Plus 10 more new cafes to try across Sydney, serving everything from pistachio foam coffee to porchetta banh mi.
“I want to bring fine dining to cafes,” says Sydney chef Jerry Jeong. After more than six years working at high-end restaurants such as Saint Peter, Quay and Korean omakase Matkim, he’s become part of the founding team at new Dawes Point cafe-bakery Jinius.
Jinius, which opened Wednesday, is the much-anticipated breakout venture from Korean baker Yeongjin Park, who formerly led the pastry offering at Tenacious Bakehouse in Darlinghurst. It’s also one of more than 25 new cafes and sandwich shops to open across Sydney this year.
Sydney’s cafe scene is evolving as its popularity grows, says Jeong: “There’s a growing expectation that [cafe] food will carry the same level of thought and execution as restaurants, but in a more accessible format.”
Jeong’s fine-dining experience shines throughout the all-day brunch menu, from the delicate, paper-thin slices of figs and hojicha (roasted matcha) marscapone on fried shokupan (Japanese milk bread), to the considered placement of colourful, seasonal vegetables on the “market plate”.
“There’s more overlap now between restaurants and cafes,” Jeong says.
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
“You’re seeing techniques, ingredients, and attention to detail that traditionally belonged to fine dining being applied in a more casual setting.”
While rising operational costs have led to widespread restaurant closures, cafes present a “lower risk” option, says Dana Zuo, owner of new Marrickville cafe Oats on Oats.
“They’re generally more flexible … and really give people the chance to be creative without the same level of pressure as a full restaurant,” she says.
Faster customer turnover is a bonus, says co-owner of new Bankstown cafe Butter Corner Tien Phan: “Cafes offer a greater variety of simple items for short hangouts in a smaller space, while restaurants may require bigger space and team to follow up on multiple food orders.”
11 must-try new Sydney cafes
Jinius, Dawes Point
Owner and head baker Yeongjin Park wants to showcase his one-of-a-kind Korean-inspired sourdough at Jinius, a brunch spot and bakery near the Walsh Bay piers. The bread is moist, sweet and complex because it’s made with koji, a fermented malted rice. Dip it into poached “eggs from hell” drenched in spicy tomato sauce, or try it in as a bun, used to make the porchetta banh mi. Finish with one of Park’s signature pastries, with a line-up that now includes milky cheese doughnuts and a poached pear tart. Keep an eye on their socials: there are plans to serve wood-fired pizza in the future.
Shop 8/16 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, instagram.com/jinius.au
Dad’s Coffee, Malabar and Maroubra
Matthew Lees and Mya Martin spruced up an old food truck with the help of Lees’ dad, and aptly named it in his honour. You can find the electric blue coffee cart bouncing between Malabar and Mahon Pool in Maroubra (location announced on their Instagram). Get your post-swim caffeine hit with coffee made with Single O beans, and doughnuts from inner west favourite Grumpy Donuts. If you feel like changing up your usual order, there’s also iced mango matcha and cold brew topped with pistachio foam.
Cloudhaus Cafe, Sydney
Sydneysiders can’t get enough of the croissant-shaped Japanese salt bread, also known as shiopan, and Cloudhaus became the latest venue to bring it to the city in February. Try the buttery, crunchy-yet-soft bread served plainly, or in flavours like garlic cream cheese and corn cheese. Cloudhaus also serves a rotating line-up of cinnamon scroll flavours, including a savoury maple bacon and chilli oil scroll, and specialty matcha drinks, including one flavoured like banana bread.
68 Erskine Street, Sydney, instagram.com/cloudhaus.cafe
Festive Coffee, Ashfield
When coffee roaster Damon Tsai opened Festive Coffee in January, he wanted to recreate the warmth he felt at his favourite cafes in Taiwan. “It’s [about] more than just coffee,” he says, emphasising the importance of hospitality within Taiwanese culture. “[We want] to care for others.” Tsai hopes to spread kindness and create connections at Festive, where the team of baristas serve iced batch brew coffee with Taiwanese tea foam and Longan honey on hand-crocheted coasters. The cafe also stocks pastries from Tuga.
2 Markham Place, Ashfield, instagram.com/festivecoffee
Oats on Oats
Owner Dana Zuo dedicated an entire cafe to her love of oats. Oats on Oats opened in November, right across the road from Enmore Park Playground, in the beautiful federation building that used to house Petty Cash Cafe. Start with the signature oat dishes like the porridge bowl with rhubarb compote, or the floral oat jasmine matcha. Don’t like oats? No worries, there are also oat-free dishes on the menu, including crisp kimchi fritters and the crabby truffle croissant with scrambled eggs.
66 Victoria Road, Marrickville, instagram.com/oatsonoatscafe
Eef Sydney, Darlinghurst
It’s a coffee shop, inside a high-end camping supply store, inside the handsome London Chambers building on Oxford Street. The crew behind Darlinghurst cafe and wine bar Theeca opened Eef Sydney in late March, and it’s a space you’ll want to linger in, with pressed metal ceilings and sun streaming through high arched windows. There’s a selection of baked treats on the green marble counter, including brown butter financiers and matcha butter pound cake from Campsie sister bakery Foli, and they’re served with specialty drinks like Earl Grey cold brews and Market Lane coffee topped with vanilla soft serve.
52 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, eefcoffee.com.au
Two Slices Sandwich Bar, Bondi
Perth couple Jacob Spasevski and Madison McGlinn were keen to take their Perth sandwich shop interstate, and Bondi seemed the perfect beachfront pairing to their Scarborough store. Their menu, launched April 1, includes schiacciata bread sandwiches stacked with mortadella and spicy porchetta, a crunchy chicken caesar and the oozy chopped cheese sandwich, with slices of beef grilled with a mix of cheese, onion and capsicum. For the first time, Two Slices has incorporated a (non-alcoholic) DIY drinks bar, allowing diners to mix house-made syrups in flavours such as sour plum or banana, with coffee, soda or matcha.
273 Bondi Road, Bondi, twoslicessandwichbar.com
Buoy Kiosk
Uncover a glorious, sun-drenched slice of Sydney’s harbour at Buoy Kiosk, a small cafe that opened in March in the North Harbour Marina. The petite weatherboard kiosk has outdoor seating where you can enjoy baguette sandwiches, freshly baked scones and special drinks like a vanilla foam iced long black made with coffee beans from Queensland-based specialty roaster Supreme. If it’s too busy to get a table, take your bounty to nearby Forty Baskets beach.
Gourlay Avenue, Balgowlah Heights, instagram.com/buoykiosk
Sleepy Bloc
Sleepy Bloc got its start as a coffee roaster in 2019, and went on to open its own cafe inside a Marrickville warehouse this January, as a way to showcase its beans. The cafe is all about connecting the community through live music, pop-up markets and the pet groomer it shares the space with, Cha & Zak’s Clubhouse. Its bestselling espresso with tonic water is best with a side of banana bread, made with a 40-year-old recipe passed down from co-owner Mike Yee’s mother (affectionately known as “K-drama mama”). Drawing from their Chinese-Fijian heritage, the banana bread has “extra fluffiness akin to ground baked puddings” due to its longer mixing time, says Yee.
12 Rich Street, Marrickville, sleepybloc.com
Social Butterfly
It’s not what you’d expect to find on the first floor of this unassuming office building. Step out of the elevator, and into in an ambient oasis with paper lamps and low Japanese chabudai tables. Dessert and tea are taken seriously here, with a specialty tea selection that includes floral “moonlight” white tea, and toasty genmicha. Coffee and matcha are also available. Pair your cuppa with one of its Japanese-inspired desserts, such as the coffee and walnut roll cake, or go all in on a special “omakase set” allowing you to try a tailored selection of tea, matcha or coffee drinks with accompanying snacks. Bonus: it’s open until 8pm.
Level 1/387 George Street, Sydney, socialbutterflytea.com
Isabel Cant – Isabel is a social media editor for Good Food. Prior to joining Good Food, Isabel worked as a freelance journalist. She was also previously a social media producer for Endemol Shine Australia, working on MasterChef Australia and Dessert Masters.From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
