There’s nothing I love more than discovering a new place and telling you about it Dear Reader. One such instance is a recent visit to Blackwattle Cafe, in Blackwattle Bay Glebe open since December last year. I know that waterside dining is usually the area of restaurants although sometimes, just sometimes, a cafe can sneak into the picture. And in turn it is usually embraced and loved by locals.
After the deluge of rain we’ve been having recently, a sunny day seems cause enough for celebration. I mean it’s not like we’re going to take our shirts off like they do in other cities when the weather turns warm but quite honestly I was shaking my fist at the sky every day while my laundry piled up demanding that the rain stop. So when Buxom Wench, Silver Fox and I find ourselves looking for a lunch date one gorgeously sunny Autumn Friday afternoon we decided to head towards the water. We arrive at Blackwattle Bay and following the map we drive as far as we can down the street.
“Where is it?” Buxom Wench says.
“I have no idea” I answer, completely clueless.
There’s perhaps really only one place it can be and approaching it from the street it isn’t immediately obvious as there is no signage so we head towards the water where sparkling Blackwattle Bay is giving us a prime view of its wares on this beautiful day. The Anzac bridge sits suspended up above and we pass a sandwich board for the Blackwattle Cafe as we take the long way round via the front. There are gaggles of mums with their babies who are playing with the toys provided (Buxom Wench notes with approval that they are good toys).
The cafe is housed in an 1896 Victorian house with Italianate features called Bellevue House. It is very busy this Friday afternoon with two large groups of diners in two semi private rooms and everyone else scattered among the rooms and outdoor area. The building is nicely restored with interesting treatments on the walls and a warm, cozy atmosphere. The menu is compact with about half a dozen offerings in total but it does encompass a bit of everything: a pate, a pie, a salad, a sandwich and a slow cooked dish. Coffee is by The Little Marionette and bread is by Sonoma but everything else is said to be made on the premises.
Chai $4
I try my chai. I’m not a huge fan of hot drinks in glasses and it always seems so counter intuitive to serve a hot drink in a glass without a handle but it seems most places are insistent on serving lattes like this. The chai itself isn’t a standout nor is it bad but I don’t think I would order it again.
Duck Liver Pate with toasted ciabatta $12
The pate comes out first as requested and it comes with caper berries and five generous slices of toasted Sonoma ciabatta bread and a sweet jellied top. The actual texture of the pate is firm, like fridge hardened ganache, perhaps too firm but the flavour is excellent without any bitterness and the overly firm texture is forgiven with the lovely flavour.
Pork and Pistachio Pie with Salad & Relish $18
The pork and pistachio pie arrives in a pithivier form. Inside it is all hues of pink studded with green pistachios and we marvel at its prettiness. We take a bite and the filling and pastry is just like a sausage roll rather than a pie filling. Of all of the dishes, this is a favourite of the table. The tomato relish is very sweet, a bit too sweet for the pie as I’m hankering for some regular tomato sauce to go with my sausage roll …ahem pie!
Beef cheeks $22
The beef cheeks arrive looking quite unlike beef cheeks that you usually see (I suppose we’re used to seeing them in pommes puree with a rich jus). These come rolled in crumbs and fried and sitting in a rich tomato and onion based sauce, creme fraiche and some slices of roasted parsnip. The beef cheeks have an almost offally flavour but they come together nicely when you add the creme fraiche and thick stewed tomatoes although I didn’t really go for this without the creme fraiche.
Autumn Salad $15
The Autumnal salad has a bit of everything for the new season. There are chickpeas, tomato, radish and Persian feta amongst the leaves and it is dressed in a simple tangy vinaigrette dressing.
Tipsy Cake $15
Now if you had asked any one of us what we thought a tipsy cake might have looked like it would not resemble this. We had expected a version of a tea cake whereas this is a trifle made with crushed Italian biscuits, fresh figs, kiwifruit and the piece de resistance-twinkly, sparkly sauternes jelly. Some of the biscuits haven’t soaked up the alcohol so they give a dry crunch which I don’t know really go for but the jelly and the sherry soaked biscuits and cream are a lovely touch We all vow to make sauternes jelly at home we’re so taken with it. However one thing to note is that the desserts did seem quite expensive for a cafe especially when you compare them to the prices of the mains.
Peppermint tea $4
Curiously, Buxom Wench’s pot of tea comes without a lid – odd and without explanation. Nevertheless, given the view and the sterling company we couldn’t imagine a better way to settle in for the weekend. We slowly amble off after eating where our table is snaffled shortly after.
So tell me Dear Reader, how do you ease into a weekend?
Blackwattle Cafe
55 Leichhardt Street, Glebe, NSW 2037
Tel: +61 (02) 9692 9785
Daylight saving hours: 7 days 6:30am-8pm
Non daylight saving hours: 6 days 6:30am-6pm
http://blackwattlecafe.com/
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48 Comments | Add your own
Love the setting! It’s like a party at someone’s house. The food looks fab too!
Beautiful photos, Lorraine! Great location – amazing views of the water!
I love how this cafe is in a house like setting.
It feels like home eating there!
i don’t like hot beverages in glasses either! it has always bothered me.
i ease into a weekend by sleeping in
What a beautiful location! The tipsy cake looks scrumptious, if misleadingly named. I like to ease into a weekend by sleeping in!
I love a glass of wine on the lounge on Friday evening, it is my signal to relax and plan the weekend.
A morning workout on Saturday tends to do the trick for me! Although that is probably more like ‘leaping’ into a weekend than ‘easing’ into it lol
Gorgeous area!
I love the idea of dining in different rooms in the house
~~May I have the “Pork and Pistachio Pie,” please with a nice glass of Cup-Cake Merlot.
xxx Kisses from your greatest fan, L.
Lovely looking cafe and great location.
In winter I like to ease into the weekend by relaxing and watching masterclass on the Friday night (love!) or alternatively, catching up with friends for dinner.
Looks beautiful! We ease in with lazy pancakes or french toast on a Saturday morning. Regular if I’m making them, adventure ones if Husband is! (usually involving the addition of cocoa or custard powder
)
$15 for a dessert is abit much compared to the other prices of food you are right.
my way of easing into the weekend would be hitting the gym or some outdoor activity (pre burning calories as weekends are my cheat days!)
The food doesn’t excite me but the look of the cafe and the location does, never knew it even existed. I love the little cafe/kiosk at little manly!
I was obsessed with pork pies when I went to Scotland with Stud. Its all I ever wanted haha. No wonder I put on so much weight over there but they are just too hard to resist!
I had no idea this place had opened. I know the area very well and knew of the building – great to hear we can frequent it. A better location would be hard to find
Wonderful location, seemingly somewhat ho-hum offerings! The autumn salad appealed! Now: don’t laugh nor disbelieve – all my life I have never differentiated between weekdays and the weekend – basically because I have most times either ‘done my own thing’ when I take time off when something interesting appears on the horizon or because I have worked in areas when the weekend is actually the busy time!! No, it has never bothered me – I do take each day as it comes and make it as fulfilling work and pleasure-wise as I can!!
Ooh look at those beef cheeks! Although the tomato onion sauce looks more like a thick salsa. What a fab location!
The beef cheeks in breadcrumbs is interesting although I think I would still prefer it meltingly soft with a rich puree sauce.
Hehe, I have a toddler, there is no ‘easing’ into the weekend
This looks like a nice way to spend it though
Your’s sounds like a perfect weekend to me -I love a nice, relaxing get together. The food you had looks quite different to normal cafe food and the idea of a house setting is just so novel!
That sausage roll…pie looks really good – Yum!!
this is my local cafe – I think I must have just missed you… I love it because they are so dog friendly and the coffee is decent! You should try it again on a Friday evening for a drink and snack. It’s perfect place to unwind for the weekend!
Fried beef cheeks? That must be insanely rich tasting. And that pork-pistachio pie looks like a perfect nosh on a cold,lazy day. Wish I had a couple of ‘em right now.
Oooh, I’m not much of a meat/pie/sausage roll lover, but the prok and pistachio creation looks lovely! Mostly, though I want the pate with the caperberries. oh, how I love capers!
This weekend will be my last in Italy, so a day in Florence will be needed.
love the look of this place – I hope to be heading here soon, especially as it’s so child friendly!
I walk my dog past here every day – never knew it was a cafe! Must go sample the yummyness
Mmm beef cheeks. I also don’t understand hot drinks in glasses with no handles.
But what a gorgeous location – overall the food looks great too
I’ve never seen beef cheeks presented that way before either, I’m glad they tasted fine.
As I usually work one day each weekend I still work hard! At least I have an extra hours grace before rushing off.
Have tried here twice (as a local) and both times it fell flat.
Both times were breakfast – service flat, food pretty average … nothing on Revolver/Comptoir/Clover
Takeaway coffee last Saturday morning took 25 mins (for 2x takeaway soy lattes)
Great location but stops there.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been dying to try this place for AGES.
The place looks nice! I love the setting and the view!
I have a friend who live round the corner, so we may go there together! 
Easing our way into the weekend involves a post school trip to the Central Market in Adelaide to plan the food on the weekend based on what’s seasonally available, followed by a cheap and cheerful Chinese dinner in Gouger Street. Everyone’s happy – even the 7 year old!
The name makes me giggle. And that’s my kind of meat pie!
The pork and pistachio pie looks delicious. I was just looking at the photo at the beginning thinking the tiles on the floor look very much like the traditional floors many apartments have here in Milan when you then mentioned the Italianate detail.
This definitely looks like the perfect way to settle into the weekend, Lorraine! The food sounds good, especially the pate!
Snap! Hot drinks in glasses are a pet hate of mine.
Re weekends, I love to either sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast with the paper while the kids watch morning telly; or get up early and ravage a market with them.
Like Ben, I too am a local. I too, gave this place more chances than it deserved, really. The food is overrated and overpriced. The coffee is ordinary. The quality of the service depends on many things: who’s on, how patient or not you are feeling, and how busy or not it is. That it is dog friendly is great; that it is crying-baby-pram-friendly is annoying; that smokers are banned from lighting up OUTSIDE ON THE GRASS AREA is just plain stupid.
Blackwattle Cafe is rubbish and I will continue to instead haunt a number of much better cafes in Glebe. If you want a view with a side order of lunch, pack a picnic.
This weekend I’m off to check out a new little food place at a winery here in Canberra. Love discovering new places. Fried beef cheeks??!! Interesting presentation huh.
I wonder if the sonoma bread was from the masterchef stock?? About time they had some more cafes around that area.
Susan, I’m trusting your comment is steeped in sarcasm..
I’m quite taken by that pie – it’s like no other pie I’ve ever seen!
The pork pie looks gorgeous, I can see what it was a fave.
As beautiful as this cafe is it is really unfortunate that its food and service leave quite a bit to be desired, especially by glebe standards (maybe that is our problem we are spoilt). I really want this place to be great as I love the space and was waiting for something like this to open up… however it just falls short of the mark every time. I hope they read this and decide to learn something from their neighbours down the road, as its such a shame its not as good as it could be!
Today we decided to try The Blackwattle Cafe. I must say the experience was mixed. The barista was doing a great job and we enjoyed our coffee. Unfortunately the waitstaff were inattentive. We waited 1 1/2 hours to be told our breakfast order was forgotten. We were never asked for a second order of coffee, or if we needed anything at all(other than the breakfast order) and we were left with the distinct feeling of being invisible. People who arrived after us were given better service and moved to better tables. I live 100mtrs from the cafe and was considering hiring the venue for a function. Sadly my first visit proved terribly disappointing. The staff appear to forgot the most basic principle of business. Focus on the customer not each other and your drop in friends.
John Clare
Glebe Point resident.
Give them a break – they are in their first year of business and steadily sorting out any deficits along the way. eg they are planning a separate coffee counter on the other side of the house to turn coffee only orders around more quickly.
1) You have to wait longer for your order in any cafe that is STUPIDLY busy at the weekend. 2) You are daft to wait an hour and a half for your order! – why not be assertive and ahoy the waiter – he or she would be more than apologetic and hasten your order toute suite. 3) You could move to a better table as one became free, they get snapped up fast during busy periods. 3) If you enquired or read their website you would have already learned that council restrictions prevent them from hiring the venue for a function because its a residential area.
4) Why not write a polite letter directly to the cafe to constructively suggest improvements?
5) I have been going there since the day it was opened and it was much better before it was ‘discovered’ by the complaining hoardes.
Asked for water glasses after ten minutes. Waited for two coffees for 20 minutes – cappucino served instead of the latte requested. Just over ten minutes to receive correct order – the latte – while companion’s went cold waiting. Waited for meal for almost an hour. Asked maile attendant to check on lunch. Served with clipped (he had to have the last word) “it was 45 minutes” and how busy they were. (get more staff? Alert your customers to the fact and apologise in advance for huge delay? it was mexican wraps and coffees for two people). Time to pay. What table were you at? No number. Well where was it? Went thru menu – cappucino – no it was a latte. Rolled eyes,well they’re the same price. Rang up bill, no smile, nothing. I won’t be back when I returne to Oz again and my international friends will not be taken there, likewise Sydney-based family. Customer service awful. Food just OK. View stupendous, but just the same for a gourmet picnic we will pack in future! Boo sucks to you all at Blackwattle Cafe. mh
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