Circa Espresso: Coffee café, Parramatta (12 Feb 2012)

21 Wentworth Street, Parramatta NSW 2150

http://www.circaespresso.com.au

Parra-does-matta café

Forgive me if I'm wrong but it seems aliens have transported a rustic Melbourne laneway cafe into the outskirts of Parramatta central. Circa seems to have picked up some social media interest of late to the annoyance of the locals that probably wanted to keep it all to themselves — too bad. I first noticed it mentioned on a tweet by The Heart of Food and not long after I had the impression Adam Dunn might have taken up residence to eat his way through the menu, perhaps he actually did. Upon arrival I had to first decide on my preferred spot to sit which I likened to deciding on the lesser of the two evils. Inside was noticeably noisy due to the coffee machine in a very confined space but was covered and outside had the unshaded protection from the hot sun which also had the added attraction of flies trying to share your food — we chose the later with a baby on board. If you're young and hip you won't notice the uncomfortable nature of sitting on a crate with tiny tables that made me feel like I was sitting at a kids tea party. But I guess this has all helped to keep the menu costs down to keep you coming back for more.

With the hope of a good coffee the Cappuccino ($3.50) was well-liked for its smoothness and medium roasty flavour and their latte art rosettas just as impressive as Cafe Ish. The Banana bread with house passion fruit butter ($6) came with ridiculously thick slices to easily share between two if not more. One of the favourite dishes of the day was the Baked eggs with sujuk, danish feta, tomato and hint of chilli served in the pan ($13) with good flavours. A bit of butter on the side for the toast might have been nice too. The Portobello mushrooms, danish fetta, basil pesto, caramilised onion and baby spinach ($8) was also good but more awkward to share. My main reason for visiting was to try the French toast with poached rhubarb, labne & pistachio ($13) with flavours that worked well together on the thick slices. I didn't mind the saltiness in the labne in moderation. The Breakfast wrap ($8) was probably our least liked dish. Maybe it was the thickness of the wrap that didn't appeal to me, making it harder to appreciate the contents. My Affogato ($5) was satisfying but would have been even better with a smoother and richer flavoured vanilla bean ice cream like at Cafe Sopra and Jamie's Italian. The Honey Soaked Chai with bonsoy ($4.50) was enjoyable for those who like a bit of spice. I like how they've served it with Turkish glasses and a heavy tea pot. Hopefully I'll have a chance to revisit to try other reasonably priced menu items.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Reasonably priced menu that tastes pretty good, Seem to make good coffee with nice rosettas

CONS: Low level seating and small tables can be awkward and uncomfortable, Seems very noisy and rather squashed inside, Limited shade outside, Watch out for flies and rain outside, Limited street parking nearby

MUST TRY: Baked eggs with sujuk, Portobello mushrooms, Coffee

BABY ON BOARD: No room to fit a pram inside and toilet too small for changing a nappy

—

Sydney tap water, Phoenix Organic Cola ($3.50)

Cappuccino ($3.50)

Sugar

Banana bread with house passion fruit butter ($6)

Baked eggs with sujuk, danish feta, tomato and hint of chilli served in the pan ($13)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Portobello mushrooms, danish fetta, basil pesto, caramilised [caramelised] onion and baby spinach on sourdough toast ($8)

WORTH TRYING :-)

French toast with poached rhubarb, labne & pistachio ($13)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Breakfast wrap - scrambled egg, chilli jam and baby spinach ($8)

Affogato ($5)

Honey Soaked Chai - Freshly crushed spices steeped with breakfast loose leaf tea; your choice of milk but we recommend with bonsoy ($4.50)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Baby bottle on board with affogato and Honey Soaked Chai

Watch out for flies when outside, they like the food too — little bastards!

Menu

Tony the owner and barista

Seating inside

Back room

Coffee bag seating

Muffins

Cake and bread display

Laura sparkling beverages

Wall decor

Head out the back for the toilet

View Larger Map