Kudo

Overview

You'd be forgiven for not even noticing the fact that tiny CBD bakery-cafe Kudo, with its wafting scent of freshly baked bread and tempting-looking pastries, is entirely 100-percent gluten-free.

Nestled around the side of The Hotel Windsor's ground level, this hole-in-the-wall spot is the work of husband-and-wife chef duo Felix Goodwin and Elena Nguyen whose combined CV includes Saigon Sally, The European and Sunda. Two years in the making, Kudo was born out of the couple's desire to find reliably tasty baked goods they could both enjoy (Goodwin is a coeliac).

Through extensive research, experimentation and taste-testing, the pair has created a daily-changing menu of creative cakes, pastries, breads and other gluten-free treats to star at their diminutive debut venture.

Native ingredients get quite a look-in here, via creations like a choux layered with late-summer Tasmanian cherries, fior di latte from That's Amore and basil cream.

Traditionally crafted canelés might come in flavours ranging from piña colada to tiramisu. Further your sweet tooth with some choux puffs (perhaps some limited-edition ones filled with brûléed buttered popcorn custard) an intriguing chilli-and-chocolate praline madeleine, or the chewy mochi cookie with matcha, macadamia and white chocolate. The rotating lineup of gluten-free breads could include anything from sesame rolls to a new take on a Danish-style seeded rugbrød.

Admire Kudo's timber-filled, terrazzo-floored fitout by architect Kei Kitayama as you wait for your Ona coffee.

Images: Parker Blain