Auvers

Ron Chen and business partner Leo Rong say their cafe has three major pillars: food, art and to be inspired. The venue’s day-to-day operation as a cafe and a small art gallery and dealer fulfil the first two. As far as the third goes, the owners believe if each aspect of the cafe is creative, collaborative and interesting then their customers will feel the same.

The fit-out by Matt Woods (Rabbit Hole, Devon Barangaroo) straddles industrial and corporate, giving the space a new-age-office feel, like what you’d imagine a Google or Atlassian space looks like.

The coffee is done in collaboration with Enmore’s Black Market Roasters.

The food is best defined by its prettiness and multiculturalism. Matcha-and-red-bean pancakes made with a meringue dough for extra fluff take cues from China and Japan; chickpea fritters with picked beetroot and green hummus are a modern interpretation of falafel; the soft-shell-crab po’boy has a Thai mango dressing and kimchi.

Then there’s Clintan’s take on the cafe staples, granola is smoked and served on a peanut butter-and-banana mousse; and smashed avocado is mixed with sweet-corn miso and furikake(Japanese seasoning).

The coffee and food is served on Denise McDonald crockery, a sculptor whose wares are also on show with other local artists on the back wall of the cafe.