Trainspotting - CLOSED

Overview

Given it shares its name with the famous nineties drug film, it’s apt that Trainspotting is drawing addicts — albeit of a different kind. The brainchild of Cameron Macpherson, previously of Restaurant Pepper in Balmain and Pier in Rose Bay, this unassuming café is giving Lewisham locals a long-awaited caffeine kick, and coffee connoisseurs something new to buzz about. At $3.50 a cup, Trainspotting’s Bills Bean blend is silky smooth, and the baristas know their macchiatos from their piccolo lattes. Non coffee-drinkers are catered for with juices, milkshakes and tea. Our pick is the chai — it’s the perfect mix of spicy and sweet.

The breakfast menu features the usual suspects — eggs with toasted sourdough, and granola with a dollop of rhubarb compote — as well as a number of in-house specialties. We tried the Trainspotting Envy ($13) — poached eggs on a bed of spinach leaves topped with a feta and basil sauce — and it went down a treat. But they’re really on track with the baked eggs ($16) — think eggs, bacon, chorizo, beans and mushrooms served in a mini fry pan (for vegetarians, there’s a haloumi and eggplant version). Trainspotting’s got lunchtime munchies covered as well, with a selection of salads and sandwiches, including a full-blown cheese party of a Panini — swiss, goat, cheddar and bocconcini cheese all hanging out between two slices of bread.

The décor is charmingly shabby, with references both to Lewisham station (conveniently located across the road) and Danny Boyle’s movie of the same name (apparently one of Macpherson’s favourites). The scratchy paint, exposed brickwork and recycled timber wouldn’t look out of place in a dingy apartment in Edinburgh, and the tunes playing in the background (we heard The Smiths, The Velvet Underground and Veruca Salt) are on par with Trainspotting’s cult soundtrack. An old railway bench doubling as a communal dining table adds to the “train” theme, as does the Thomas the Tank Engine box filled with crayons that’s perched on the front counter. It’s a small space, but with its quirky touches (check out the souvenir teaspoons, and the kids’ drawings tacked to the wall), tasty food and excellent coffee, it’s a little engine that could.

Photo by Joanna Lowry.