Gallery Cafe

LOCATION
Annandale is an inner city suburb ten minutes from the CBD.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
The barista yells, “Tony” and a 20-something guy scuttles to the front counter to grab his coffee. Suddenly, “Sophia” is shouted and an elderly blonde woman struggles with her shopping bags as she picks up a coffee tray. The smell of strong, freshly ground coffee beans fills the air. The whistle from the coffee machine screeches into action as the milk is warmed and the takeaway coffees get churned out. The energy is contagious but we suddenly look at each other, where can we sit? Is this it?

I was told that this was the coolest cafe in the Inner West and I knew a statement like that couldn’t be based on coffee alone. Pushing through the long line of customers who were clearly anxiously waiting for their takeaway lattes, we see tables. The fight was worth it, the back area reveals a cute little space of mismatched tables and chairs and vibrant paintings. A quirky and energetic young girl ushers us to a table and our glasses of water are quickly filled and menus placed in front of us. As we look around, we realise that we’ve snagged the last table.

On the waitress’s recommendation, the pesto feta eggs were ordered. Because I’m not a huge eggs-for-breakfast-kind-of-girl, I also order a home-made bircher muesli. Our coffees come out almost immediately, despite the takeaway line, and our food arrives shortly after. This cafe knows how to keep its customers happy. The servings are generous without being over-the-top. But the thing that is most important, every dish is hot and fresh. The pesto eggs almost convert me egg breakfasts while the bircher reminds me of 2why I love bircher muesli so much.

Gallery Cafe is everything that you know and love about a neighbourhood cafe. It’s casual, relaxed and fun. You can sit for hours sipping a latte and mulling over the weekend papers or you can pop in for dinner on a Sunday night when cooking seems like such a drag. I just wish I lived closer to Annandale so that I could call this my local.

Anna Lisle