Corelli's Newtown - Review

Even though I’ve lived in the area for over three years, I only just went to Corelli’s for the first time two weeks ago. For some reason I always thought it was cash only and I never carry cash, so I guess that’s why I never went.

I was surprised with the options on the menu. At 7pm at night, I could order breakfast, 

lunch or dinner. That is a winner right there. I could get waffles at 7pm if I wanted to.

Last night, I went with S, his sister and her boyfriend. Between us, we ordered a coffee each and two plates of chicken nachos which were $12.90 each. The nachos are huge, so a serving each would have been ridiculous. We had planned to have cake afterwards, but we honestly couldn’t fit it. That’s how huge the servings are. The food is really good; fresh produce and plenty of toppings.

I noticed they served Vittoria brand coffee (which I generally don’t like), so I was hesitant ordering a coffee. I was however, pleasantly surprised at just how good it was – signs of a great barista. The tiny teddy on the side was a nice touch too.

The service was fast and friendly – though I have read reviews of others receiving bad service.  Perhaps we just got lucky.

I will admit, the café is nothing overly special. The décor is a little old and tired, but the food is cheap and it comes out fast. On face value, I don’t think you can expect that much from Corelli’s and maybe that is why I have such a positive review. It doesn’t look like much, but it does deliver.

If you are ever looking for a quick cheap bite then you can’t really go past Corelli’s.

Kitchen by Mike - Rosebery

Most weekends, S and I choose a different cafe to try out. This past weekend, we chose Kitchen by Mike after I read a review about it.

Upon arriving, I noticed there was a lot of seating which was mostly full. There was also a huge line up of people waiting to be served. Whilst I stood in line, S snagged a table and waited for me. I was in line for about half an hour because out of all the staff there, only one person was taking orders. I was starving and just wanted to order but the guy taking orders just wanted to chat to everyone.

S ordered the pancakes with lemon curd and I ordered yogurt with stewed fruit. Both meals were delicious though, mine was small and S's only had a small dollop of lemon curd; not enough for the 3 large pancakes in the stack.

I thought my breakfast was quite small. I had to eat some of S's pancakes so I didn't leave hungry. I gave S some fruit and yogurt so that he wasn't just eating dry pancakes. 

We love our coffee, especially on Saturday morning. Luckily, the coffee was fantastic.

The cafe itself is located in a warehouse which also houses Koskela which is a homeware shop of sorts.  It offers kooky and unique furniture items and good for the home. I enjoyed looking around, but it wasn't heated in that part and I was freezing cold, so we left to go home.

I'm not sure I will go back to Kitchen by Mike. I wasn't really happy with the service and the fact that after sharing S's food, I was still hungry.