It’s not possible to do justice to the coffee scene in Sydney in only two weeks of vacation. There are a few dozen places. All serve great coffee and food. All deserve some attention and acknowledgement. The few that I chose to visit were mostly random chance of whatever caught my eye in Foursquare or Yelp and wasn't too far away. I was staying in Surrey Hills, Ultimo and Coogee. It turns out Zomato has a better coverage of Australia which I only realized late into my explorations here.
I base my selection on ambience, coffee quality, and quality of the foods other than coffee. Then of those, I note cafes that are good for long stays as well: sitting, working and reading. I won’t rank any of these explicitly since there are so many good ones. How well the coffee tastes at a fine level depends on the individual barista working that day. None of these will disappoint you. Visit them all. Visit others too. Rinse, repeat.
What else is needed to make a cafe good for spending extended periods of time? If on a laptop and doing that kind of work, availability of WiFi and electricity. But mostly, it needs to be a large enough space to allow you to feel like you’re not an imposition on other customers by sitting there for an extended period of time. Many of these are tiny and not a sure choice for spending extended periods of time unless you’re familiar with the non-busy times, or have a different comfort level than me about "squatting".
Some of these could be considered the gastropub equivalent of a coffee shop. I note those with a "+" in the food column.
| Name | Location | Food other than pastries | WiFi/ Electricity | Good for long stays? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KWILA | Surry Hills | Yes | Tiny | ||
| Edition coffee roasters | Darlinghurst | +, Creative asian fusion bunch | called by some a Michelin star coffee shop if there were one | ||
| Bell and Anchor | Coogee | +, Yes | WiFi | maybe | Great view of Coogee Bay. While it’s small, it might be ok to work here |
| Gusto Espresso | Coogee | Sandwiches, Muesli | WiFi, no outlets | Y | While it’s small, it might be ok to work here |
| Reformatory Caffeine lab | Surry Hills | Limited | Tiny, dark | ||
| Sample Coffee Roasters | Surry Hills | Limited | Tiny | ||
| Black Sugar Coffee | CBD | + | Paid WiFi sometimes available, ample outlets | Y | Public space of Telstra building. Use Slayer. |
| Coco Cubano | Darlinghurst | yes, alcohol too | WiFi, but no outlets I can remember | ||
| Haven (tailoring coffee joyously) | Surry Hills | yes, alcohol too | no WiFi, no outlets I can remember | maybe | Near central station. Was quiet at 8am but supposedly gets very busy. Just installed a Slayer Steam. |
| Proteini | Darlinghurst | + | no WiFi, no outlets I can remember | Y | While it’s small, it might be ok to work here |
| Paramount Coffee Project | Surry Hills | + | no WiFi, no outlets I can remember | maybe | While it’s a bit larger, I think it's mostly not a place for working. It gets pretty busy and popular. |
I like visiting new coffee shops. This time it was Sydney. Have you been to any other cafes in Sydney that you'd recommend? Is there a city that you would like to explore?