Review: Little Collins in Freshwater on Sydney’s northern beaches
Freshwater’s latest cafe keeps bang on trend with healthy juices, coffees and acai bowls.
Manly
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Names can be deceptive. Little Collins, Freshwater’s new cafe, has no connection with Melbourne.
Andrew Harrington’s third cafe does have strong ties to the northern beaches, the cafe manager explains.
That local connection comes from Collins Flat, the harbour beach between North Head and Little Manly Cove.
Freshie beach is closer, but who’s going to quibble about a name? Harrington’s other cafes are Bloom in Mosman and Outpost Espresso in Collaroy.
Little Collins Freshwater is where the Bent Fork was.
Harrington’s latest dog-friendly venue channels all the cafe staples.
It’s a juice bar, there’s Campos coffee for caffeine fans and a range of healthy eats. A few naughty eats do come into play after 11am on the Feeling Hungry section.
Then, and only then, it’s burger o’clock. There’s a crumbed chicken burger with bacon and chipotle aioli and the signature Collins burger. Think 150g of wagyu pattie with crispy bacon, cheese and tomato. And chips.
That’s 18 bucks of deep-fried salivation, followed by an afternoon of guilt.
In the queue for late breakfast orders, smashed avo on toast and bacon and egg rolls are popular Wednesday morning orders.
Breakfast is neatly sectioned under Rise + Shine and The Kickstarter.
Rise + Shine has porridge, granola, Bircher muesli and that darling of the all-day breakfast world, the acai smoothie bowl.
More substantial eats — and there are 12 of them — feature under The Kickstarter banner.
Choices include truffled mushrooms on sourdough, eggs benedict served three ways (all bad) and the quinoa and vegie stuffed Collins bowl, altogether a much healthier option.
The reheat button on the microwave corn fritter stack makes the dish rubbery. It’s a shame because the tomato relish is quite tasty and the poached egg is perfectly runny.
There’s an art to the preparation of the perfect acai smoothie bowls, and it’s not just in the neat freak presentation.
Consistency is important, I’m told by my acai-eating companion. This one is pretty much spot on.
I’m no expert, so I’ll leave that one to the professionals and twitchy-fingered Instagrammers.
The Verdict: 3/5
The Price: $52.70 for two
Details: Little Collins, 6-8 Lawrence St, Freshwater
Open: Seven days, 6am-4pm
Go for: Juices, Campos Coffee, breakfast
Vibe: Hipster without hype