The Bronzed Onion, Harbord – Rating: 15.5/25 (re-review)

The Bronzed Onion

Technically this is a re-review but the last time we visited The Bronzed Onion in Harbord, we shared small lunch time dishes and seeing this blog is all about Sydney breakfasts, I’ve been itching to return. This is quite a large café with an interior almost the length of the shopping arcade. So there is ample seating both inside and out. The waitstaff were plentiful, quick and polite as well as being dog-friendly which is always a plus in our eyes.

Skim latte

The skim latte ($3.50) was rich and unexpectedly strong but smooth in texture and definitely did the trick.

Skim cappuccino

One guest sipped her skim cappuccino ($3.50) contentedly and was happy with the flavour. She commented that the coffee was nothing special but appreciated the hot cup of brew that had been prepared well and was served with speed.

Strawberry milkshake

I ordered a strawberry smoothie but received a strawberry milkshake ($4.50). The mixup was disappointing as The Bronzed Onion have a wide array of frappes, smoothies and fresh juice combinations so they seem to know their fruit-based beverages! I enjoyed the milkshake however which included some fresh strawberries so all was forgiven.

Poached eggs with bacon and avocado

The guest who ordered the poached eggs ($8), bacon ($3) and avocado ($3) did not like that the toast was so thick (two slices, 2cm thick) but enjoyed the bacon, egg and avocado combination. The bacon had a lot of fat on it and simply didn’t compare to the outstanding pork we had eaten at Splat a fortnight ago and at Sydney Fine Food Company Café. The egg itself was on the slightly well done side so was more hard than runny.

Vegie burrito

There are two burritos on the breakfast menu. The breakfast burrito ($15) is a tortilla with spicy sauce and melted cheese wrapped around chorizo, poached egg, spicy beans. Our guest opted for the vegie burrito ($15) which had a layer of tomato salsa at the bottom, baby spinach, cheese and scrambled eggs. In the above photo, we cut the burrito in half for the benefit of our readers. We didn’t find the salsa to be spicy at all but other than that, the combination of ingredients worked very well. This was a filling and very satisfying dish which also turned out to be the one saving grace for The Bronzed Onion in terms of breakfasts that we ordered.

Eggs Benedict

If it’s one thing that I know well it’s eggs Benedict ($12 with ham). Unfortunately I have very few positive words to say about the Benedict at The Bronzed Onion. The presentation of the dish lacked flair and simply looked bland. The hollandaise sauce was very thin and did not have much flavour, and the poached eggs were still leaking water onto the plate when the dish was served. The eggs, like the ones in the first dish, had been cooked slightly too long and were a bit hard and rubbery.

Overall the breakfast experience at The Bronzed Onion can be described as average. The burrito and drinks were good but the rest of the food brought the café’s points down. The lunchtime menu seems to have a lot more unique and exciting dishes that from memory (and looking back at our review) were prepared better and by someone with more experience with Mediterranean dishes. We would have no qualms recommending The Bronzed Onion as a lunch time stop on your way to the beach but from our experience, breakfast should be sought elsewhere.

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