Le Petit Crème, Darlinghurst – Rating: 18.5/25

7am to 2:30pm are the very conservative hours that Le Petite Crème operates within (8am on Sundays).  We arrived early at this quiet (but not for long) café and were served immediately by a duo of friendly Italian and French waitresses.

There is limited seating outside but the interior offers plenty of space.  The menu is obviously French featuring items such as omelettes ($12), French toast ($10), salade nicoise (with tuna or chicken, $14 or smoked salmon, $16), French steak sandwich with frites ($14), French onion soup ($9), crepes (jam, maple syrup, lemon sugar, suzette, apple calvados ($6.50 each) or banana and chocolate ($8.50) and pâté plates (homemade with a salad and baguette, $12.50).

We have heard that LPC produces one of the best eggs Benedicts in Sydney but that will have to wait until next time as we’ll take the abundance of reviews and recommendations as proof.  Note that the dish is only available on weekends.  We saw it served and it really is a generous plate with two large pieces of brioche and lots of hollandaise.

Flat white

Skim cappuccino

Beverages available include orange juice (reg $3.50, large $7.50), tea ($3.50) and milkshakes ($5).  The coffees ($3.50) we tasted were fantastic and gulped down quickly.  Noticing a bowl on its way to another table, we assumed it was the onion soup.  We checked and no, this was the bowl of coffee ($5) and probably the biggest serving we have encountered in a Sydney café!

Croissant

What better way to start a meal at a French establishment than with a croissant?  They are available plain ($4), with jam & butter ($5.50) or with ham & cheese ($9.50).  We tried the croissant by itself first as well as with the jam and butter.  The jams were actually unnecessary as the flavour of the croissant alone was great and would make a good snack with a coffee for those in a hurry.

Croque Monsieur

Excuse the cut along the rockmelon – this morning’s guest jumped the gun!  The croque monsieur ($8.50) mysteriously came toasted and not fried (as traditional and frankly, as we would have hoped).  The tomato sauce on the side was also a surprise as we would be horrified to see it combined with the generous amount of ham and gruyere cheese layered on the sandwich.  Despite our preconceived notions, this was very enjoyable.  The croqye madame (monsieur plus egg, $11) and boum-boum (monsique plus tomato, $11) are also available.

Frcassee with tomato and sausage

As with the other dishes, this arrived at our table in a flash!  We ordered the fricassee (fried eggs with bacon, $9.50) and added tomato and sausage ($3.50 each).  What a glorious sight to behold.  All elements were great and plentiful.  The tomato had been cooked with a basil sauce and was one of the highlights (although we would have thought that the basil would be mentioned on the menu in case the orderer was not fond of it).  The merguez sausages had the right amount of spice and snap.  Large amounts of bacon are always appreciated and this plate featured it in spades.

Darlinghurst boasts a number of outstanding cafés and LPC can now be added to that list.  The suburb is also a great place to do some people watching so bring you mirrored shades and enjoy the coffee and sights & sounds on offer.

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