Little West

If you pass by Little West on a given day, you might spot an elderly Italian man standing at the front window’s brass counter, sipping espresso on the footpath. Meanwhile, inside the cafe might be someone at their laptop, perched on a bentwood stool, drinking pour-over.

In a way, Little West represents the shifting neighbourhood demographics in communities all over Sydney. Business partners Joshua Harrison and Sebastian Shearman opened their spot on one of Haberfield's pretty residential backstreets, blocks away from the bustling bakeries and delis of Ramsay Street. The quaint six-seater (with a handful of outdoor tables, too) is part of a movement of new venues in Haberfield, including American-style diner Happyfield, adding outstanding coffee and food options to the suburb's traditional Italian-dining scene.

For coffee, there's a rotating roster of Market Lane single origins. Espresso and milk coffee are currently made with Marimbus, a Brazilian single origin with toasty chocolate and hazelnut flavour notes, that’s grown on a third-generation family farm. Pour-overs are made with a fruity single origin from La Llama, a farm operated by a father-daughter team in Bolivia.

The menu features unexpected versions of cafe classics and dishes that acknowledge the suburb’s Italian heritage, often incorporating native Australian ingredients. There’s a muffuletta sandwich that takes two days to make, layered with leg ham, hot salami, provolone, Italian pickles and olives. The team takes a hollowed-out miche loaf by Sonoma, layers the ingredients and presses it for 24 hours so the flavours marry overnight.

Smoked brisket sausage rolled in all-butter puff pastry is another popular dish. It’s served with bush tomato sauce, made from small native tomatoes that are dried to enhance their umami flavour. The chocolate and golden syrup damper is a refined version of the primary school classic.

When Harrison and Shearman found the shopfront, it had been vacant for almost two decades, its windows plastered with mid-aughts movie posters. It was gutted and faithfully restored according to the council’s stringent heritage conditions, right down to the rich red exterior tiles and recessed doorway.