76 Devonshire St
Surry Hills, Sydney
This cafe is deceptive. It looks quite basic from the street and also quite small. Once you venture inside though you realise that it stretches back to several lovely areas at the rear. It also has an impressive array of great food which is not really a surprise once you realise that their chef Zach Tan is a former sous chef of Bistro Guillaume and they also have Jacqui Ektoros formerly of Guillaume at Bennelong. It's a formidable pairing that generates great food from the kitchen. Husband and wife owners Derek and Noni have created an amazing place here that will delight foodies. This is their third cafe venture and they seem to be going from strength to strength. Look out for number four! The concept here is casual fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere - and it works too!
A couple of lovely Alchemy house blend coffees started us off nicely. This was rich and full and just what we needed. The panela (Central/South American sweetner) went well with mine - Mlady abstained as she is sweet enough!
Mlady had the deliciously sounding "Two Chicks in a Basque". This tasty treat comprised two very slowly cooked eggs, piperade, pistou and sourdough toast. The eggs were perfectly cooked with soft fluffy whites and smooth flowing yolks.
The piperade (or pepper/capsicum based sauce) was rich and full and it was drizzled with a delicious pistou (a pesto mixture of basil and garlic and olive oil). It was all home made as well.
My choice was the citrus cured salmon - which of course is cured in house!It came served with split dill cream, apple, celery, cucumber, fennel and was topped with a soft boiled egg.
There was a side of brioche as well, just to add to the indulgence. It all went together perfectly and I loved every mouthful!
The juice here is also great. There are several combinations and they are all fresh fresh fresh!Mlady followed this theme perfectly and chose the "refresher" - a lovely combination of apple, watermelon and mint that she thoroughly enjoyed.
Presentation was novel - it came in a jar which fitted perfectly with the ambiance of the whole place.
A sprig of fresh mint from their own wall garden inside the cafe topped it off nicely.
We finished our eating odyssey with a shared serving of "Little Lost Bread". This is an amazing combination of peanut butter and jam brioche French toast, warm banana, Nutella, jam and peanut butter ice cream - which is again home made. It was also topped off with a thin rasher of very crispy bacon. It looked amazing and tasted even better. You have seriously got to try this dish. The sweet and salty combinations work brilliantly together.We were fortunate to be joined by Devon Cafe barista Simon Dardick who demonstrated chemex coffee. Its a unique way of preparing coffee by pouring water at around 89 degrees into a special coarsely ground coffee bean mix to expand it. Then the continued pouring filters through to produce a brew that is full of flavour without any bitterness - as close as possible to the raw product. It's an experience you should try if you get the chance!
Devon Cafe was lovely. It had excellent service, great food and a relaxed atmosphere that made the whole experience so wonderfully pleasant. It's a place you will want to go back to!
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Devon Cafe and its owners Derek and Noni.
