Appetite Café, Redfern – Rating: 16.5/25

Appetite Café

I was very sad this week because the café I was on my way to review was closed when we arrived! I later discovered that they were opening, only a little later than usual. But before I knew this, I found myself wandering around Redfern looking for a substitute. Appetite Café’s eccentric interior with unusual artwork and mismatched furniture encouraged me to enter. The smiling faces behind the counter helped too.

The menu is very broad and you’ll find all of the Sydney favourites. The worry I have with establishments like this is that they offer a big variety while sacrificing quality. Appetite Café mainly caters to those looking for a quick in-and-out breakfast but on the weekend you’ll find that they have plenty of space for you to sit back and relax.

Flat white

Cappuccino

Our Toby’s Estate Woolly Blend coffee ($3.50) was a tad on the weak side. I know that TE can produce some great brew so but this experience was slightly disappointing. Cold drip over ice ($4.50) is also available.

Go Banana smoothie

Thick shakes (strawberry, chocolate, banana, vanilla or caramel, $5) or smoothies (Five Berry, Mango Mango Mango or Go Banana, $6.50) strut their stuff here and I’m happy to report that you’ll be happy with either. The Go Banana comes with fresh banana, yoghurt, ice cream, honey and milk. The consistency and flavour were spot on.

Freshly squeezed juice ($6) and ice crush ($6) combinations are also ready to please!

Appetite famous breakfast burger

My mind was set on a breakfast burger and as I mentioned I was disappointed when my intended destination was closed. However lo and behold AC offers the Appetite famous breakfast burger ($13). While I would say that its social status is limited to the Redfern area, I can tell you that it lived up to its pompous name. This tower of healthy breakfast came packed with two hashbrowns, bacon, egg, loads of cheese, caramelised onion, aioli and lettuce. The bacon was plentiful and it was covered in cheese… what more do you need to know? If you insist, the aioli doesn’t overpower and worked well with the caramelised onions. The bun maintained its integrity until the end too. The egg was cooked through which was the only disappointing element. I wanted to bite in and find a runny yolk.

French toast

Sydney has lots of quality French toast ($15) offerings. The version at AC however isn’t up to scratch. They’re going for something unique with “stuffed banana” which, despite the name is actually stuffed toast. The toast contained a banana and nut crumble but the toast itself was of such low quality (ie plan white bread) that it was nothing more than a very soft mess when my guest went to cut it. The grilled banana and bacon were done well but I would not order this again.

Appetite egg Benedict

The Appetite egg Benedict ($16.90) comes with either ham or smoked salmon. The rest is quite standard as Benedicts go: toast, poached egg and a decent hollandaise. The slightly unusual additions were the spinach beneath, the roast tomato and the crispy tofu! To be honest it’s all a mishmash but if you’re hungry and don’t mind a variety of foods thrown together, then you’ll be happy as my guest was!

Other items worth contemplating include shakshuka (baked duck egg, cannelloni bean, spinach, capsicum, chilli, couscous and homemade brioche, $15), smoked salmon stack with avocado, ricotta, sourdough, top [sic] with soft poached egg, house made hollandaise sauce, $17.90) and the spicy chorizo omelet [sic] (chorizo, marinade feta, chilli, parsley and sourdough toast, $13.90).

As you can tell, there’s a lot going on with this menu. The servings are large, they’re made decently and the service throughout was friendly. If I was in the area, I would visit again just for another unique breakfast experience!

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