Slinky Espresso

Overview

The discovery of Slinky Espresso was one of those 'yes!' moments. It's not often you uncover a gem left hidden.  Tucked away in unsuspecting Fairfield between a Liquor Land and sushi train (stay with me here…) this popular and trendy cafe is the last thing you expect to find in such location, but well worth a visit to those from out of the area.

The first thing that'll catch your eye is Slinky's striking mural. Next is the crowd of locals perched on bar stools and around tables outside, many with their pooches here for a morning coffee. Inside, the cafe has a welcoming and trendy interior that says cool without being pretentious, with the coffee machine buzzing and smiling staff making the atmosphere shine.

The beauty of venturing outside the inner-city to more humble establishments is finding a gourmet breakfast for under $15. With the exemption of its big breakfast, Slinky is well-priced in every way, including extras. Nothing irks myself more than forking out $5 for a side of avocado on top of a breakfast meal already tipping $20. Speaking of avocado, Slinky are generous (and artistic) with its classic avo toast ($8.5) offering – served on toasted sourdough with all the trimmings.

With well-priced extras in mind, the vege stack ($13) with roasted pumpkin, haloumi, rocket, poached eggs and pesto on toasted sourdough, was screaming out for a serve of hollandaise ($1.5). As a sucker for an eggs benny, this DIY vegetarian version more than hit the spot – it may have bumped benny down a spot.

With the sharing nature of the internet it is hard to keep much a secret these days, and we're so glad we stumbled upon Slinky. The secret is now out, and there is no longer an excuse not to know.