Goblin Kitchen and Bar

Goblin Kitchen and Bar is less than a minute from Summer Hill station. It’s buzzy but laid-back and cosy. It has outdoor seating on the pavement and under jacaranda trees in its spacious courtyard.

Its menu is by owner, chef and barista Eliot Ritchie, whose work at high-end restaurants in Sydney (Longrain, Onde and Jaspers) and coffee houses in London inspired him to open a cafe and with fine-dining inflections.

The daytime menu is modern Australian with some hints of Mediterranean and modern Asian. Try all-day breakfast rolls of honey-port cured bacon and egg with rocket and spiced tomato relish. There’s house specialty: ricotta and buttermilk hot cakes with fresh fruit and house made honeycomb butter. Goblin uses Pablo & Rusty's beans for its coffee, and features a different single-origin bean each week.

In the evening Goblin offers tapas-style sharing plates such as freshly shucked oysters; port-braised beef cheek or grilled king prawns with chilli, garlic, lemon and Romesco. Vegetarian options include the homemade pappardelle with wild mushrooms and parmigiano-reggiano.

Craft beer comes from nearby brewery Wayward, and there’s cider from the Apple Thief. The succinct wine list is predominantly Australian, but has French and Spanish options as well as biodynamic and organic varieties.