Playing Duck Duck Goose, Randwick

Duck Duck Goose on Avoca Street in Randwick is a cafe serving breakfast and lunch with hearty portions. The crowd is made up of uni students and parents with kids. There is a dedicated area for children to play in, recycled timber tables and a fridge full of raw sweets as well as a menu full of brunch favourites.

You sometimes forget about what's closest on your doorstep for a quick brunch meal. Randwick's Duck Duck Goose is a refreshing change service wise. I rang to see if it was open on the public holiday weekend and asked if there was a long wait. They offered to hold a table which was a nice change.

There is an all day breakfast and lunch available. I am tempted by an all day breakfast even if it is lunchtime and we start with some drinks: A Mexican mocha for Mr NQN and a Tippity chai latte for me.

The Mexican mocha is fantastic-spicy and chocolatey it is given more body from the coffee but cinnamon is the dominant flavour. The chai latte is generously portioned with two cups' worth in glass pourer. I ask for a little honey to go with it. Oddly enough though, when we go back another day, I order a chai latte and Mr NQN says "Nothing for me". I don't get it in a teapot and despite Mr NQN not wanting anything we receive two glasses of chai latte. They're not as good as the first time and we are charged $3.50 for each of them. Confusing.

There are two choices on the menu that stand out for us: home made crumpets and the sweet potato pancakes. The crumpets come three to a serve, crispy edged and quite soft and served with a chunk of oozy honeycomb and a side of butter.

The sweet potato pancakes come with maple syrup, crispy beechwood bacon and a tiny poached pear as well as a quennelle of thick cream. The sweet potato imparts the pancakes with a natural sweetness and their texture is spongy but firm. I didn't really think it needed the pear.

We come back another day to try out the lunch time offerings. The burgers in particular looked good and I toss up between a Southern Fried Chicken burger and a Korean Fried Chicken burger. The waitress steers me towards the Southern Fried burger. The chicken fillet is juicy and crunchy, two musts when it comes to a calorie commitment of this sort. It is sauced with smoked paprika aioli, Beechwood smoked bacon, American cheese and crisp lettuce. The fries look to be house made and are crispy and come with the skin on.

It was a warm day and while I'd normally order two burgers to share with Mr NQN I thought we'd go with a salad instead. There are two on the menu and this one has bbq corn, baby corn, herbs, Meredith Dairy goats cheese, pepitas and a Chardonnay dressing. You can also add house smoked salmon, beef brisket or grilled chicken breast, halloumi or sencha smoked tofu to the salad and I go for the halloumi. I really enjoyed this salad. It has just the right balance of flavours and the chardonnay vinaigrette has a little sweetness to it that balances well with the salty halloumi. There's also an enormous slice of toast that comes with it and it's a sizeable meal.

There's goat milk gelato available too but I'm completely full from lunch but its close proximity to home means that we'll probably be back for more!

So tell me Dear Reader, would you go for a salad or burger? And do you have a local cafe that you frequent? And do you look for child friendly places?

These meals were independently paid for.

Duck Duck Goose

136-138 Avoca Street, Randwick, NSW
02 8318 0463
Monday to Friday: 7:30am-3:30pm
Weekends: 8am-4pm