Five To Try: Brand New Sydney Cafes We’re Getting Out of Bed for in May

It’s rarely the alarm that actually wakes Sydney. Instead, it’s the intimate, bittersweet clarity found at the bottom of the coffee cup. And the following quintet of new cafes – including new beginnings for an ex-Primary Coffee star and a new Stitch outpost – are here to lift that morning fog.

Hue Coffee, Crows Nest

Start with a precision filter pour and a pillowy slice of house-baked cheesecake at this new nook. It’s a sophisticated pairing, and defines the vibe the founders are going for. Hue brings together long-time Primary Coffee team member Jin and Double Cross’s ex-chef Min, who both prefer to go by their first names only. Specialty coffee is stripped back to the essentials – quality, simple and easy. The micro-roastery looks after its own beans, but the vibe is strictly low-pretension – a glass facade, light timber throughout. Low benches wrap the walls inside, matched with slick round silver tables. Outside there are a few low stools and tables, too. Soundtracked by old-school hip-hop and jazz, with a tight coffee menu joining a mix of daily-made baked treats, this is a real win for the north shore suburb.

2B Clarke Street, Crows Nest
@huecoffeesydney

Dad’s, Maroubra and Malabar

Pistachio cold foam floating over Single O cold brew, rose-scented Egyptian iced tea, matcha aplenty and a stash of Grumpy Donuts join all the classic coffees on the Dad’s menu. The solar-powered, bright blue coffee trailer was pimped out by Matt Lees, his partner Mya Martin and his dad Colin Lees. The delightful van can be found parked on the street above Maroubra’s Mahon Pool or Malabar Ocean Pool depending on the day. You’ll find sparkling water views and the rhythm of the ocean, and a friendly team that’s keen for a chat. An epic outlook and a possible dolphin sighting? Nice times only at Dad’s.

@dadscoffeee

The Fold, North Sydney

Put your money where your heart is – and pick up a loaf of Baker Bleu bread – at The Fold, Two Good Co’s new cafe and community space. Just above Victoria Cross Station, the venue's mission is paramount: 50 per cent of profits are funnelled into support for women rebuilding their lives after domestic violence and homelessness. Signature sandwiches, aptly named “folds”, are another reason to pop in. Aplenty’s former head chef Ayse Moonen leads the kitchen, and her Turkish-leaning pitas overflow with herby chicken and sriracha mayo, lamb kofta with sumac lemon slaw, or charred eggplant with tahini and house pickles. Single O is on the coffee machine and there are rhubarb vanilla sodas.

The fit-out is designed with an abundance of choice: go solo and grab a book from the shelf, or nab a spot at one of the communal tables, desks or lounges.

Vic X Tower Level 2/155 Miller Street, North Sydney
@twogoodco

Stitch Coffee, Marrickville

The crew from Stitch Coffee just unveiled its latest project: a Marrickville cafe, roastery and retail space, with a brew bar that feels more like a chef’s table and an R’n’B neo soul soundtrack. Marvel at the magic of a pour-over, sip back and enjoy the ride, or get nerdy about the rotovap, a high-tech milk distiller creating an impossibly creamy pour. The team treat tea, coffee, matcha and botanicals with equal love, so you’re guaranteed to find your soulmate whatever you’re into. Hojicha lattes join watermelon cold brews and honey fizz espressos;  choc-mousse babycinos are in the works. The space is community-focused and collaborative – and will play host to the NSW regional coffee championships next month. (We just hope those funky babycinos come adult-sized, too.)

15 Sydney Street, Marrickville
@stitch.coffee

Meryenda, Darlinghurst

Ube pandesal, a deep-purple Filipino sweet bread, is the star at this sweet little cafe on Oxford Street – filled with custard, with a sourdough-esque chew. But people are also lining up for lunchtime longanisa rolls, which are stuffed with house-made sausage, hash browns and a zippy calamansi sauce. Owners Lovely Kiah Borres (also the head baker) and Reinier Tan met while working at Love of Beans in Carlton, she was on the bake shift and he was the opening-shift barista. Now the pair are selling garlicky silog breakfast plates, slices of coconutty cassava cake, and sweet, fluffy brazo (a custard and meringue concoction). Plus, buttery Spanish bread, burnt Basque cheesecakes and stocky house-baked madeleines. Coffee is by Gumption, supported by ube matcha, fresh juice and halo halo. Meryenda means “snack” in Filipino, but the offering’s wider than that here.

5/18 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
@meryenda_sydney