PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIANotorious for its uber-cool, Fitzroyalty customer base and funky staff, Atomica is a place where you were once afraid to stumble in for a morning coffee without your aviator shades. Word on the street now is that Atomica has chilled out a little. The same cannot be said, however, for their attitude towards coffee. In 11 years Atomica has gone from just another cafe in an area where there is a noticeable glut, to being the heartland of coffee addiction, obsession and expertise. The operation is sustained by the tour de force passion of owner, Toli Avgerinos, and with stunning results. Beans are roasted and blended on the premises and supplied to other cafes, sometimes in exclusive blends.
Atomica buzzes on the weekend, with upbeat music designed to be foreground entertainment, rather than back ground filler. Spread your newspaper out at one of the communal tables or catch some sun and watch the world go by at a street side table. Food is all cafe style, and a particular favourite is the heart-stopping Atomica Breakfast for $17.50 – it hits you up with sausages, eggs, sourdough, hash browns, sauteed mushrooms and spinach in hefty portions, and best of all it’s available all day. All cakes and pastries are made in-house and accompany a flat white perfectly, and if you just can’t get enough there are take-home packs of ground or unground coffee at around $9 for 250g.
Jenni Kauppi, October 2007