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August 08 Bill's 433 Liverpool Street
Darlinghurst , NSW 2010 Australia Phone: (02) 9360 9631 OK i have to start churning out reviews now because I'm doing so much stuff that I'm not gonna have time to get my thoughts down for all of it and that's bad.... damn.
When I arrived in Sydney, Lucy started raving about how we have to for "breakfast at Bill's". Later someone else, I think it was Brigette, mentioned "breakfast at Bill's"... finally, Heidi said she was going for "breakfast at Bill's" with her friend so I felt obliged to join... rave reviews indeed.
So I finally made it out to Bill's on the last day of my stay in Sydney. It was a sunny, warm Sunday morning and we were very lucky to get a table almost immediately for as soon as we sat down, more people poured in and started lining up.
As we were waiting for our meal we were treated to a vast array of interesting characters. I saw 4 gay men of South-East Asian origin sitting on 3 chairs. How they achieved this feat I am not sure, as they were all sitting in a row with their legs crossed in exactly the same way (and direction) but it was very impressive.
After they were seated, we were entertained by another foursome. They were middle-aged and *extremely* badly dressed. Two gay men and two women (of unconfirmed sexuality) who were all clearly in the deep throes of midlife crisis. Those of you that subscribe to the theory that all gay men have good taste would've been eating your words at the sight of these.
The overall atmosphere of the place is very upper-class family. The people were clearly rich and the place was full of exec dad + soccer mum + 2.5 kids type people. Similarly, Darlinghurst is a pretty pink area so there were many a gay group to be found, also.
Nevertheless, we got what we ordered. I had scrambled eggs with toast, mushrooms, roast tomatoes and bacon, with an Orange Juice, followed by a Double Espresso. All this cost me around $35. Damn. And was it worth it? I'll say, hardly. The eggs were decent but the tomatoes were not and the bacon was decidedly average. The mushrooms were fantastic but hardly worth $4 alone. The coffee was good by Sydney standards, average by Melbourne standards. It was made well but perhaps the choice of bean (grinders) detracted somewhat from the overall product.
The service was excellent, despite the fact that they were run-off-their-feet busy all morning they still managed to pull it off very well. The waiters all had terrific manner, knew their shit and delivered adequately. The maitre'd was a little bit snooty but I suppose that's typical really, isn't it?
Overall, $35 is not a fair price for that meal, though. That's 2-3 times as much as that sort of breakfast would cost at any other cafe and it was not 2-3 times better. It was hardly a little better than your regular random side-cafe breakfast and for this I was displeased. Especially considering they do not allow variation from the menu (meaning you can only get scrambled eggs, not fried or poached). OK, i didn't have the signature dish (ricotta hotcakes? meh) but I still expect a high standard for that price and prestige.
Bill's overall? Decent, but overrated and overpriced. Don't believe the hype and go elsewhere instead.
Alex August 03 Luxe EspressoShop G11, The Strand Arcade
412-412 George Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
02 9233 1005
After a glowing review from Luca "it's the best coffee in Sydney!" I had to visit this place. Luca rarely gives a good review of a cafe, he's a picky bastard when it comes to coffee... much pickier than me (for those of you that know my coffee tastes, you'll know that I'm also relatively picky) so it had to be good...
My first planned trip to Luxe had to be postponed because I was informed that their machine was busted and they were serving up crap all day. Bummer.
Luckily, I ended up making it there on my second-last day in Sydney. Woohoo. I had an espresso which was quite good, so I followed this up with a strong latte which was fantastic. The latte art was nice (although I've seen better rosettas poured by Luca and from m'altitude) but the coffee was just right. The milk was good, well-frothed and luxurious, and the coffee came through just right. Not too bitter.
I also had a salami panini which was rather crap. I think it's because of the soppressa salami they used which I didn't like, nevertheless I never ordered food there again (despite Luca saying the other dishes are quite alright).
After this I met up with Sarah who was telling me about some cafe she heard was good at the top of Martin Place called "Chrysler Cafe". We went there and it was shite so I said "ok let me take you to a good cafe" and I took her to Luxe. So I returned there like 2 hours after my first visit, the waitress was happy to see me. It seems they changed baristas and the latte art was not so good the second time but once again, an enjoyable espresso.
The day after, my last day in Sydney, I decided to pay Luxe a third visit in two days, this time with Ye in tow. I ordered a strong latte, followed by a ristretto. Both were fantastic. So after chatting to the waiters and the barista (I was impressed, the waiter remembered me from the day before and remembered I was going back to Melbourne that day) I left a nice tip and pushed off.
Upon my return to Melbourne, I informed Luca of my visit... to which he screamed "what?!?!?! You didn't have the capuccino?!?!?! That's their best drink!!!!!" Oh well, next time big guy.
Overall. Five stars, up there with my favourite cafes in Melbourne and by far the best coffee in Sydney. It's better than Campos, believe it.
Alex June 21 Pod Espresso305 Bay St Brighton VIC 3186 0405 013 421 Some of you may or may not know but I have recently (as of last Friday) moved house. I now live in Brighton. My local train station is now North Brighton station and when I choose to go into uni by train, thats the one I board at. Pod Espresso is essentially going to act as a driving deterrent, it's presence at the entrance of the train station is a mighty tempting place to stop and buy coffee. Especially for a coffee lover such as myself. A small suburban cafe, Pod opened in February last year. Mid-way through last year, Pod opened a hole-in-the-wall directly servicing commuters passing through North Brighton station. How very convenient. This hole-in-the-wall was the first thing I noticed about pod. The second thing I noticed was their La Marzocco machine. Anyone with this sort of machine must know what they're doing. The LM machines are very expensive in comparison to other machines and not readily advertised so the cafe owner must know of their quality. Upon sampling their strong latte, I can comfortably recommend pod as a suburban coffee stopover. Although the real test will come when I try their espressos and machiattos, it is already safe to say that pod will become a regular stop for me. The LM machine, the acceptable quality of the barista and the friendly atmosphere are all major points in pod's favour. Pod is just another suburban coffee gem that makes Melbourne the city it is. Stay tuned to hear about what bean pod uses (havent worked that out yet) and whether their espressos and machs are any good. ;-) Alex PS. Couldn't find any photos of pod on the internet so the photo attached is of a coffee actually made by my friend Luca. But it's in an LM cup so it's appropriate and it looks mighty cool too. PPS. Bloc Party review coming up next. June 19 Robot12 Bligh Place (off Flinders Lane b/w Elizabeth and Queen) So given that I have a Japanese exam on Thursday I couldn't bring myself to procrastinate on Saturday night. I knew I had to study or else I would fail. So, I decided to head to Robot bar, it's Japanese after all so any sake/Asahi consumed is strictly a study method aimed at Thursday's exam. Robot bar has been part of the Melbourne bar scene for quite a while in bar terms. In October of this year it will be celebrating its 5th birthday where most new upstarts struggle to hit the one year mark. The secret of its success is a steady amount of regular clientele (like myself) who love Robot for its originality and excellent sake! Robot is not the place to go to get insanely hammered and stumble around drunkedly for everyone's amusement. The crowd there is a little older (think businessman/later year uni student/japanese expat) and it's quite small with a high set of stairs (so falling around in a drunken stupor could prove fatal). The focus of the place is bringing a little slice of Shibuya (in Tokyo, gentle reader) to the laneways of Melbourne. And they do it quite well. With Asahi on tap, calligraphy and pop icons all over the walls and furniture, weekly anime screenings on Tuesday, a steady stream of Japanese clientele, Japanese barstaff and the aforementioned sake it seems Robot recreates the Jap bar experience rather well. The negatives of Robot are that the drinks are a little expensive ($6.50 for an on-tap Asahi), it closes rather early and can be a little cramped on Friday/Saturday nights but they are far outweighed by the general coolness of the place, the friendliness of the staff and the quality of the sake. So if it's a cold night and you just got off work, finished study at the library or just want to relax with your friends... head to Robot and say ”あつかんにごをください” or just order it English ;). Alex June 07 Antique Bar218 Glenhuntly Rd Elsternwick, VIC 3185 Ph: (03) 9523 8999
Hey all, Thought I'd vary the pace from music a bit so here's a bar review. Antique Bar is part of the new wave of small Bohemian establishments settling in the surrounding suburbs of St. Kilda, ie. East St. Kilda, Elwood and Elsternwick. As the wankers descend on St. Kilda and turn it into another Chapel St (not that there's anything wrong with Chapel or Kilda but I just don't like dicks with loud cars and dirty beer-swilling men who cause a ruckus everywhere) the Bohemians have decided to move out... but not too far. This place is quite a nice, quiet little bar. The drinks aren't overly expensive generally speaking, however I had to pay $4.50 for a hot chocolate which is relatively exhorbitant. Incidentally, my companion, who is lactose intolerant, had to order two hot chocolates because she forgot to ask for the first one to be made with soy. The vibe/decor of the place is very lounge-room feel. It is called 'antique' bar but there arent that many antiques in the place, just a few old couches and tables, etc. The lighting is dim, the music is chilled and so are the people. Essentially it is a student/artist crowd and its quite a comfortable place to sit and have a conversation. It opens until 1am on weeknights and until 3am on weekends and I believe they have some sort of Happy Hour thing happening too. Check it out if you live in the area, it's a good place for a lazy weeknight chat with a friend... Alex |
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