Coffee in the Park at Rose Bay Diner

When the sun’s smiling on Sydney, there are few better places to be than in a park by the water, coffee in hand. Rose Bay Diner makes this scenario achievable by supplying excellent beans and smart cafe fare to visitors of Lyne Park in Rose Bay, right near Catalina.

The cafe is a compact, open-air kiosk with windows instead of walls and a couple of tables outside so dogs can come to breakfast. Plants in cream-coloured pots wrap around the cafe, and dark grey tables elevate the space from a typical park-side coffee stand into something a little more elegant.

Owner Benny Sweeten (former owner of Joe Black) transformed the space. “It needed light; it needed colour and warmth and an identity,” he says. “I wanted it to be a destination more than anything. There’s heaps of parking and it’s a beautiful walk.”

It also helps that there is some serious cred behind the burners; Daniele Trimarchi was sous chef at Iceberg’s and head chef at Fratelli Paradiso before this. With Single Origin Roasters coffee and dishes such as the Johnny Tightlips with heirloom tomatoes, avocado and shanklish, a homemade Lebanese cheese dried out and rolled in herbs, it’s a spot made for lazy sunny Sunday mornings.

Picnic hampers are available for the park, or if you’re on a boat, a fisherman’s lunchbox. Check back in spring and summer – guest chefs will be invited to cook one-off dinners in the balmy weather.

Rose Bay Diner

Near the Rose Bay Ferry Wharf, Lyne Park, Rose Bay

Hours

Daily 6.30am-4pm

instagram.com/rosebaydiner