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Little Tastes Cafe: Kid-Friendly Restaurants St Peters Sydney

April 20, 2016 / Inner West, St Peters, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

CLOSED ——————

I knew we had stumbled on one of the best kid-friendly restaurants in Sydney when we were greeted with “the kids can draw on anything!” at the door by the very friendly staff at Little Tastes Cafe St Peters.

Inside the cafe is the much-lauded play area. It’s a great size with loads of toys, and the walls and tabletops are covered in chalk paint, so kids are literally welcome to draw on the walls. I’ve heard that on Saturdays the cafe hangs paper on the walls for kids to paint on, but we arrived on a quiet Thursday during the school holidays just after a massive group, and had the playroom all to ourselves.

Our friendly server let us know that babyccinos were on the house, officially making it the best deal in Sydney. They usually come with a marshmallow, but had had an unfortunate incident on the day we arrived that deprived our kids of their marshmallow. Not like they even noticed, however, they were having so much for playing that we had to beg them to sit down to eat. As an indication of how this compares to our usual cafe outings – if a babyccino arrives without a marshmallow, it’s usually met with a turned up lip and serious attitude.

The cafe serves all-day breakfast and simple burgers, rolls and salads. They have a great kids’ menu with items like toast with jam, toasted sandwiches, the “Big Bubba Breakfast” with eggs, bacon sausages and toast, “Eggs with Toast Soldiers” and a fruit salad. All of the kids’ meals are under $10, with cheapest being $3 for the toast with jam, peanut butter or Vegemite.

All of the meals at the cafe are reasonably priced, which is another massive plus in my book. We love eating out, and often with kids you end up needing to eat out even if you hadn’t planned to, so it can seriously add up to be very expensive, very fast. With prices like these, however, we will be dropping by all the time rather than just on special occasions. The meals for adults at Little Tastes range from $6 for an egg and bacon roll to $10 for the “Budget Brekkie” (two eggs, bacon or spinach, feta on thick toast) and $17 for the most expensive dish on the menu, the “Big Breakfast” (two eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, haloumi, grilled tomato, toast).

We ordered toast with jam and a grilled cheese sandwich for the kids, and a Spanish Omelette ($14, three egg omelette with red onion, tomato, chorizo and paprika served with thick cut toast) and Smashed Pumpkin ($16, two eggs your way on a bed of smashed pumpkin and feta with bacon and tomato served with thick cut toast). They happily swapped my bacon for spinach which I appreciated too.

While we waited for the meals, the kids played and played and played. The kids’ meals arrived first, and they sat relatively peacefully at their table to eat. It was a bit of a wait for our meals, but with such a small cafe and only two staff members working there, it was understandable.

I really enjoyed my smashed pumpkin dish. It really hit the spot for me, and I loved the thick cut toast, plus the delicious pumpkin and feta. All of the dishes were very generous in portion size, too.

The bathroom is around the back of the cafe, and has a change table – hallelujah!

The cafe has both a fantastic and terrible location. It’s wonderful as it is right across the road from the massive Sydney Park, making it a great cafe to team up with a park visit. It’s also on a very busy road however, so keep a close eye on kids when you’re walking to the cafe. The cafe itself is quite small, so if you arrive on a busy day and need to sit outside, you’ll need to also keep a very close eye on little ones.

We loved our lunch at Little Tastes and can’t wait to go back.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: Yes.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

Little Tastes Cafe
641 King St,
St Peters
Phone: (02) 8084 0015
Prices: $
Hours: Mon-Fri 6am-3pm, Sat 7am- 3pm, closed Sunday.
Get Directions

Mad Hatter’s High Tea at the Fairy and Frog Creperie

March 23, 2016 / Concord, Inner West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 18 Comments

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice, and also us, when we heard of a magical new cafe in Concord where, rumour had it, fairytales had been brought to life.

The Fairy And The Frog Creperie was opened in 2015 by couple Catherine and Guillaume (the “frog”), serving sweet and savoury crepes, old fashioned milkshakes and high tea, in an environment reminiscent of a Disney movie. Think “Alice in Wonderland” meets “Snow White” and you’ll get the gist.

While the cafe does not specifically cater to children, it’s become a very popular venue for parents to take their kids thanks to the whimsical world they’ve created in the tiny little space.

As a nod to kids who can’t get enough of the cafe, there is a private dining area for up to four children that can be reserved, and a delightful room out the back that can be hired for an extra special birthday party.

While the cafe usually serves authentic French crepes, I attended their first special event – a “Mad Hatter” themed tea party.

The special event was a bit on the pricey side for a high tea- adults were $60 and kids $45 – but I did think it was excellent value as not only was the food top notch (possibly my fave cupcakes ever), but there was also a roving Alice in Wonderland who chatted with the kids and then told them stories in the party room, gorgeous face painting and games.

I was super impressed by the food at the cafe. All of the high tea items were just delicious. As we sat down we were presented with scones and jam, the most gorgeous cupcakes (which were just incredible), home made iced coconut, a powerful fruit punch and tea.

After a while, out came delicious finger sandwiches, such as egg salad, cucumber and cream cheese, salmon etc, and then even more pastries.

Fruit tarts, banana tarts, chocolate eclairs, petit fours, oh my! It was an extravaganza of epic proportions and we were so full that we had to ask for containers to take the food home in to finish later.

After we ate, the kids were whisked into the back for story time, face painting, and some games. It was a time of blissful peace for the adults to eat and enjoy chatting.

I can’t recommend this gorgeous cafe highly enough. Yes the pricing is a bit steep, but the quality is excellent, and so much effort as gone into the details not just in the cafe but also the events, parties, menu, decor, that this really is a special venue worthy of a bit of a spurge for a special treat.

The cafe is starting to run monthly high tea events for families, so keep your eyes peeled on their Facebook page for updates.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: No.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No. There is no bathroom in the cafe – please note that you will have use the bathroom in the cafe two doors down.
Kids’ menu: No.

Fairy And The Frog Creperie
52 Mortlake St,
Concord
Phone: 1300 992 456
Prices: $$$
Hours: Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 8am-5pm (closed Mondays)
Get Directions

Tella Balls Dessert Bar: Sydney’s Best Dessert Spots

March 12, 2016 / Dulwich Hill, Inner West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 8 Comments

If you have a sweet tooth like me, then you might be similarly always on the hunt for the best dessert in Sydney.

I’ve been loving the Tella Ball shakes at Foodcraft Espresso & Bakery in Erskineville pretty hard since the Nutella-injected donuts perched on top of Nutella-flavoured milkshakes almost broke Instagram last year, so it was with great excitement that I heard the original creators of this delicious extravagance, Aki Daikos and Simon Kappatos, were opening a Tella Balls Dessert Bar in Dulwich Hill.

Tellaballs dessert bar “Gelat-dough” it’s the latest craze by Tella balls dessert bar! A fun way to combine your two favourite things; gelato & doughnuts! Gelat-dough is a doughy gelato that looks like a doughnut but tastes like the finest gelato on a stick. #gelatdough #gelato #doughnut #icecream #gelatostick #dessertheaven #sydneydesserts #sydneycommunity #innerwestsydney #dulwichhill #tellaballsdessertbar #sydney #australia @excusemewaiter?

A photo posted by Tellaballsdessertbar (@tellaballsdessertbar) on Mar 5, 2016 at 10:59pm PST

The Instagram pictures for the cafe have been killing me – particularly this gelato donut on a stick, which sells for $7. Sadly when I visited they didn’t have any for sale, but I guess that means there is a reason to go back next time?

There are no savoury dishes on the menu at the dessert bar – just sugar, sugar and more sugar. It is 100% a pure dessert bar.

As well as their signature Tell Balls and milkshakes, the dessert bar serves house-made gelato, Nutella layered lasagne, waffles, pancakes, and amazing sweets that feature Nutella heavily as a signature ingredient.

I visited on a week day before school let out to ensure we had a quiet dining experience. Even at midday on a Friday it was pretty busy, so I can imagine the cafe is a bit of a zoo on weekends.

My dining companion Jayne from Girl Tweets World and I ordered a few dishes to share between us. The Vanilla Tella Ball Shake with a Boston Custard Tella Ball on top ($10), the Ferraro Bowl (a smooth Ferraro Rocher mousse in a chocolate bowl served with vanilla bean gelato, $13), and the Ricotta and Blueberry Pancakes (2 stack buttermilk ricotta & blueberry pancakes topped with Canadian maple syrup and mascarpone, $16).

The vanilla shake was excellent, and the donut on top fluffy with a very tart custard inside. We were a bit regretful not to have ordered the Nutella one seeing as it’s the signature shake, but sometimes it’s good to brand out and try new things, right?

The Ferraro Bowl looked incredibly sweet, but surprisingly wasn’t. I really appreciated this, as even though I love all things chocolate, I can’t handle feeling ill after injecting myself full of dessert these days. I really particularly enjoyed the crisp chocolate shell with nut shards on it, and its pairing with the refreshing vanilla bean gelato.

I deliberately ordered the pancakes that did not have Nutella as I thought I couldn’t handle more chocolate after the Ferraro Bowl, and it was a good move when they were all on the table in front of us, with our dining companions looking on in … horror? awe? Who can tell!

The pancakes were excellent. Not super-fluffy, but a good size, and nicely soaked with maple syrup. I found the double serve of cheese a bit too much for me – I didn’t love the ricotta with this dish, and could have just done very nicely with the mascarpone and blueberries. I love fruit with my pancakes, so the huge amount of blueberries it was served with did me very nicely.

I would love to go back on another day to try more dishes from the menu. Tell me if you go and what you try.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Tella Balls Dessert Bar
372 New Canterbury Rd,
Dulwich Hill
Prices: $$$
Hours: Sun-Thur 11am-10pm, Fri & Sat 11am-11pm
Get Directions

Marionette on Booth & Gladstone Park: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Balmain

March 6, 2016 / Balmain, Inner West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

This tiny little place, tucked away from busy Darling street, is one of the most kid-friendly cafes in Balmain. While their main game is coffee (check out their website, The Little Marionette for more details about their roasting business), they also have fantastic food and friendly, accomodating staff.

We noticed on our visit that most families were getting their coffee and food to go, and enjoying it in Gladstone Park across the road. We chose to dine in and enjoyed the surprisingly quiet dining area inside.

It’s pretty obvious that families are among the prime visitors to this little cafe from the outside. They have set up a challkboard wall and at any time of day you’ll see either kids creating a masterpiece on the wall and pavement, or evidence of the mini Picasso who had dined there perviously. It’s a genius move really, as parents can order their coffee or food to go while kids are happily occupied.

We ordered an In House Bircher Museli (with yoghurt and honey, small $7), pot of English Breakfast organic tea ($4), Breakfast Sandwich (fried eggs, bacon, spinach, fresh tomato and avocado topped with relish on Turkish toast, $12), a kid’s toasted Cheese Sandwich ($4), Babyccino ($1), flat white ($4).

The babyccino was a hit, with the takeaway cup and marshmallow perched on the straw. My bircher was delicious – very generous serve for a “small” size. Alec said repeatedly how delicious his sandwich was, so I think we have found our new regular cafe in Balmain.

Across the road from Marionette on Booth is Gladstone Park, where you will find large grassed areas under cover of trees, a large playground with climbing structures for kids of a wide age range, basketball courts and bathrooms.

Highchairs: No.
Stroller storage: No.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

Black Star Pastry and Cafe
1A Booth St,
Balmain NSW 2041
Phone: 0402 434 597
Prices: $
Hours: Mon-Fri 6:30am-4pm, Sat 7am-4pm, Sun 8am-4pm
Get Directions

Grandma’s Little Bakery: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Alexandria

March 6, 2016 / Alexandria, Inner West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

Grandma’s Little Bakery is a kid-friendly cafe in Alexandria, serving up home-style cooking and baking in a cosy, friendly environment. Their concept is “bringing together flavours & loved recipes from real Grandmas & Grandpas from all over the world”, which I found very sweet.

As a result, their menu features dishes like their famous Shakshuka (2 eggs served on a hot pan, olive oil with added ingredients like feta or spinach, served w/ Bread), soups, salads, sandwiches, and an all-day breakfast menu.

This little cafe is a favourite with families because of its little play area inside. While it is really best suitable for toddlers, older kids were having a blast in there too.

We ordered the Unique Ricotta Pancakes (served with yogurt, strawberry & dressing with honey blossom sauce with a touch of nuts & seeds, $12.50), an iced chocolate, $5.50, and a kids’ fresh juice, $4.90.

The food wasn’t the fastest, but we were there on a busy day. We also found the staff to be a bit harried, but again, probably because it was a busy day.

The store part of the cafe features rows upon rows of jams, cookies and baked goods if you feel like taking something home for later.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: Yes.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

Grandma’s Little Bakery
42 O’Riordan Street
Alexandria, NSW 2015
Phone: (02) 9690 0069
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon-Sun 7am-4pm
Get Directions

Eden Coffee: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Zetland

March 6, 2016 / Sydney, Sydney Food, Zetland / 0 comment

Eden Coffee used to be our local brekkie joint when we lived nearby. While their focus is on providing the best coffee possible to diners, they also have fantastic food, friendly staff and a very welcome vibe. If you’re after a kid-friendly cafe in Zetland with great coffee and delicious food, Eden is your best bet.

Despite there being nothing particularly kid-friendly at this cafe, like a kid’s menu or play equipment, it’s still really family-friendly, as evidenced by the many families who brunch here every weekend. Mums regularly park their strollers at the tables both outside and indoors, as the cafe is big and roomy, with an upbeat atmosphere that welcomes tiny and perhaps noisy guests.

We dined at Eden on many, many, many occasions. My regular dish was the Avocado Smash plus Haloumi (smashed avocado on sourdough with roasted tomatoes), or the Eve’s Breakfast (eggs your way, house-made baked beans, sauteed mushrooms and kale, roasted tomatoes on sourdough), while Alec loved the Adam’s Breakfast (eggs your way, spinach, bacon, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, baked beans, on sourdough).

We would regularly order a babyccino, kid’s milkshake or smoothie for Cheese, plus either banana bread or toast.

The staff at Eden are fantastic. There’s nothing like your regular cafe knowing you and your order when you walk in (or perhaps it’s a sign that we are boring and should branch out into other menu items?).

Highly recommend our old local. If you’re in the ‘hood, drop by!

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: Yes.
Kids’ menu: No.

Eden Coffee
781 Elizabeth St,
Zetland NSW 2017
Phone: (02) 9699 3309
Prices: $$
Hours: Daily 7am-4pm
Get Directions

Lemonia: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Annandale, Sydney

March 6, 2016 / Annandale, Inner West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

We were wandering around Annandale recently and came across the adorable Lemonia Cafe right on Booth Road. The cafe has heavy Greek influence, from it’s name (inspired by the greek word Zesty (Ζέστη) which translates in English to “marked by spirited enjoyment”) to the menu. A chalk board inside the cafe proclaims that fresh Greek cakes will be available on Monday afternoons and we are sad that it’s Saturday and not Monday so we could try them.

The menu has lots of vegetarian and gluten-free options. No specific kid menu, but there are plenty of things that kids will eat.

The charming waitress taking our order noticed our preschooler was getting antsy and we had neglected to bring anything to entertain her, and very thoughtfully took her to the back of the cafe to select some toys and a colouring in sheet from a cabinet. On closer inspection, the toys could do with a bit of a bath, but the colouring in sheets and pencils were very welcome!

Our food came quickly and was all spot on. Alec had the Megalo Brekky (your choice of eggs, grilled tomato, confit mushrooms, chorizo, roasted chats, bacon & sourdough $21). His mushrooms in particular were fab, but his whole dish was fresh and full of flavour. I ordered Luxe Artisan Toast (sourdough $6) plus a side of Avocado ($4.5) for Cheese, and the Museli Bowl (natural yogurt with a choice of mixed berry, poached pear confit or fresh strawberries with toasted museli $11) for me.

My muesli dish was just how I like it – mostly natural yogurt and fruit with a small amount of museli.

Next to the cafe is a small shady park that is perfect for kids to run around in, or you can walk to the nearby Orphan School Creek playground a few streets away in Forest Lodge (entry via Wood st).

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes (outside).
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Lemonia Cafe
4-8 Booth Street,
Annandale, Sydney, NSW
Phone: 02 9552 2425
Prices: $$
Hours: Daily 6am-6pm
Get Directions

Tintos: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Balmain, Sydney

January 30, 2016 / Balmain, Inner West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 5 Comments

I do love trying new cafes. This week I stumbled upon Tintos in Balmain – a tiny little hole in the wall that opens up into a reasonably-sized cafe, right off Darling Street. I admit I was seduced by the cronuts in the window …

Lucky I was, as this little cafe is an absolute gem. As we sat down at cable reel that was doubling as a table, I noticed a few big baskets of toys and colouring in supplies. What an amazing find! Cheese was entertained for our entire stay and we had to pry her away from the toys when it was time to leave.

We ordered a light meal – two Avocado Toasts ($11), mine with Haloumi ($5) and Alec’s with a Poached Egg ($3) and Bacon ($4). They were just perfect.

Soy and lindseed bread with smashed avocado in olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon. Just devine.

Cheese devoured a giant Mixed Berry Smoothie ($7.5).

My English Breakfast tea ($4) was by Tea Craft and served in a pot so big I got several cups out of it. Tintos prides itself on having excellent coffee, and it’s always good to be able to try and agree that they deliver what they promise on.

Our table was right next to a giant map that covered most of one wall. On the map were blu-tacked coins placed there, I assumed, by visitors from all over the world. I really enjoyed seeing where people had come from to get to this little cafe in Balmain.

Tintos is a fantastic little cafe that we will be going back to soon, to try more dishes off the menu.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Very little.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Tintos
306 Darling St,
Balmain NSW 2041
Phone: (02) 9810 2962
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon-Sat 6am-5pm, Sun 7:30-5pm
Get Directions

5th Earl Rosebery: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Sydney

November 29, 2015 / Inner West, Roseberry, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

Rosebery in Sydney’s inner east has been exploding lately with new cafes. The latest I’ve noticed is 5th Earl Rosebery, a cute little place that opened a week ago near to my favourite Black Star.

When I saw the sign encouraging cake eating, I knew we had to try it out.

The cafe has a large indoor and outdoor area with plenty of tables and space. It has a bit of an eclectic vibe, with miss matched chairs and chalkboard menus.

At the counter lives a delicious looking assortment of pastries, including croissants by Grumpy’s.

We arrived during a particularly busy period and were delighted by the particularly good service. I’m pretty sure it was the owner who greeted us and cleared a table for us pronto, on the outdoor baloney area (always my fave place to sit cos the lighting is better!). The balcony is completely covered, so no chance of sunburn in high summer.

We ordered a fresh Apple Juice ($6), kids’ Bacon And Eggs (with bread soldiers, $9), Zucchini and Corn Fritters (with asparagus, shaved Spanish ham – exchanged for avocado – roasted tomatoes, 2 poached eggs and pomegranate molasses, $17) and the Burger (with fries, price unknown).

The eggs were a large serving and come in a choice of fried, poached or scrambled. We don’t eat bacon, so that’s not in the picture.

I appreciated the option to swap the ham for a vegetarian ingredient. I really enjoyed the fritters. The asparagus was a nice touch (love asparagus!), the roasted tomato was nice and juicy and the eggs perfectly poached.

Alec’s burger was a great size with a cute little container of fries. The apple juice was deliciously sweet. Really once of the nicest juices I’ve had in a long time.

The service was particularly noteworthy. After sitting down next to a large group, we were told that it would take 20-25 minutes for our meals and did we still want to wait. I really appreciated being told, particularly with the little one who has a short attention span.

The staff kindly put through Cheese’s dish quickly and ours followed soon after. Despite the warning of a long wait, the food all came out within 15 minutes of ordering. The staff repeatedly came and checked on us and our meals too, in case we needed anything. It’s service like this that turns curious diners into regulars.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

5th Earl Rosebery
34 Morley Ave,
Rosebery
Phone: (02) 8338 1110
Prices: $$
Hours: Daily 6:30am-3:30pm
Get Directions

Cow and Moon: Sydney’s Best Gelato

November 9, 2015 / Enmore, Inner West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

Hi, my name’s Christine, and I’m a gelato-aholic. I have a serious problem with ice cream and gelato, and honestly visiting Cow and Moon in Enmore does not help. This little inner-west gelataria has had a line out the door since they were awarded best gelato in the world, winning the Gelato World Tour in Rimini, Italy.

The flavour that won Cow and Moon the title was their almond affogato flavour, a re-creation of classic affogato. None of our family like coffee-flavoured gelato, so we all had something different off the menu. Their Strawberry Balsamic is often raved about, but we chose the Breakfast Mix (berries, yoghurt and cereal), Hokey Pokey (big chunks of toffee in creamy vanilla) and classic Chocolate.

Gelato cakes – this one was $42.

The smallest gelato size is $5.50 in a cup or cone, with a choice of one or two flavours. This size was perfect for an adult but too big for a small child. I’d love to see a “tiny” version with half the amount of gelato in it for kids.

The gelato was, as promised, amazing. Right up there with my other favourite, Messina Gelato, as some of the best gelato I’ve ever tasted. There’s a good reason people line up for this stuff – it’s amazing. I really enjoy gelato that is bursting with flavours and full of chunky ingredients. Cow and Moon have indeed perfected gelato and I can’t wait to go back.