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Kid-Friendly Cafes of out Sydney: Cafe Madeleine, Leura, Blue Mountains

January 9, 2016 / Blue Mountains, Leura, NSW, Travel / 0 comment

Leura is filled with cute little cafes, such as Cafe Madeleine, the place to go for your sugar fix in the Blue Mountains. The cafe is the sister site of Josophans – makers of fine chocolate.

At Cafe Madeleine, you can enjoy a Fair Trade-certified chocolate-focused menu of desserts, brownies, waffles and hot chocolates, alongside modern Australian-style breakfast, lunch and High Tea menus.

We dropped by the cafe after a bush walk and really enjoyed our casual lunch of Vegetarian Ricotta Tart & Salad (house baked ricotta tart with sage and sweet potato, served with a dressed side salad and local Hominy bakery sourdough bread, $16.90), Toasted Sandwich (Leg Ham, off the bone with tasty cheese & housemade chutney, on local Hominy Bread sourdough served with a dressed side salad $16.90), a Kids Sandwich (cheese toastie on wholemeal bread $5.50), Grannies Garden Berry Fruit Infusion Iced Tea, $4.50, Babycino, $1.50, Flat White, $3.60, Scones (two freshly baked scones filled with sweetened dried cranberries and Belgian chocolate chips, with double cream & jam, $10.50), and the Fresh Strawberries (served with a pot of melted Belgian dipping chocolate & freshly whipped cream, $10.90.

We enjoyed the savoury food particularly, although I felt like it was a bit pricey. The tart was tasty, the bread soft and fluffy, the salad fresh and light.

My iced tea was delicious – strong but without being sweet (I can’t stand sweetened drinks).

Cheese loved her cheese toastie and babycino, which came with a chocolate rim inside, making it the most popular of babycinos of all time.

The scones were the only disappointment of the meal. They were very sweet and more like cake than scones. We would have preferred more traditional scones that weren’t flavoured.

The strawberries were the highlight of the meal – they were so fresh and sweet, and dipped in chocolate … mmmmm! So good!

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

Cafe Madeleine
187a The Mall
Leura NSW
Phone: (02) 4784 3833
Prices: $$
Hours: Daily 9am-5pm

The Gingerbread House: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Katoomba, Blue Mountains

March 26, 2015 / Australia, Blue Mountains, Cheese, Katoomba, NSW, Travel / 8 Comments

On our recent Blue Mountains drive we stopped off at The Gingerbread House for afternoon tea after several recommendations from friends. It’s the sweetest cafe, housed in a beautifully restored 100-year-old church. As you can guess from the name, The Gingerbread House is all about sweet things – milkshakes, Serendipity ice-cream, cakes, cookies & gingerbread. They do have light savoury food, by the way, but it’s the sweet things they’re well known for.

The Gingerbread House is owned by the creators of Josophan’s Fine Chocolates, so they obviously know a thing or two about the sweet things people go crazy for.

Inside the church is an adorably styled gingerbread house containing a sweet shop filled with lollies, and a mix of small and large communal tables. You can also sit outside and soak up the sun while the kids play in the gingerbread cubby house.

On our visit, we enjoyed a chocolate gingerbread man, a vanilla malt milkshake, a slice of chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting, an affogato with Serendipity caramel ice cream, and a scoop of Serendipity ‘Death by Chocolate’ ice-cream (which has just been awarded Champion Premium Ice-cream at the Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy show).

The cake was mine, and I found it to be just the right mix of dense, moist chocolate cake, with thick caramel frosting for my taste. I loved the milkshake (nice and malty), as did Cheese, who stole mine off me. Alec enjoyed his affogato (said the ice cream was great) and Cheese devoured her ice cream (as the official “eat the rest of the cone when the kid is done” person, I can confirm that the chocolate ice cream was really, really good, too!).

The Gingerbread House is delightful and delicious – the perfect stop for a treat on your next drive to Katoomba.

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

The Gingerbread House Cafe
56 Lurline St (Cnr Lurline & Waratah Streets),
Katoomba NSW 2780
Phone: (02) 4782 6958
Prices: $
Hours: Daily 9am-5pm
Get Directions

Linking up with Grace and Bron.

The Tea Cosy: Sydney’s Best Afternoon Tea Spots

March 5, 2015 / CBD, Sydney, Sydney Food, The Rocks / 4 Comments

In the heart of The Rocks lies one of your best bets for traditional scones in Sydney. The tiny and adorably named The Tea Cosy is an Irish-Australian family-run business, housed in a stunning 1870s heritage-listed building.

If you’re serious about scones and tea – and also love a fancy tea cosy – then this is an outing for you.

The Tea Cosy is small and very popular. Blink and you’ll miss the small sign the wall near the entrance to the Irish Shop (that they also own and run), letting you know that you have indeed reached scone nirvana. Walk through the narrow hallway to the back and find any table you can – or stand around and wait till someone leaves and then grab their table fast.

We had a short wait when we arrived on a rainy gloomy Saturday, but very happily found a little corner in which to squeeze. Our order overflowed from our little table.

Devonshire Tea (Scone Basket) $14 per person, includes your choice of drink (I chose chocolate and vanilla tea), scones and jam (I chose Raspberry), Babyccino, Ploughman’s Lunch ($15), Ribbon Sandwiches in curried egg and tomato ($9.50).

The Babyccino actually came with TWO marshmallows, both of which were nabbed before I could get a shot.

I shared the scones with Cheese, who insisted that hers was also topped with the amazing raspberry jam and cream. Alec loved the jam so much he bought a jar to take home. His ploughman’s platter was light and yet filling – as described, it is indeed the perfect traditional lunch (for those who like meat).

All of the scones at The Tea Cosy are made by hand from scratch, using an old fashioned family recipe. Their jams are Australian-made gourmet jams, and the cream is double thick.

The food was so good, I honestly couldn’t fault a thing. The staff were really lovely – it’s really obvious that this is a family-run business as the people who run the joint really care about their customers and ensuring that they have a great experience. They’re also really friendly and chatty, which is also a nice experience in itself.

A little stroll around The Tea Cosy reveals many, many, many tea cosies. These can be bought for very reasonable prices (I saw labels for around $25 – $35). As each looks handmade and unique, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Minimal – it’s a very small space.
Easy access: Small steps in, narrow corridors.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

The Tea Cosy
33 George Street,
The Rocks NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9247 4955
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon, Wed-Fri 10am-4pm, Tues closed, Sat & Sun 9:30am-5pm
Get Directions

Coco Chocolate High Tea: Sydney’s Best High Teas

January 5, 2015 / Mosman, Sydney, Sydney Food / 8 Comments

Chocolate high tea! These magical words popped up in my Instagram feed one day and I was sold. Coco Chocolate, on Sydney’s Middle Head, produces handmade, high quality organic chocolate. Basically they sell “real chocolate”, so the good stuff with high cacao content and all of the all of the expensive & delicious cacao butter and real vanilla. Coco Chocolate is gluten free and all dark chocolate is vegan, so they basically cater for all dietary requirements too.

While you can shop at Coco Chocolate’s Kirribili store, their Middle Head location is where the chocolate magic happens. All of the chocolate is made here, and if you’d like to try your hand at making chocolate yourself, you can take a class here at The Sydney Chocolate School. If eating chocolate is more your thing, then book yourself in to the Middle Head location for a decadent chocolate high tea.

The chocolate high tea at Coco Chocolate is unlike any other high tea you will experience. Located on the balcony and grassed forecourt outside The Sydney Chocolate School, it’s an informal and also intimate affair. The harbour view is sensational, and the atmosphere relaxing (just watch out for hungry magpies!).

There are several types of high tea to choose from – we chose the Coco Classic High Tea ($40pp). It included: tea or coffee, shot of hot chocolate, chocolate pistachio shortbread, florentines, scones with jam & cream, melting moments, chocolate selection, flourless orange cakes, chocolate cakes with berry & cream.

You can upgrade to a Coco Classic Sparkling High Tea for an extra $10, which includes all the above, plus a class of bubbles, or the Coco Moet Chandon High Tea for an extra $20, which includes Moet Chandon Champagne by the glass, tea or coffee, shot of hot chocolate, cucumber sandwiches, salmon & dill sandwiches, scones with jam & cream, chocolate selection, flourless orange cakes, chocolate cakes with berry & cream, vanilla cake with fresh cream & seasonal berry, chocolate strawberries.

Kids are also welcome at this high tea venue, and can enjoy their own Coco Children’s High Tea ($28pp). It includes a mini chocolate milk shake or apple juice, handmade sausage roll, handmade large freckle, chocolate Alice in Wonderland cupcake, and a cookie.

If you’re after a high tea but aren’t the biggest chocolate fan (ummm, then we can’t be friends) you have the option of a Coco Cream Tea ($15pp), which includes scones with a selection of jams & freshly whipped cream & tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

For this high tea extravaganza, I enlisted my dear friend Violet Lily (no, not her real name). We had an extremely relaxing, pleasant high tea experience, sitting under our own umbrella watching the boats sail by. Our host was friendly and informative too – she happily answered all of our many chocolate questions.

The high tea was made to order, so the tea is by booking only – no walk ins. Everything was fresh and beautifully made. Our favourite part was the chocolate on top – no surprise considering we were at a chocolate shop. The chocolate selection included a variety of Coco Chocolate’s speciality choccies. It was wonderful to sample so many different chocolates from the Coco range, including one with coconut that was my favourite, and the ginger in dark chocolate that Violet Lily loved.

If you’re a chocoholic, then this is the high tea for you.

Highchairs: No.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: No – a few steps.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

Coco Chocolate High Tea
Past Burnt Orange and HMAS Penguin
at Chowder Bay Rd turnoff
Building 21
1110 Middle Head Road
Mosman NSW 2088
Phone: (02) 9960 6540 or (02) 9960 5848 to book
Email info@cocochocolate.com.au
Prices: $$$
Hours: Open by appointment only
Get Directions

Addie And Me: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Hammondville, Sydney

September 7, 2014 / Cheese, Hammondville, South West, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

I’ve been taking yoga classes in Hammondville, and every time I finish a yoga class I walk past Addie And Me back to my car. I always take a peek inside and see ladies with their babies, or old friends catching up for coffee. The cafe looked so sweet, like it had sprung straight out of Alice In Wonderland, so it was only a matter of time until I found someone to try it with me. My dear friend who has a sweet tooth like me, joined E and I with her three kids for lunch on a Friday afternoon. The cafe was packed — the lovely staff looked pretty wiped out by the time we sat down and admitted it was an unusually busy day. Addie And Me is part shop, part cafe. Lining the walls are an array of frilly tulle outfits, baby gifts, and older kid toys. Signs remind parents that these are for sale and not for playing with – so definitely a bit of an uphill battle for me and my curious three-year-old who wanted to explore every single shiny frilly item in the store. Thankfully my friend and her crew turned up before I had to buy out the store. We sat down at a large table in the rear, next to another family with two small kids. Our crowd of kids were like any crowd of little kids — up and down, a bit loud, a bit whingy at times, and always in danger of breaking something. A big thank you to the staff for not batting en eyelid even when their ceramic bunnies were in danger of being smashed to smithereens. We ordered each of the kids the Tiny Tots Rabbit Nibble Platter ($7). It came with a choice of sandwich (ham, cheese, vegemite, jam or honey), savory and sweet finger food: cheese, fruit, cookies, crackers and a small plain or flavoured milk. For the adults, we ordered an Iced Chocolate ($4.50) which was DIVINE, a coffee ($3.50), and two sandwiches. While all of the sandwiches on the menu included meat, the staff very happily made me a custom plain cheese and tomato sandwich on sourdough. My friend ordered the Turkey sandwich ($7.50) with Swiss cheese, rocket and cranberry orange relish on sourdough. It was a super busy day and I expected our meals might take a while, but I was pleasantly surprised with how quick they were relative to how many staff were on and how many customers were there. Our sandwiches were simple and really tasty. Perfectly toasted real sourdough — the perfect light lunch for an outing with four kids. It’s also worth noting that when I ordered the turkey sandwich, they said they’d run out of turkey but would run up to the shops to get some more to make the sandwich — really sweet of them considering they were already run off their feet. Our trip to Addie And Me couldn’t have been better. The staff really made us feel welcome, with big smiles and an easy-going manner. Even with lots of breakables sitting on every surface and two extremely active toddlers, we had a pretty relaxing lunch (well, as relaxing as it can be eating out with multiple young kids!), with so many things to entertain the kids that they didn’t know what to look at or play with next! From the rabbit plates for the kids to the waterproof rose table cloths, every detail was thoughtfully planned with little and big guests in mind. We will absolutely be taking another trip down this rabbit hole again very soon! Last Bite: A whimsical cafe best suited to non-moving babies or older children who won’t break the pretty tea sets! A delightful lunch or afternoon tea for a special date with your little one. Highchairs: Yes. Stroller storage: Yes. Easy access: Yes. Change tables: No. Kids’ menu: Yes. Addie And Me 7 Stewart Ave Hammondville NSW Get Directions