Seven To Try: New Sydney Cafes To Fill Your Cup in February

I bloody love cafes. I love the ritual of ordering a takeaway from one of my locals, then wandering the neighbourhood with a long black that’s almost too hot to hold. But what I love even more is dining in. Sure, I could make them at home, but eggs on toast from the cafe? C’mon, it just hits different.

“Spending money on breakfast is silly!” Yeah, yeah, we all have that one friend. If you’re in that camp, fine, you do you. Me? I’m dragging my people to the cafe and we’re splashing out. If you’re with me, here are seven scalding-hot new cafes in which to do just that. See you around town.

Ard, Stanmore

Show Christiana Daaboul an old battery shop and she’ll show you what to do with it. Lemony olive oil cakes. Baklava stuffed with kataifi. Good coffee and niche drinks, like tahini caramel cold brews. Daaboul already had a serious online following for her vegan baking, she just needed a permanent space to do it in. This romantic little corner is it, and as of Wednesday January 28, Stanmore can swoon. 

2A Stafford Street, Stanmore
@ardsydney_

Sandose, Peakhurst

Nick Retsas (of Ol’ Mates in Earlwood) has opened another stylish sandwich spot, this time with friend Ethan Kayem. They’re leaning into the specialty drink craze with banana bread iced lattes and creamy coconut cold brews. But, sandwiches being the main game, you can expect Thoroughbread schiacciata stuffed with cold-cuts from Marrickville’s Whole Beast Butchery, a za’atar and veggie-loaded option, and a  classic smash burger for the win.

70 Lorraine Street, Peakhurst
@sandosepeakhurst

Cafe Lewi, Lewisham

Lewisham train station is flooded again? Ex-Rockpool chefs John Laureti and Isabella Leva Laureti probably don’t even think about it. Their commute involves waking up, walking downstairs and turning on the lights at their handsome sliver of a cafe. They’ve got their work cut out for them, though. Everything from milk buns to the photogenic treats lining the counter are made on-site. You know these two worked in fine dining when the omelette comes with optional caviar and the breakfast (or lunch) steak is perfectly blushing. 

8A Victoria Street, Lewisham
@cafelewi

Cafe Baby Finger, Camperdown

Every time chef John Jeong would take a picture of his wife, his little (“baby”) finger would sneak into the shot. That explains his cafe’s name – but what about the cheffy brunch menu? Jeong worked for eight years in French fine dining as well as influential Sydney cafes Circa Espresso and Two Chaps. The crispy royal blue potato with eggs, garlic labneh, burnt chilli, curry leaves and house focaccia will cure what ails you. 

27/12 Layton Street, Camperdown
@cafebabyfinger

Caraway, Burwood

Like Lewi, Caraway fits the “breakfast restaurant” category. Though it’s very much pitched as a cafe, restaurant smarts guide the menu – think crab omelettes with roe, house-baked caraway sourdough, scallop pasta and a fried chicken waffle to rule them all. Moody timber and concrete interiors blur the lines, but the in-house baking and specialty drinks (hello, pandan cold brew) are firmly cafe land. Owners Cindy Liang and Ida Bagus, from Newtown’s End of King, have it dialled in.

51 George Street, Burwood
@caraway_syd

Snack Shoppe West, Merrylands

Sal Sanan and siblings Amani and Hussein Rachid could’ve opened the third Self Raised Bread Shoppe anywhere. It would’ve gone nuts with the corporate crowd in the CBD. It could’ve joined MMC Slice in Marrickville, giving the trio an even bigger foothold in the inner west. But they’ve always had their eyes on greater Sydney, hence the move to Merrylands where they’re proudly serving those huge hoagies, pistachio doughnuts and occasional specials. Consider their flag planted. 

Main Lane, Merrylands
@selfraisedbread

Tonton Bread, Newtown

Tonton is “uncle” in French, but the title is also reserved for good mates according to Adrien Chrunyk and Veronique Yapi, who opened the sequel to their Surry Hills bakery in November. They use single-origin Provenance flour for all their bread and pastries – baked in Surry Hills each morning and delivered fresh. And though Tonton takes inspo from the artisan bakeries Chrunyk and Yapi grew up with in France, broader Euro influences come in the form of Scandi rye topped with By Kai smoked trout, and mortadella focaccia sangas.

206 Edgeware Road, Newtown
@tontonbread