With Its Sunny Interiors and Buttery Porridge, Is Superfreak Sydney’s Coolest Cafe?

We all play favourites, whether you admit it or not. And after two mealtimes spent at Superfreak in its opening week, I’m putting mine out there. The just-opened cafe – out the front of Scout's Marrickville studio , from Daniel Harrison and Michael Ico, co-owners of Soulmate and Splash – is my new fave.

The menu is spot-on (egg-stuffed muffins! Scandi brekkie plates! Buckwheat porridge!), the team is friendly, the coffee’s great. But the fit-out, by the award-winning YSG Studio, is something else.

“We weren’t expecting it to be this beautiful,” Ico tells Broadsheet. “We just showed [YSG] the menu and some of the branding [by SCCO ’s Jarmaine Stojanovic], they went in and said, ‘This is what we think it should look like.’”

The pink facade has been painted a dark green, and the hue anchors the interiors. In one corner, “DESTINO” is spelled out across a patterned flag by Venezuelan-Australian artist Nadia Hernandez. A record player spins Harrison’s own collection, which is housed happily in a bespoke cabinet built into the wraparound shag-covered seating. At the counter a large green vessel is covered in glossy ceramic snow peas; at the door there’s a truly special Wonka-esque lamp by American artist Autumn Casey.

“It kind of just became what it became,” Harrison says. “At that point [after we saw YSG’s pitch], how do you say no to that? What we initially planned is nothing like what Superfreak is now, and I think the reason for that is the fit-out.”

The butter-coloured walls mirror the melty round that crowns the standout bowl of oats, which is worthy of its own accolades. There’s stewed rhubarb on the porridge too, offsetting a layer of brown sugar slowly turning to syrup.

Aplenty’s Michaela Johansson drove the menu, with the Scandi-style morning plate – a thin slice of rye toast, whiff of whipped butter, pickles, jammy egg, Comté and radish – summing up the vibe. English muffins are stuffed with egg, cheddar and a herby salad, and there’s a trio of salads that come as they are or as a backdrop to salmon topped with pistachio gremolata, or saucy meatballs.

The food offering is filling a hole in Sydney. Of that stripped-back, homely style of food seen in Melbourne’s Florian and Juniper , Adelaide’s Thelma , or abroad at places like London’s Jolene. All of it’s as tasty as it is quick to grab – prime if you’re running out of a Scout class or heading across the road to sit under the trees in Enmore Park.

Head in to Superfreak soon – it could very well be your next fave.

Superfreak
333A Enmore Road, Marrickville

Hours:
Daily 6.30am–3pm

superfreakco.com
@superfreak.syd