Little Bay Café, Rose Bay – Rating: 17.5/25

Little Bay Café

Two apologies! Firstly, for the lack of updates (I’ve been away in Italy) and secondly for the phone photographs this review. I’ll have my SLR back in action next week!

Little Bay Café is on a main road and surrounded by quite a bit of competition but the large, open bifold doors are welcoming and make for a bright dining area. The room is quite simple so while there’s not much in terms of a theme, the café has a clean interior design of white and blue hues. The few outdoor tables prove to be great spots for dog owners and people watchers alike.

Service was good for the most part however the two waitresses were run off their feet during the morning that we were there. We received our water after asking four times and a second round of coffee after asking three times. Having said this, our food arrived quickly, without mistakes and the staff were friendly throughout our visit.

Soy mocha

Mixed berry smoothie

Banana smoothie

Pineapple and pear juice

The drinks menu has something for everyone from dc Specialty Coffee ($4) (which I didn’t try but my guest enjoyed it so much that she had two) to the fresh juices ($7.50).

Two smoothies ($8) are on offer: mixed berry and banana. They’re very thick and flavoursome so I was happy to tick those boxes. The banana rendition had a nice cinnamon hit but could have had another half a banana thrown in.

The juices are fresh which is always a bonus and with options including apple, celery, carrot, orange, pineapple, pear, watermelon, ginger, parsley and kale, you can certainly make it your own.

Other options include milkshakes ($5), white chocolate cacao ($4.70), tea ($4) and freezochino ($8) so whatever tickles your breakfast fancy, they’ll probably be able to satisfy you.

Smashed

Sides

The smashed ($15, add egg $3) offers the ubiquitous avocado on toast. This version adds feta, chilli flakes and mixed seeds and is topped with eggs. The avocado was in abundance and well seasoned while the chilli added a very subtle kick. The feta added some saltiness but a better quality one would add so much more to this dish as the type used didn’t offer much in terms of flavour. The eggs were poached perfectly.

I added sides of bacon, sauteed mushrooms and hash browns ($5 each). The alfalfa sprouts weren’t necessary as they didn’t add to the presentation nor the flavour but there was plenty of each side and they were prepared well. There was a mix of crispy and soft bacon which was delicious while the mushrooms were a hit at the table.

Charred greens

Charred greens ($17) is a bowl based on greens and superfoods. The broccolini, asparagus and sauteed spinach & kale had very little added to them so their flavours were able to come to the fore however this means that for those after that extra oomf from their dish should choose something else. The avocado on the side was therefore a good addition as were the almonds on the quinoa. Perhaps a vinaigrette would add that extra taste that’s needed.

Shakshuka

The shakshuka ($15) however had plenty going on within its rich and flavoursome tomato base. This is a vegetarian version with the only unusual ingredient compared to others that I’ve tried before being the olives. The eggs were every so slightly overcooked so while one of them was still partly runny, the other was baked through unfortunately. The bread on the side was the perfect addition for scooping up anything that remained in the bowl.

Little Bay Benedict

The Little Bay Benedict ($16) was served on soft and chunky challah. The hollandaise was slightly on the thick side but the lemon and butter amounts were just right. It was also a good sized serving for the price although I’d happily pay more for some better quality ham.

Cinnamon scroll hotcakes

The cinnamon scroll hotcakes ($16) was our standout dish of the morning. “Best pancakes I’ve ever had” commented one of my guests. These cinnamon pancakes came topped with a sweet cream cheese topping but were missing the caramelised walnuts mentioned on the menu. No matter though because this pile of fluffy delight and gooey topping won everyone over.

While LBC didn’t get everything right on the day, it has a lot of things going for it including a great beverage menu and some competent dishes coming out of the kitchen. The interior is large enough for you to take your time over breakfast or lunch be it by yourself or with a group and the menu has many other offerings for you to explore.

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