Sydney - Australia 2004 - page 137

coffee to cost between A$2.50 and A$3 (US$1.65-US$1.95); main courses
between A$8 and A$15 (US$5.20-US$9.75).
This section includes my favorite cafes around town.
Balmoral Boatshed Kiosk A real find, this beautiful rustic cafe is
right on the water beside the dinghies and sailing craft of the wooden Balmoral
Boatshed (located to the far right of the central beach as you look at the water).
It's a heavenly place for enjoying a breakfast muffin or a ham-and-cheese crois-
sant while basking in the sun. This place is popular with families on weekend
mornings, so if you hate kids, find somewhere else. (The nearby Sandbar has the
best takeout food and coffee.)
2 The Esplanade, Balmoral Beach. & 02/9968 4412. Daily 8am-6pm in summer; 8am-5pm in winter. Ferry
to Taronga Zoo, then bus to Balmoral Beach.
Bar Coluzzi Although it may no longer serve the best coffee in Sydney, this
cafe's claim to fame is that long ago it served up real espresso when the rest of
the city was drinking Nescafé. People-watching is a favorite hobby at this fash-
ionably worn-around-the edges spot in the heart of Sydney's cafe district.
322 Victoria St., Darlinghurst. & 02/9380 5420. Daily 5am-8pm. CityRail: Kings Cross.
Bill's This bright and airy place, strewn with flowers and magazines, serves
nouveau cafe-style food. It's so popular you might have trouble finding a seat.
The signature breakfast dishes—including ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb
butter and banana, and sweet corn fritters with roast tomatoes and bacon—are
the stuff of legends. Last time I was here I asked for fried instead of scrambled
eggs and was brusquely told I had to stick to the menu—a response that is really
unforgivable.
433 Liverpool St., Darlinghurst. & 02/9360 9631. Fax [phone]. AE, MC, V. Mon-Sat 7:30am-3pm.
CityRail: Kings Cross.
Hernandez The walls of this tiny, cluttered cafe are crammed with
eccentric fake masterpieces, and the air is permeated with the aroma of 20 types
of coffee roasted and ground on the premises. It's almost a religious experience
for discerning inner-city coffee addicts. The Spanish espresso is a treat.
60 Kings Cross Rd., Potts Point. & 02/9331 2343. Daily 24 hr. CityRail: Kings Cross.
The Old Coffee Shop Sydney's oldest coffee shop opened in the Victorian
Strand Arcade in 1891. The shop may or may not serve Sydney's best java, but
the old-world feel of the place and the sugary snacks, cakes, and pastries make
up for it. It's a good place to take a break from shopping and sightseeing.
Ground floor, The Strand Arcade. &

Finds

Finds

02/9231 3002. Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm; Sat 8:30am-5pm; Sun

10:30am-4pm. CityRail: Town Hall.
IN NEWTOWN: GREAT ETHNIC EATS
Inner-city Newtown is three stops from Central Station on CityRail, and 10
minutes by bus from central Sydney. On Newtown's main drag, King Street,
many inexpensive restaurants offer food from all over the world.
Le Kilimanjaro AFRICAN With so many excellent restaurants in New-
town—they close down or improve quickly enough if they're bad—I picked Kil-
imanjaro because it's the most unusual. It's a tiny place, with limited seating on
two floors. Basically, you enter, choose a dish off the blackboard menu (while
standing), and are escorted to your seats by one of the waiters. On a recent visit
I had couscous, African bread (similar to an Indian chapati), and the Saussou-gor