Brewtown Newtown

Whenever I'm asked for coffee recommendations in Surry Hills, I have always mentioned Gnome Espresso on Crown Street. They consistently do excellent food and coffee everytime I visit. A few months ago, I found out that they decided to expand their regime towards Newtown. They promised that it will have Gnome's awesome qualities but with a different take.

Simon Triggs and team Gnome delivered what they promised. On the 6th of December 2013, Brewtown Newtown was born. It is literally bigger than Gnome in terms of venue size. It is tucked away within the laneway of O'connell Street. Brewtown has a contemporary industrial look with beautifully exposed brick walls. It has a larger seating capacity but not crammed and the vibe was very chilled. They offer both breakfast and lunch items. Pastries such as scrolls and cronuts are on offer all day. They have an espresso station as well as a pour over bar. They also roast their own coffee beans in the premises.

Piccolo latte

I had a piccolo latte with steamed textured milk that had a very good temperature. The beans used were Gnome's Casablanca blend, which had a full body and flavours with notes of caramel and chocolate.

Cronut

This is the first time I've had a cronut. The consistency is closer to a donut but you could see the flaky pastry of a croissant. It wasn't as rich as I thought it would be and it was nicely coated with sugar and cinnamon. It was made in the premises and I would gladly order it again.

Grilled black sausage,home made hash browns, Canadian bacon and house relish with boiled eggs

The grilled black sausage, home made hash browns, Canadian bacon and house relish with boiled eggs ($16) was a great comfort breakfast dish! The black sausage tasted like chorizo but had a more subtle garlic flavour. The hash browns were well seasoned and had a crunchy crust and starchy texture underneath. The bacon and egg makes this like the younger brother of a big breakfast. The spiced and sweet house relish gave the whole dish a good balance.

Baked polenta with mushrooms, grilled asparagus, poached eggs and Parmesan with additonal bacon

Their baked polenta, with mushrooms, grilled asparagus, poached eggs and Parmesan ($15) was as lovely as it sounded on the menu. The eggs were nicely poached and it had a luscious runny yolk. The delicious mushroom went perfectly with the block of polenta that was slightly crisped outside and fluffy inside. The sharp tasting Parmesan cheese shavings complimented the perfectly cooked asparagus. There were also traces of garlic flavour amongst the Parmesan cheese shavings. I ordered additional Canadian bacon (extra $4.50) just because I love bacon!

Brewtown is a great addition to Newtown. I can sum up Brewtown into one word and that word is "remarkable". It is easily amongst one of the best cafes I've visited to date. Congrats to Simon and team Gnome!

Brewtown Newtown

6-8 O'Connell Street

Newtown NSW

Opening hours:

Monday to Sunday 8am - 4pm