MilkBar

Overview

MilkBar has big shoes to fill. Located smack bang next to the Dendy on King Street, this Newtown newbie inhabits the spot where the old Cinque used to be — the spot endowed with the responsibility of warming up serious moviegoers with a bit of grub. Fortunately, MilkBar doesn't disappoint.

It opens out onto King Street, and passersby eagerly pop in for some takeaway; a famed Coffee Alchemy brew or a homemade blueberry muffin, moist and deliciously dense, is enough for punters to want to pull up a chair. The menu is popular with locals who can be found happily chatting away at one of the booths, tables, or quirky wooden wheel stools for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The eggs benedict ($10) sing out from the breakfast menu, with a thick, flavoursome hollandaise sauce that is complemented well by the avocado and feta add-on ($3 extra).

The red omelette ($13) is a wholesome combination of chorizo, potato, spinach and Spanish onion in what may be one of the largest omelettes you've ever seen. While the omelette itself could benefit from some fresh herbs, there's always the buttery bread accompaniment. Can't go past a few morning carbs, we say.

Lunch and dinner offers an assortment of burgers and pastas amongst a few exotic numbers. The pumpkin quesadilla ($14) lives on from the cafe's Cinque past, packed with pumpkin, capsicum, cheese, chilli, and coriander. The spaghetti meatballs ($16) are homely and warming. And vegetarians will surely find solace in the quinoa veggie burger ($14), served with chips or salad.

But temptation really lies in the cake selection; mud cake, tarts, and a variety of cheesecakes, including a creamy baked ricotta cake, are served for $8 a slice. Enhance the richness of each mouthful with something from MilkBar's drinks menu, such as a decadent hot chocolate ($4.50). It can be flavoured by the likes Mars bar, peppermint, or Turkish delight, which you'll find swimming in the bottom of the glass.

With attentive staff and atmosphere aplenty, MilkBar's our pick for a prolonged bite to eat before catching a flick. Be sure to get in early on the weekend, however, because the tables fill up quick.