Dining review: Smalltown in Avalon on Sydney’s northern beaches
Smalltown puts as much emphasis on its coffee as its interesting cafe food.
Manly
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Killer bees, beetroot fritters and brownie milkshakes make Smalltown stand out in a crowd of cafe clones.
Coffee fans can tick off Single Origin Roasters’ killer bee house blend. Its tasting notes promise dark honey, toffee and tropical fruit. Served as a double-shot flat white, it delivers fruitiness and a heart-starting buzz.
Smalltown is caffeine heaven. Coffee is serious business. So much so, that it has a coffee menu on the outside board proudly displaying Seven Seeds Hula Colombia for espresso drinkers and La Manita Kagumoina AA from Kenya for filter coffee.
Smalltown even has a page in the NSW edition of a specialty coffee book published last year by Smudge, a small, Melbourne-based publishing house.
Move away from its coffee credentials and newish owners Belgians Cindy Deprez and Guy Smoulders have put French chef Arthur Clamen in charge of the kitchen.
His current spring menu wraps up breakfast, lunch and the space in-between with an interesting mix of seasonal bites.
He’s a lad who can flip more than just a burger — although he’s got one of those on the menu too. This big-flavoured monster stuffed with gherkin, double cheese, Smalltown sauce, lettuce and chips is a fave with teens and the hungry surfie set.
Do try the beetroot fritter — they’re so more than a breakfast purple people feeder that will appeal solely to health nuts and vegetarians. Clamen perks up his root veg patties with smashed avo, crumbled fetta and green herb oil.
The star is definitely the poached egg, dipped in a cuminy, crispy coating. Ours is over cooked, the yolk’s not runny, but the flavour is so good that all is forgiven. Add a side order of smoked trout — an extra $4 — and glass of Hunter Valley chardy and it turns into a respectable lunch.
Smalltown has jumped on the freshly squeezed juice and breakfast bowl bandwagon, but it also has plenty of sugary treats.
Brownie milkshakes come in two sizes and Belgian waffle french toast gets an adult treatment topped with mango and peanut crumb, coconut lime ice cream and chai syrup. OK, kids, you can keep that brownie milkshake.
It may be Smalltown, by name, but it’s anything but small town for its food.
Essentials
What: Smalltown
Where: 1/21-23 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon
Phone: 9443 2286
Open: Daily, from 7am to 3pm
Go for: Beetroot fritters with crumbed poached egg, $15; burger with the lot and fries, $21; waffle french toast with mango and peanut crumb, coconut lime ice cream, $15.50
Try: Waffle french toast
Coffee: Single Origin
Vibe: Small town, big flavours
Bottom line: $48
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