COOH Alexandria

Owners of COOH Curl Curl Rachel Trevarton and Scarlett Forward, use the extra space at their Alexandria site for coffee roasting, fish curing, cake baking, kombucha on tap and a list of local beers and Australian wines. But the same organic, wholefood philosophy of the original Curl Curl cafe is present at the Alexandria version.

The menu includes a few Alexandria-specific specialities. The tuna steak burger (there’s no steak element, the tuna is cut into small rectangles) uses tuna that is perfectly pink-centred and crusted around the edge. It’s joined by a toss of purple cabbage and a dousing of avo-aoili and jalapeno salsa. The bun is a soft, fluffy sphere of toasted brown bread.

The cured ocean trout comes arranged in a garden of multicoloured beetroot wedges, feta mouse and a surprisingly hardy mixed-seed cracker. The trout is cured for two days with beetroot, sugar and the zest and juice of oranges by Anders Knopp, the Swedish chef. On the breakfast menu there’s a cheese-covered Mexican shakshuka with sides of guac and sour cream, and for lunch there’s a textural Moroccan spiced salad with chermoula spiced lamb, currants, tomatoes and mint-infused yoghurt.

With light woods, marble tops and surrounding windows the owners have created a fresh and open space – it feels like sitting in a design studio built in the centre of a park.