Barista & Cook
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).
We do not seek or accept payment from the cafes, restaurants, bars and shops listed in the Directory – inclusion is at our discretion. Venue profiles are written by independent freelancers paid by Broadsheet.