Reuben Hills: Coffee roastry & café, Surry Hills (7 Feb 2012)

61 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Phone: (02) 9211 5556
http://reubenhills.com.au

There’s coffee in them Hills

If you thought Surry Hills had reached its capacity for coffee cafes think again. Inspired by glowing reviews by Gosstronomy I put Reuben Hills on my wish list. I liked the industrial vibe and openness apparently influenced by a Melbourne designer I believe — so Melbourne. The Salted caramel shake ($6.50) had a good balance of flavour although pity it's not filled to the top. The White chocolate & espresso shake ($6.50) was more espresso than noticeable white chocolate but still likeable and I wondered if some liberal sprinkling of white choc flakes on top would done the trick. Loved the look of the Ceviche of Ocean trout, roast corn, smoked sweet potato, chilli, lime & witlof ($16) when it arrived. Fresh flavours although I thought the trout flavour was overpowered by the citrus and bitterness of the witlof to fully appreciate and the corn could have probably done with more roasting as it didn’t really have that smokiness I was expecting.

Favourite of the day for me was the NOT reuben-wagyu salt Brisket, pickled slaw, melted manchego & horseradish cream ($15). A very tasty sandwich that was moist and juicy. The horseradish was quite dominate but welcomed if you’re a horseradish fan. Not sure about the side of radish, how about a juicy pickle instead? The Baleada of pulled Pimenton pork, chimal ($10) was good and thankfully easy enough to eat without being too messy unless you’re trying to share it. The Flat white ($3.50) was liked by my barista friend and my Mocha ($4) certainly had very roasty flavours which perhaps dominated over the chocolate more than most I’ve had. For the sweet tooth the Doggs breakfast ($9) of an ice cream sandwich with salted caramel had simple flavours that worked although I wondered if perhaps some honey roasted macadamias in the biscuit would have excited the palate even more adding some crunch and texture. The slightly warmed Brioche with marcapone & dulce de leche ($6) wasn’t a huge hit due to a very plain marcapone. I probably would have preferred with a good vanilla bean ice cream instead.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Fair amount of seating, Interesting decor, Friendly and efficient service, Interesting menu seems reasonably priced for quality

CONS: Some dishes missing that WOW factor for me but I'd return to try other dishes

MUST TRY: the NOT reuben-wagyu salt Brisket, pickled slaw, melted manchego & horseradish cream

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Table water, sugar and menu

Salted caramel shake ($6.50)

White chocolate & espresso shake ($6.50)

Ceviche - Ocean trout, roast corn, smoked sweet potato, chilli, lime & witlof ($16)

the NOT reuben-wagyu salt Brisket, pickled slaw, melted manchego & horseradish cream ($15)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Baleada of pulled Pimenton pork, chimal ($10)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Spoon time = Dessert time

Doggs breakfast - Ice Cream sandwich with salted caramel ($9)

Brioche with marcapone & dulce de leche ($6)

Flat white ($3.50) — nice patterning

Mocha ($4)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Bill $76.50 for three

Eat menu

Drinks menu

Menu $10 min on c/c & no split bills, weekly coffee cupping friday 10 am

Seating and decor — exposed brick seems to be making a come back

Coffee machine

Clover coffee machine — will try next time, looks cool!

Upstairs for cupping room and admin

Reuben Hills coffee beans

Cool flower decor — not sure what these are?

Back entrance

Front entrance


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