Haymarket food hub Darling Square is not short on places to eat. It has the ten-restaurant Maker's Dozen, the jam-packed Steam Mill Lane and a dessert-filled laneway dubbed Electric Treat Street. In the latter, you'll fine the much anticipated new store by the Devon Cafe team.
The Devon team has found a winning formula with its cafes (located in Surry Hills, Barangaroo, North Sydney and Brisbane), but now it's trying something new: a Japanese take on the old-school Aussie milk bar. Dopa by Devon, as the new concept is called, has over twenty varieties of donburi. These rice bowls come topped with teriyaki chicken ($13-14), katsu pork ($16) and scrambled egg ($8) — plus more interesting flavours like cheeseburger wagyu ($13), beef tongue ($22) and lingcod ($14).
But, the dishes making waves on social media are Dopa's desserts. Matcha toast ($15.90), OTT parfaits ($9.90–11.90), loaded milkshakes ($7.90) — in flavours like truffle, mocha and matcha — and shaved ice desserts ($11.90) are all on the lineup, and we can't get enough of the latter. The strawberry kakigori (Japanese shaved ice dessert) is sweet, surprisingly creamy and refreshing. We think it'll be a big hit with city workers during the summer months.
Designed by local Darlinghurst studio Tom Mark Henry, the 70-seat cafe offers a range of bar, banquette and outdoor seating. Expect light timber furniture, red tiles and pastel finishes throughout. Japanese manga artist Andrew Yee has also created the venue's 'Dopa Boy' logo.
Images: Kimberley Low and Jasper Avenue