Barista & Cook’s owner, Alan Thompson, is an ex-DJ who came back into the industry after selling Surry Hills cafe BangBang in early 2015.
His new space is blocky, with a lot of glass, immensely high ceilings and generous natural light. It’s cleverly split up to fit in a long communal table, a beach-bar-like lounge and some outdoor tables.
The menu doesn’t revolutionise cafe cuisine in Sydney, but it’s certainly not standard cafe food, either. The dish you won’t find anywhere else is a smoked-trout kedgeree. It’s a British-Indian dish traditionally made with haddock, rice, eggs and spices. Thompson keeps it on the menu to honour his own heritage.
Then there’s a mac’n’cheese toasty made with sourdough; fried-chicken rolls; a breakfast chargrilled pork belly with chilli fried eggs; and a coffee slider with custom-made Gypsy Espresso coffee gelato by Ciccone and Sons.
Healthier alternatives include almond-milk Bircher; coconut-chia pudding and a quartet of fresh salads.
As in the coffee slider, espresso, V60, Chemex and cold drip are all provided by Gypsy. There's also a range of smoothies, milkshakes and fresh juices, such as the Green Power (kale, spirulina, apple, celery and coconut water).
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