Rosie Says...
This place is quite modern and has an indoor/outdoor feel with plenty of glass. I had the blueberry pancake with Canadian maple syrup and Greek style yoghurt. It was pretty delicious and the coffee wasn't too bad either. By the time we left the line to get in was stretching almost out the door, and they were doing a fairly brisk trade thanks to the Rozelle Public School Markets across the road. The markets and the location on the main street did make parking a bit difficult, and being responsible breakfast bloggers we restrained ourselves,
but it's a nice spot for a cup of coffee and a snack in between buying up big at one of the stalls over the road.

Food Taste: 3
Decor: 3

Rosie Says...
Lemon Cafe was fun. The staff were knowledgeable and attentive, and the coffee was good. I actually went with a BLAT sandwich, which was pretty epic, but not all that breakfasty. I don't regret a second of it.


Food Taste: 2.5

Rosie Says...
I'm not surprised Brave has a 100% rating on UrbanSpoon. The Brave staff were great. They took our order (including an extensive list of personal requests) without batting an eyelid and -- shock horror -- actually followed through.

The coffee scored an all time high of 7 out of 8 on my personal scale, being beautifully presented (with a flourish) and a perfect blend of bitter bean and sweet creamy foam.

Add to that, I liked the waitress' pants. Sadly they were from Paris so no dashing out to get my own pair but all in all a successful and enjoyable breakfast.

Food Taste: 3

Anna Says...
This place is pretty urban with both inside and outside seating. We sat outside and we were very comfortable even when it started raining because there was an awning covering us and gas heaters we could have used if we needed. I ordered the "First Benedict" which I was really happy with...eggs benedict but with a hash brown, tomoato and mushrooms which they were happy to swap for ham. I thought the service was good as were the prices and menu variety...I'd come back!

Rosie Says...
I really liked this place. Our server was efficient and friendly, the food was tasty and they put up with our strange food requests (can I swap the tomato and spinach for avocado, and have marmalade with my toast?) without blinking an eye.

We sat facing the road as well as an enormous and beautiful flowering jacaranda tree. It was interesting to see who walked past.

The tables were close enough together that you could covertly listen to other peoples' conversations without feeling like you were crammed in on top of each other, and I'm still wondering whether the table over got David Jones to price match on the BBQ they wanted.

I'd give the coffee a solid four on my personal scale of eight, and would be happy to come back.

Food Taste: 3.5

Anna Says...

Rosie Says...
The focus on organic foods and spiritual wellness (or what have you) makes a nice change. The food really reflects the quality of the ingredients and I really enjoyed my meal. The coffee was a solid three point five on my scale of eight, decent enough, but without the added oomph that would earn it a second cup.

I really think it's the teas and speciality juices that make this place interesting -- there's coconut milk (in a fresh coconut shell) and a few other interesting things on the menu which I suppose I should have tried, but what can I say? I function best on nerves and caffeine!

Just a short walk from Coogee beach, this one would be a nice breakfast stop after an early morning walk along the beachfront or a soft-sand run!
Food Taste: 3

Rosie Says...

 When we arrived there wasn't space so we left our number and had a wander along the sea wall, which was lovely, and they gave us a call just as we were wondering what to do next.

The Tea Gardens Watson's Bay is absolutely beautiful in summer. There's a view over the sea pool and across Sydney Harbour. A large-ish garden, a basket of toys and a stack of colouring sheets gives the kids plenty of stuff to do, and there's usually a stack of families milling around as a result. 

On this visit, the service wasn't brilliant but the views made up for that and the fruit salad with deliciously creamy yogurt and honey was pretty damn fine . The coffee gets a four point five on my personal scale of eight -- not brilliant but not bad enough to stop me from ordering a second cup.

I'd say in summer the Tea Gardens is worth a look, but with limited indoor seating, this is a place to keep on the fair weather only list!

Anna Says...

I like coming here now and again but it's really a summer place. There is a lovely garden outside that overlooks the beach but of course this would be much too cold in winter. The views are lovely and they really are what make the place.

The food quality and variety I found OK and the service not so great both times we have been. This time, they brought Rosie's meal out first and said mine would be on it's way soon. However, we had been waiting about 15 minutes and when mine still had not arrived we asked again only to be told they had forgotten. It was then about another 10 minutes before mine arrived.
We also had to ask twice for the bill at the end and as we were paying by card and no-one had come to collect it, we eventually had to go in and pay ourselves.

This is also very much a family place with lots of kids and toddlers running around in the garden. I didn't mind but if that's not your thing...avoid. However, it's a good place for a sunny summer day's breakfast and maybe a swim afterwards at the beach.

Well. Another week, another breakfast. This time we wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary -- a breakfast buffet. I should start by saying that for me, I'm looking for certain things when I review a breakfast place. I look for beautifully presented food that tastes good. Excellent coffee, nice staff. I want to feel like I'm being taken care of, that I'm having a 'special' experience -- more special than sitting at home in my jim-jams with a plate of 2 minute oats I've made myself in the microwave. If the place has nice views, then so much the better.

Now all of that out of the way... it makes sense that Baygarden didn't tick my boxes. They weren't hideous, and it was a nice change but they just didn't wow me. For a start, breakfast ends here at 10:30. Because it's a buffet, you don't want to get in too late or half the more interesting stuff will have been sitting out for hours or the kitchen will have stopped replacing it. And, I'm just not big on having to drag myself out of bed at 8 am on a sunday in order to get in to clothes -- real clothes, no ugg boots and pyjama pants, sadly... and drive to breakfast. Just... not fun. So we arrive, and the staff are very helpful and show us in. Full hot buffet is $35. Continental only is $26. Now, how they would know what we paid is beyond me, since there wasn't anyone checking, but we paid the full $35. We wanted the full-on, hardcore breakfast deal, baby. 

Now, with my (not so) lithe and girlish figure and bird-like appetite, there is just no way I am going to eat $15 worth of food, never mind $35, but what the hell.

They have a chef on hand who will make whatever type of eggs your heart desires. We go for cheese omlettes that were, quite frankly, excellent, and then stock up on just about one of everything in the bain-maries.It was decent. Nothing to rave about, and being as how I had to serve myself, I'll be honest and say the presentation was crap. Really. I can't load up a plate in an even remotely photogenic way, which is why there aren't any photos of this breakfast, only the view from the windows. Which was lovely.

The coffee was okay. It had caffeine in it, which is always a plus. Sadly, the foam was not a thick creamy layer, but actual froth. As in, looks like it came off a bubblebath, and kind of begins to disintegrate the minute some chocolate is sprinkled on it. But hey, it did the job.

So, to quit rambling and give you the 411? It was your standard run of the mill breakfast buffet -- tasty but overpriced. The view was nice but the coffee didn't wow me. The omlette was definitely one of the best I've ever had, however, and the people watching was certainly worth the drive! some interesting characters in there for sure, including a group of young children in tutus and tiaras! 

OK, we wanted to do something different this week so we went with a hotel buffet breakfast. It's hard to compare this to our regular breakfast places because it's totally different. It was more expensive than our regular breakfast places but we had the freedom to pick and choose a variety of different things.

We had a table with views of the beach across the road which was nice. We got unlimited (not great but OK) coffee made by a barrista and omlettes made by a chef at one of the stands. You could have got them to make anything you wanted such as eggs benedict but I was pretty full with that and hash browns, bacon, pancakes, fruit, yoghurt and a selection of cakes. There was also a rice and noodle section if that's your thing for breakfast.

Hard to rate them on service as we did serve ourselves! But then the hotel staff we did encounter who directed us to the restaurant, made our omlette and cofees were all very friendly. If you are looking for a buffet breakfast experience, I would recommend this place.

Rosie Says...
 Holy cow, we're running behind on our entries again. So. Bondi Trattoria. Settled just off Campbell parade, this cafe has a curving outdoor seating area that never fails to be windy. They provide blankets for the adventurous, but it was too chilly for us so we chose an indoor table. This place is very popular with families, and they provide colouring sheets and crayons for the littlies. It's loud, and packed with tables that are crammed together, but the staff are friendly and the food is decent.


I finally got my hands on the comfort porridge. It didn't trump my absolute favourite porridge provider -- Flat White in Woollahra, but it was good. The coffee was good too.  You might have to hang around if you the place during breakfast rush, but it's worth a look.


Anna Says...
I like this place. It's just opposite the beach so if you are sitting outside you have great views. Today was freezing and windy and I was super-excited to go to a place for breakfast which actually had a nice warm inside space. I'm more of  a fan of this place than Rosie. The tables were squished in but that didn't really bother me. I thought the wait staff were friendly and accommodating and I was happy with the food (got the right order, in reasonable time and it tasted great!).

Food Taste: 3.5

Menu Variety: 3.5

X-Factor: 1

34 Campbell Parade

Bondi Beach, NSW 2026

Good morning breakfast lovelies! We're sorry, it's been utterly hectic lately and we've abandoned you the last couple of weeks, but there's no excuse!

So here we are, back in the saddle with a review of Redfern's Baffi and Mo.

Apparently this past weekend was the wettest in a long, long time, and I have to say the sheets of rain made me crave warm porridge and enormous cups of coffee. Baffi and Mo seemed to have a menu made up almost entirely of egg dishes -- baked eggs, scrambled eggs, poached or fried, eggs benedict, with various interesting additions such as basil or salmon or goodness knows what else. But what I found missing was real variety. There was no porridge, but there was bircher AND regular muesli, neither of which was going to satisfy the warm, fuzzy food craving I had, so I settled on scrambled eggs and a couple of sides. I have to say I wasn't particularly impressed.  In their defense, a scrambled egg is very, very difficult to make well in a cafe environment. I personally like mine fluffy and fairly dry, both white and yellow colours.  Baffi and Mo's was stuck together in one huge pale yellow lump -- a particular pet peeve of mine. It was pretty tasty despite that, but to add to my growing frustration -- my sides never appeared. 

After our orders were set down the staff seemed to simply disappear, so I couldn't chase them up. When I did -- some twenty to thirty minutes later, it was clear they had completely forgotten about them and so Anna had to sit waiting for me as I ate a plate of bacon and avocado that I would have preferred to enjoy with my toast and eggs. 

I did try some of Anna's hash, which is supposed to be the house speciality, but I wasn't particularly impressed. The staff were sweeties though, and they earnt back some of their lost points by offering us free samples of delicious and interesting macaroons at the counter!

I quite liked this place...it's cute and quite small and on a rainy day it had a nice feel to it. However the size of the place did become a problem because there were only a couple of tables for small groups and we had to sit on the large communal table. Several times, we had to get up to let other people get out or in, in the middle of breakfast.

The staff there were lovely I thought and other than them forgetting Rosie's bacon, I didn't feel as though I was waiting for a really long time for the food to arrive. I ordered eggs benedict (without the bread) and instead opted for their famous home-made potato hash. My food was OK but I was a little disappointed in that the hash was nothing to rave about in my opinion.

I was also hoping for a little more variety on the menu...was hoping they would serve porridge actually which they didn't. Still...I'd probably go back again.

94 Redfern Street, 

Redfern, NSW 2016

Cafe Morso is tucked away down past Star City Casino. We weren't quite sure where the place was, so we took the scenic route and the little walk around the docks yielded some pretty awesome views of the harbour bridge. The place itself is very small, and packed to the gills, but with beautiful views over the water. The rather limited menu is offset by the fact that the food is amazing. I went with the Orange pancakes with berry coulis and yoghurt. The pancakes were soft and fluffy with just a hint of crispness and tasted deliciously citrussy (is that a word? It is now!), without any of the tartness or stringiness you get from orange-rind based flavouring. The coffee was excellent and the service was exemplary.

Morso (Which, frankly, I've been tempted to write as Moreso every time I type it) is also available as a venue for private dining experiences, and with the quiet locale and beautiful harbour views I imagine the place would be quite magical.

Anna Says...

I really liked this place. The location was awsome...right on the water and less crowded and with a more 'local' feel than Circular Quay or Darling Harbour. Great views and it would have scored higher (definite X factor for the views) had we been seated outside. Unfortunately this place was pretty crowded and all the free tables had 'reserved' signs on them. We were seated inside at a small table in a corner as we had not booked. Having said that the food was amazing. I had a souffle with bacon on the side and a bowl of hot chocolate. The service was OK and the interior decor was quite nice. I'd definitely like to come here again but this time I would book and request an outside table with views.

Rosie Says...
Beautiful view, and an absolute winner during summer. This place is super busy regardless of season and it's not surprising. The menu (which is seasonal) is always fresh and interesting and the coffee (when it arrived) was decent too. The fruit mocktails are an especially nice touch in warmer weather, and look out for the banana pancakes with coconut milk and papaya. They're totally to die for!

Anna Says...
I love this place! It has stunning views, being right on the beach front...great on a nice warm summer's day. They have gorgeous fruit mocktails served in cocktail glasses and great food. It's got more of a restaurant feel than a cafe and it's a bit pricey for breakfast but a lovely place to come every now and again especially in summer. Today as usual the food was great but the service not up to usual standards. The people on the table next to us ordered after us and were served before us and we had to ask where the food and coffees had got to. We had a group of 4 today so things were a bit different from our usual breakfast outings!

Rosie Says...
Bittons has great waiters and the food is really excellent. There is a shop that you can buy produce from as well. I really enjoyed my one-pan eggs and bacon, and was especially impressed they remembered my request for 'well-done'. This wasn't our best visit but their level of service is consistently decent.

Anna Says...

Another busy place. I've never booked but you usually have to line up and wait for maybe 5 or 10 minutes. The food is normally pretty good BUT I was deeply disappointed today when my eggs benedict arrived and the eggs weren't runny! I love eggs benedict and this totally ruins it! The coffee is good here too and it's a family friendly place with a cute play area outside for little ones.

Rosie Says...
 I had the Belgian waffles with stewed rhubarb and it was pretty awesome. Definitely a fight to keep everything on the teeny tiny tables, but a good menu and decent food. Coffee wasn't too bad either!

Anna Says...
Don't judge a book by it's cover...not much to look at from the outside but they had lovely food and it was much larger than we first thought - stretching back inside and leading out onto a courtyard. I have to say I liked the menu and the food I ordered was great. I had some very tasty porridge, haloumi and bacon. This place was let down by the fact that you had to line up and order at the bar and the tables were so tiny it was a real juggling act to keep all our food on them! Interesting design on the outside of the toilets...

Rosie Says...

Trio is one of my favourite Sydney breakfast spots. The views over Bondi beach are stunning, the coffee is great, and the service is spot on, so it's not surprising that you have to book in advance.  I don't think I've ever had something I didn't enjoy on the menu, and every dish is presented beautifully. Well worth the wait.

Anna Says...

This place is always super-busy and you either have to book or walk in and wait maybe 1/2 an hour. The parking around here is also hard to find being very close to the beach. Having said that, it's a quality place where you know you will have good food, service and (if you are outside or at a window table) lovely views of Bondi Beach. There is standard breakfast fare like eggs benedict and other interesting things like the mango and lime pancakes (which were very tasty!). Lovely and reliable!