food: ●●● Delicious, fresh, good variety, organic and gluten free available
Service: ●●● Friendly, attentive, efficient
Price: $($)
Atmosphere: Relaxed, busy, homely. Suits singles, couples. groups, families, pets
The Wooden Whisk - 38 Albany St, St. Leonards
http://www.woodenwhisk.com.au/
They say the devil is in the detail and at Trio it's the detail that sets them apart. White table cloths, mint in the water jugs, coffee chocolate signatures, friendly service and they take bookings - no queues!
If you're a local, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew the menu off by heart and all the staff by name... Super friendly and down to earth, they make you feel so welcome and the food and coffee are something to come back for.
This was one of the Sunday Brunch Club ventures and there was no surprise when we had to wait around 30 minutes at 10.30am but we were super happy to get our coffee ($3.50) while waiting.
The all day breakfast options are kept to a single page but that doesn't mean the decision is any easier. There is an appealing variety of combinations using organic or free range ingredients (where possible) and their list of organic teas are intriguing.
I ended up choosing the classic eggs benedict ($16.50) which was served on a piece of delicious fresh sourdough bread. I've always struggled with the hard crusts of sourdough but it really worked this time and the addition of dijon mustard to the hollandaise sauce was just perfect. Watch out, this one is moving to the top of the eggs benedict list!
My other choice would've been the trout rosti ($17.50) but I wanted poached eggs. A1 was thinking the same thing and ordered it with the egg as a side. She loved it although was surprised the corn rosti was just one large corn fritter.
R1 who is not a big fan of scrambled eggs ordered the avo eggs ($15.50) and was delighted with her "eggs scrambled with 'erbs".
T1 inhaled her vanilla pancakes ($14.50)! Must have been really good. R1 pointed out that the pancake itself was more like a thin sponge cake but was still yummy.
I didn't try this lamb bruschetta ($18.00) and I can only assume it was amazing as V1 didn't speak the whole time she ate and R1 cooed at how soft and delicious her mouthful of lamb was.
From the outside, this place look liked it was once a pub and after some research it was meant to be but was a general store for 112 years! Not one inch would've given that away with it's modern vintage furnishings and a Victorian charm.
With plenty of parking, plenty of outdoor and indoor space, you really can't go wrong here except for the queue which is expected for such a popular place.
Revolver - 291 Annandale St, Annandale
http://www.revolver.com.au/
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This was one of the Sunday Brunch Club ventures and there was no surprise when we had to wait around 30 minutes at 10.30am but we were super happy to get our coffee ($3.50) while waiting.
The all day breakfast options are kept to a single page but that doesn't mean the decision is any easier. There is an appealing variety of combinations using organic or free range ingredients (where possible) and their list of organic teas are intriguing.
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| Eggs Benedict $16.50 with house made dijon hollandaise |
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| Trout Rosti $17.50 house smoked ocean trout on a corn rosti with a side of poached egg $3 |
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| Avo Eggs $15.50 |
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| Vanilla Pancakes $14.50 with apple, rhubarb and orange compote and ricotta |
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| Lamb Bruschetta $18.00 nine hour slow roasted pasture fed lamb |
From the outside, this place look liked it was once a pub and after some research it was meant to be but was a general store for 112 years! Not one inch would've given that away with it's modern vintage furnishings and a Victorian charm.
With plenty of parking, plenty of outdoor and indoor space, you really can't go wrong here except for the queue which is expected for such a popular place.
| In a nutshell Breakfast Coffee ●●● Food ●●● Service ●●● Price $$$ Atmosphere | ♥♥♥ All day, everyday $3.50 Fresh, organic, gluten free available Friendly, genuine, efficient Banana bread $5.50 Relaxed. Suits all, pet friendly |
http://www.revolver.com.au/
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Social media has this all day breakfast place covered. The hype is real. I loved it.
If it wasn't for the crowd waiting outside you would miss this cafe which is marked only by their gold logo plaque. Once you peep in, it's a clever transformation of a massive open space.
While waiting outside for a table we struggled to narrow down our selection as every item looked so good. Even the crunchy brioche french toast was calling out to me and I don't usually have sweet brunches. Eventually we settled to share a fish croquette and a narnie plus our own preferences - what two little piglets we were!
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| Fish croquette with garlic aioli $3 each |
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| Spicy smashed beans with avocado on toast and poached eggs $16 |
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| The Merchant: Chilli fried egg, crispy bacon, pickled slaw and ranch dressing $13 |
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| Glazed beef brisket, slaw, gherkins, chipotle mayo narnie $15 |
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| Raspberry and coconut smoothie $7 Apple, carrot and ginger juice $7 Cappucino $3.50 |
At the back, a blackboard wall and small area is used as a kid's corner but I'm sure it also entertains the parents too.
The maitre d' added a touch of class to an overall outstanding service and it was great to see one of the owners getting amongst it, serving and clearing tables. This place is filled with the echos of conversations but the layout voids the risk of eavesdroppers and squashed bodies. This place is definitely worth waiting in a queue for, time and time again.
| In a nutshell Breakfast Coffee ●●● Food ●●● Service ●●● Price $$ Atmosphere | ♥♥♥ All day, everyday $3.80 Delicious, fresh, gourmet twist Fast, friendly, attentive Toast with condiments $6.00 Spacious, industrial but warm |
http://www.threewilliams.com/
Read Charlotte McKid review and recipes from Three Williams here
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St Valentine eat your heart out!
Here's my selection for a little something special over breakfast - a nice view! The following four places don't take bookings so I'm not sure if waiting in a queue is that ideal but at least you can enjoy the view.
Breakfast 7.30 - 9.30am at $50pp
This one is for the love birds that like to get their early feed and exclusivity
Breakfast 8.00 - 10.00am at $33pp
The backdrop of the mountains and early morning fog is just
breathtaking
Breakfast 7.00am - 12.00pm
Relax in this chic beach themed cafe that opens out onto the beach
read my review here
read my review here
Weekend breakfast 7.30 - 10.30am
Right on our beautiful Sydney harbour, watch the world go by together
(ps. service can be unpredictable)
(ps. service can be unpredictable)
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