Citrus Cafe

227 King St
Newtown 2042 NSW
(02) 9557 3582

Z had a mid-morning meeting in Newtown and decided to use the opportunity to grab brekkie in a King Street eatery. After ten paces in the rising heat of the a.m., the words "Air Conditioned!" scrawled across the closed up windows of Citrus convinced this gastronaut to park her moonbuggy and cool her jets inside.

Z contemplated a big breakfast, with bacon, eggs, tomatos and toast but was and is perpetually disappointed that baked beans weren't part of this feast (and they never seem to be anywhere else as well). What's the point of a morning fry up without the beans? Then the magic W word caught her eye - WAFFLES! Bring it on! Even in the A/C, it was still too hot contemplate a Chai Latte, so Z ordered a Banana & Strawberry smoothy (made with fruit, ice cream, yogurt and honey - $5.90), which arrived at the table shortly thereafter in a tall sode fountain glass. It was creamy, handsome, cool, sweet and gone by the time the waffle plate ($14.90) arrived.

The rectangular plate was covered in a pile of cute little waffle hearts, with mixed berry compote in a side bowl, light coloured maple syrup on the other side, and generous dollops of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream completing the landscape of the plate. Garnished with flecks of cinnamon for visual appeal, the waffle breakfast was almost too pretty to eat and too tempting not to. As much as Z liked the smoothy, she regretted ordering it and consuming it before the waffle plate. Stuffed halfway through the meal, she tried valiantly to make a happy plate, but had to surrender two hearts and half a bowl of compost from the end. It was wonderfully decadent.

Sitting near the window, Citrus offers a prime position for watching the biodiversity of Newtown life wander by while satisfying your appetite. At this late morning weekday hour, the cafe was half full, service was cheerful and friendly, and the atmosphere was perfect for an inner city brunch. Z did think it took them quite a while just to make a plate of waffles, but since she was luxuriating in the cool breeze of the air con, she didn't mind.

Order the brekkie and hold off on extras. The serving size will fill your little waffle heart's desire.

Rating (out of 10): 9