Monday, July 20, 2015

Cafe Oratnek, Redfern

Redfern has gotten a lot tastier with the addition of a new cafe. Bill's ex-head chef Kenny Takayama has gone on a new journey in his career and started his new establishment called Cafe Oratnek. Now, he's on a road to make his mark in the culinary world by giving his own twists to some food classics.




Oh hi Chef Kenny!


Oratnek opened earlier today in Redfern, corner of Pitt and James Streets. The interior/exterior space has a mixture of industrial and contemporary bistro look with some traces of a modern English cottage. There is a lot of available sitting both indoor and outdoor. The place had this vibe of a mini escape from the hustle and bustle of the nearby CBD. Coffee is sourced from Mecca and the bread from Brickfields. Everything else is made in-house by Kenny and his team. The dishes are modern Australian with touches and influences from different Asian cuisines. The breakfast menu is all day and the lunch menu starts at 11:30am.
Piccolo latte 
The piccolo latte ($3.50) I had was fruity and a tad floral from Mecca's dark horse blend with medium body. The milk temperature was also perfect and not too hot.
Bacon and free range egg roll


Part of the breakfast staple menu is their take on the classic bacon and egg roll ($12) with the inclusion of tomato chutney, mustard mayo and iceberg lettuce in a soft bun. I really liked the bacon, which is thicker than your average bacon rasher and is almost like a slab. It is smoky and not salty. The sweetness of the chutney and the light bite from the mustard work well. I think it could do without the lettuce as all the other components make this whole roll delicious already.
 
Sautéed mix wild mushrooms with miso, butter, goat's cheese and herbs on light rye toast
The sautéed mix wild mushrooms with miso, butter, goat’s cheese and herbs on light rye toast ($13) was also an awesome dish. I loved the contrasting textures of the toast with silky wild mushrooms. The flavours from the butter, milky goats cheese and sweet mushrooms came together well.
Miso bbq boneless beef short ribs, san choy bow and coriander dip


Last but not least is their miso bbq boneless beef short ribs, san choy bow and coriander dip ($21). The beef short ribs was sensational! It had all things one would love in bbq beef short ribs: fatty, flavoursome and it was extremely tender. It was nicely caramelised with a sweet and smoky miso glaze. It was even tastier with the lettuce wrap and pickled vegetables. Do yourself a favour and order this dish first when you visit!

It was only their first day of trading and they've done so well. Service and food were excellent. I definitely will return to try their pork katsu sandwich ($10), Japanese fried chicken sandwich ($10) and spicy pork stuffed chicken wings with chips ($18).

Cafe Oratnek
4 Pitt Street
Redfern NSW 2016

Opening hours:

Monday to Sunday: 7:00am - 4:00pm
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9 comments:

  1. ooh that's a very generous serving of mushrooms!

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  2. Well you've just answered a question for me Raff. I was wondering what was going to replace 'The Fern', I work in the big building just opposite. I'll have to stop in one day and have a look. The short ribs look great!!

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  3. whoa that mushroom dish sounds delish! mm definitely looks like the winning dish of them all

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  4. So glad redfern is expanding cafe places. My eyes on the miso bbq boneless beef short ribs!

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  5. First to the spot as always, Raff! I've already made plans to go

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  6. Oh dude, if you ever have the inclination to revisit this place hit me up - I'm super keen to try it out as everything looks so delicious!

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  7. How speedy were you with this post! lol. I was so tempted by the beef short ribs when I ate but couldn't resist the katsu sando. And the fried chicken sandwich. Heh

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  8. This cafe looks right up my alley, I'm loving the look of those gorgeous mushrooms on toast!

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  9. Very keen - especially because I'm seeing katsu sando everywhere in Insta now!

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Let me know what ya think, aight! Would love to hear from ya.