With Cafe Lewi, Lewisham Gets What It Wants

Chef couple Isabella Leva Laureti and John Laureti have an enviable commute. It’s just the few moments it takes them to descend the stairs to the daytime venue they just opened near the station in Lewisham: Cafe Lewi.

“If we can sneak in an extra half-hour sleep-in then just roll down the stairs, we love that,” John says. It surely takes the edge off the 5.30am start, but they’ve still got their work cut out: “Everything you see, we make”. That’s from granola, hashbrowns, sauces and sodas, to focaccia, milk buns and an impressive pastry line-up. Their fine-dining background means your high expectations are safe.

The pair have been together for over a decade, meeting in the Rockpool kitchen and going on to run lockdown-era pastry-delivery service Pane Dolce and work at Mornington Peninsula fine diner Pt Leo Estate.

“I mean, we are really stretching ourselves to the limit,” John says. “[But] we want to show as much of our skill as possible.” Each morning, they’re baking fluffy milk buns and tomato-studded slabs of focaccia, plus sharply cheesy scones, peach crumbles and glossy glazed strawberry doughnuts. Isabella’s pretty little celebration cakes – currently an olive oil cake with Valrhona choc ganache and raspberry curd, dressed in buttercream with old-school piped edges – are ideal to have in or take to parties.

All of it supports refined brekkie and lunch menus.

That house-made bun is stuffed with a Coppertree pork sausage patty, fried egg and American cheese, then sauced up with teriyaki. Steak and eggs zinged up with chilli chimichurri are a Sunday hit, or a high-protein pre-gym meal for some, apparently. The hashbrown is an obvious add-on (or a side of the hash brown crispies). Less obvious (but welcome) additions are the bumps of caviar or roe – best atop the confit salmon-topped hashbrown, or the perfect, silky parmesan omelette.

“If I can have a little bump of caviar, I won’t say no,” Isabella laughs.

“If you want to be fancy, you can be fancy. If you want to come in and have a regular breakfast, you can do that as well,” John adds.

While the daytime slot was a conscious lifestyle choice, the pair quickly realised locals want more of what they’ve got. “Lewisham is a community that wants everything at once, cos they had nothing,” John says. “It’s turning into more of a what-the-area-wants venue – and the area wants dinner. They’re crying out for dinners!”

New Years Eve was the first aperitivo and pasta night, which will be slowly introduced from February. The Martinis, Negronis and Woo Woos (a mix of cranberry, peach schnapps and vodka) that are already taking brunch up a notch, are sure to come too.

Cafe Lewi arrives as more Sydney cafes are pushing the boat out. AP Bread & Wine does the breakfast-lunch-dinner dance beautifully, just like Neil Perry’s Cafe Margaret and Cafe Cressida, from Ursula’s Phil and Lis Wood. Just like Lewisham, we say “more please”.

Cafe Lewi
8A Victoria Street, Lewisham
0435 837 003

Hours:
Mon to Fri 7am–3pm
Sat 7.30am–4pm
Sun 8am­–4pm

cafelewi.com.au
@cafelewi