Double Roasters

Overview

Marrickville is famous for its pork rolls, Vietnamese food, and tasty yeeros. Now we can safely say some of Sydney's hottest cafes ply their trade in that part of the inner west. Cornersmith, Bourke St Bakery, and Coffee Alchemy have all made a name for themselves in Marrickville, and Double Roasters deserves to be in the same conversation as these cafes.

Double Roasters has breathed life into a 1950s warehouse. Inside the cafe is a wave of activity: the espresso machine is purring away, with the barista furiously pumping out hot coffee; the coffee blender is sucking and spitting out aromatic beans; and staff are scurrying back and forth with plates of food.

One of the selling points of Double Roasters is its passion for coffee. Single origin beans are roasted on site in 12kg batches, ensuring superior quality and consistency. After a sip of a flat white made from the Flight Path house blend, its clear these guys know their coffee. It's strong and smooth at the same time, subtlety awakening the senses.

The menu is straightforward and you'll definitely get bang for your buck. The breakfast menu is dominated by vegetarian options like sauteed field mushrooms on sourdough with pecorino ($8); Double Roasters muesli with fruit salad, organic yoghurt, and honey ($7.50); or Pembroke Farm organic free-range poached eggs with toast ($8.50). And if you like some animal with breakfast? Add ham ($4) to anything you order; try the poached chicken sandwich with rocket, tomato, avocado salsa, and mayo ($9); or go for the croque monsieur, a ham and gruyere cheese toasted sandwich ($10).

The roast pork belly sandwich with apple and mint relish, rocket, and aioli on toasted sourdough ($9.50) is good but not great. The roast pork belly is juicy but not melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the apple and mint relish gets lost amongst the mountain of rocket. The dish is somewhat saved by the toasted sourdough from Sonoma Bakery, and for $9.50, it's not a bad option. The avocado and feta mash with cherry tomato and rocket on Turkish bread ($8.50) sounds better than when it arrives on the table. Although the avocado and feta mash is light and blended together well, again there seems to be too much of the rocket, which lowers the quality of the dish.

The best dish of the day is easily the house-made baked beans with eggs, prosciutto, and spinach ($12). The eggs and spinach are woven together with the baked beans and topped off with freshly sliced prosciutto, creating a satisfying breakfast without the heaviness of something like bacon and eggs.

Double Roasters is the perfect local cafe with brilliant coffee and a decent food offering. It's how a cafe should be: full of life and the perfect start to the day.