LynneRich

We are staying at the Park Hyatt Sydney for 6 nights in February, at the start of our 3 week trip to Australia (Sydney 6 nights, Blue Mtns 3 nights, Tasmania 5 nights, Melbourne 4 nights, Sydney 3 nights)and at the InterContinental for 3 nights at the end. Does anyone have any suggestions for good breakfast stops in the two areas of Sydney we're staying in?

Many thanks

mcben391

Hi. We stayed at the Park Hyatt in 2002. We had a great breakfast at The Gumnut Tea House just up the hill from the hotel. I will always remember the delicious,spicy "Merguez" sausages we had under the umbrella on their sunny patio. Enjoy you trip.

surferphilosopher

That place is the:
Gumnut Tea Garden,
28 Harrington St,
The Rocks 61 2 9247 9591 (don't use the 61 & 2 if dialling from within Sydney).

Portobello Cafe,
No. 3 East Circular Quay,
61 2 9247 8546
is on the opposite side of Circular Quay to where you are staying, but is in a lovely spot just near the Opera House right on the water.Will be about 7-10 mins walk around the water from your hotel.

Swagman's Post Cafe,
35 George St, The Rocks,
61 2 9241 5557
will be about 5-7 minutes (maybe less)walk from your hotel

Latte Brothers on the Rocks,
Shop R2/3 Nurses Walk
THE ROCKS
61 2 9252 2055 is just a bit farther on. I've had lunch here & it's quite good coffee & the food's o.k. & it's decent value.

The problem you have around The Rocks & Circular Quay is that some of the Cafes/Restaurants are overpriced tourist traps where the food isn't really that good.

For a lovely dinner try the
Aria Restaurant,
1 Macquarie St,East Circular Quay,
61 2 9252 2555

Feel free to have a look at my Sydney webpage at:

www.virtualtourist.com/m/5f1d7/1c86e2/

for my thoughts on that restaurants plus my recommended must sees in my hometown.

Regards,
Doug


www.ariarestaurant.com.au

shadowcat

I just returned from Sydney on Nov 30th and on our last morning we had breakfast at the Portobello Cafe. They don't have a lot of breakfast choices, but their "Aussie Breakfast" consisted of two eggs, a HUGE amount of crispy bacon, broiled tomato and a pile of toast. With juice, your choice of coffee AND a fabulous view of the Harbour Brdge and Opera House (all included), I think it was a deal at $20 AUD. I didn't eat breakfast there, but there is a great bakery called (I think) The Baker's Oven, right on George Street. They have a window full of great bakery items, including meat pies and courtyard seating in the back, along the Nurses' Walk. They serve breakfast all day and the plates I saw while having lunch looked wonderful.

If you are so motivated, we also had an exceptional breakfast in Manly, just a ferry ride from the Circular Quay. I apologize that I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it is directly across the street from where the ferry arrives, right on the corner. They had great Eggs Benedict, including my favorite, made with smoked salmon on Turkish bread.

Have fun! Wish I was there!

surferphilosopher

Yes, it's the:

Baker's Oven Cafe
121 George Street
THE ROCKS

61 2 9247 9978

Haven't tried it myself yet, but advertises itself as offering a vast range of snacks, specialising in vegetarian pies, homemade cakes, hamburgers and sandwiches. Open seven days. 6.00am - 9.00pm.

Btw Lynne they are two fabulous hotels you are staying in. I wonder which one you will enjoy more so I look forward to hearing about it when you return.

Any Cafes on Circlar Quay will still be easy walking downhill from the Intercontinental. And if you eat too much the walk back up the not too steep hill might help burn off some of those calories.

I will have to go into the city & do some research for you.

Regards,
Doug Long,
Sydney

LynneRich

Thank you eveyone for the recommendations - I'll report back on our return to England. I like a light continental type breakfast so the word bakery sounds good to me but my husband enjoys the full works so sounds like we'll both be satisfied!!! Could be putting on a few pounds in weight though!

surferphilosopher

Greetings from sunny Sydney Lynne,

Have been off doing research.

Today I had the abovementioned "Aussie Breakfast" & for the views which translate into ambience it's good value, but the food itself is only o.k., not gr8. I prefer poached or scrambled eggs & this is only a fried option. The coffee is only o.k., but not terrible. Your husband might enjoy that meal if he likes the hot substantial start to the day.
For you they have a choice of:
A variety of pastries & bread. e.g.
Apricot Danish $4, a range of croissants from sweet to savoury from $4 to $6, Scones with jam & cream $5.50, Friands wither almond or blueberry $3.50, Raisin Toast and of course a range of teas & coffees. It's about a 10 minute walk from both hotels. I walked past the Intercontinental today to get there.

I found another which is a bit of a gem in a lovely little historic part of Sydney about 2 minutes from the Intercontinental,but I must run now to pick up my almost 6 year old twin girls from school so I'll do another post later with this one & another seemingly really good one in another very historic sandstone building.

regards,
Doug

alice13

Sydney does great brekkies. A propos post from shadowcat - great spots in Manly and the ferry trip is fun. But much closer to the city is Balmain - a sort of Cafe Heaven. Take the ferry - only 10 mins to Balmain East (going under the bridge) and bus up Darling Street. Go on a Saturday when the market is on. And then after you have had brekkie, and done the market, you could just explore - do a history walk - or take a bus straight back to the city only 5km away.

drb

Go to Bill's in Darlinghurst-simply the best. We've been there on every visit to Oz we've made.

margo_oz

Yes - I also recommend Bills, either Darlinghurst, or Bills2 in Surry Hills.

Apparently they do other things for breakfast (people rave over their ricotta hotcakes) - but I just can't get past the scrambled eggs, on sourdough bread, with smoked salmon. One of life's little joys.

Peteralan

Another vote for Bills...not too far from the city centre.

realoc

Hi LynneRich,

My wife and I just returned from Sydney/Melbourne/Gold Coast. We stayed at the Park Hyatt Sydney. Although we found it the most expensive of the hotels we stayed at, it was very nice. We had a ocean premium room with opera house view, and it worked very well for us. We brought along our computer because of work requirements and were pleased with the high speed access. The hotel has been remodeled recently we were told and it looked like it. We ate at Agua Luna, nice and expensive; Wolfies, awful, and smelly; and the restuarant at the Park Hyatt, Harbor Kitchen I believe. Very nice. We had lunch one day at the Rock's Cafe, across from the Contemporary Museum, close to the hotel. Affordable meal, and historical type building. There is an Aboriginal art center that is cool a couple of doors down from there.

We stayed in South Yarra in Melbourne, so we mainly ate there, although I had a great lunch at La Cicciolina in St. Kilda. We also liked Caffe E Cucina on Chapel Street. Great Street to walk around. It is filled with fun shops/cafes. I saw a very cool bowling alley (did not partake), that had video screens above the pins. Obviously a young person's places, but very lively for a quick look. My wife evidently thought prices were reasonable for shoes, because she just kept buying them..

enjoy your trip.

LN

If your Tasmania portion of the trip includes Hobart then you can get some great bakery breakfasts!!

We found a nice bakery right in the heart of Hobart, just about two blocks up from the travelers Aid place. We had some of the best breakfasts ever while we were there and have not duplicated any like them since (and cheap too)