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Leisurely late breakfasts and shaken tahini lattes star at this cruisy beach cafe

Excellent scrambled eggs, a za’atar-flecked brekky plate and exemplary service are just the ticket at Noon in Manly.

Lenny Ann Low
Lenny Ann Low

Exemplary service and a community vibe say ‘stay, stay, stay’ at Noon.
1 / 10Exemplary service and a community vibe say ‘stay, stay, stay’ at Noon.Dion Georgopoulos
Scrambled eggs with black lime za’atar crisp, sourdough and cultured butter.
2 / 10Scrambled eggs with black lime za’atar crisp, sourdough and cultured butter.Dion Georgopoulos
Ginger cake.
3 / 10Ginger cake.Dion Georgopoulos
Noon owner Luke Miller
4 / 10Noon owner Luke MillerDion Georgopoulos
Bacon and egg with focaccia, free-range egg, smoked bacon and barbeuce sauce.
5 / 10Bacon and egg with focaccia, free-range egg, smoked bacon and barbeuce sauce.Dion Georgopoulos
Rosti with cured ocean trout, fennel and herb salad, lemon myrtle, creme fraiche.
6 / 10Rosti with cured ocean trout, fennel and herb salad, lemon myrtle, creme fraiche. Dion Georgopoulos
Matcha latte.
7 / 10Matcha latte.Dion Georgopoulos
8 / 10 Dion Georgopoulos
Breakfast plate with za’atar, ocean trout, boiled egg and mountain
bread.
9 / 10Breakfast plate with za’atar, ocean trout, boiled egg and mountain bread.Dion Georgopoulos
Shaken tahini latte.
10 / 10Shaken tahini latte.Dion Georgopoulos

Cafe$

Noon, which opened in April on a semi-residential street a few blocks from Manly Beach, serves breakfast dishes from the crack of dawn until early afternoon.

No one, whether sitting on the dark ruby leather banquette curving the length of two walls, or the robyn egg-blue stools inside and out, is fazed by eating scrambled eggs with black lime za’atar crisp, or ricotta crepes laced with roast grape, almond and orange blossom, as the clock ticks past midday.

Time is elastic at this street corner cafe, the air occasionally punctured by schoolchildren’s shouts at the nearby primary. It could be 8am or 1pm, Monday or Sunday.

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Scrambled eggs with black lime za’atar crisp, sourdough and cultured butter.
Scrambled eggs with black lime za’atar crisp, sourdough and cultured butter.Dion Georgopoulos

On an autumnal Tuesday, Noon is abloom with every age group at myriad pursuits. A toddler grasps the tall footpath tree outside, a crispy Noon hash brown in hand. A well-combed poodle-cross sniffs the sea breeze beside a laptop-tapping espresso-drinker on a bench at the wide open window.

People in soft pale clothing talk intently over ginger cake with double cream or labneh basque cheesecake and gleaming rhubarb compote. A tradie waits at the front door.

“What would make me the most full?” he says, staying outside because of his mud-crusted boots.

Staff members, dressed in the zippered, wide-pocketed olive vest worn by Noon employees, consider this keenly before suggesting the substantial bacon and egg focaccia, made with smoked pork from Whole Beast Butchery in Marrickville, Peats Ridge free-range eggs, focaccia from Pioik Bakery in Pyrmont and house-made barbecue sauce.

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“I’ll take two,” says the tradie.

Luke Miller, the owner of Noon and its parent hospitality group Good Good, which also runs Chica Bonita, Sunset Sabi, Busta and Winona Wine, says the cafe is as much about food as it is about a community feel.

“Seven or eight years ago I met two of my closest friends at a cafe up the road,” he says.

“I had no office, no anything. I was the first in every morning for a coffee and they let me sit there all day and work. The former owner and another customer who came in regularly are now my best mates.

“An that definitely left a sort of lasting impression on me that I didn’t realise at the time.”

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Ginger cake.
Ginger cake.Dion Georgopoulos

To that end, Miller and his co-workers have worked hard on service. It is impeccable here.

Staff, equal to a concierge in an evening restaurant, guide and attend to customers with warmth and grace. There is table service, carefully placed cutlery and almost instant water vessels. You feel wanted.

Miller is also keen to bring different parts of Sydney into Manly. Noon features meats from Whole Beast, bread from Pioik and juices from West End in Kirrawee.

“I think in Manly we are a little bit sheltered from the world,” he says. “It’s great to use local providores, but people are doing different things all over the city and I like finding different things. I wanted to bring something different to Manly.”

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Most of Noon’s food is made in-situ. The most popular dish is the breakfast plate, a smorgasbord of ribboned, house-cured ocean trout edged with za’atar, soft-boiled egg halves, an excellent seedy bread, fresh dill fronds and cacik, a thick tangy Turkish sauce made with cucumber and yoghurt.

Shaken tahini latte.
Shaken tahini latte.Dion Georgopoulos

Also excellent are the scrambled eggs, served round like the sun with cultured butter and sourdough; potatoes carnitas with rich, slow-cooked shredded pork, pan-fried potato cubes, eggs, lovely crunchy buckwheat and an Aleppo-peppered hollandaise; and mince toast, made with Blackmore wagyu, currants, toasted almonds and creme fraiche. The latter feels old-fashioned and family-like within its top-drawer richness and comfort.

Drinks also have an elevated feel, ranging from Seven Seeds and Made of Many coffee to brilliant green matcha, a jewel-toned Egyptian ice tea with lychee and lime and an orangey ice-filled espresso with elderflower tonic.

The cafe’s winning beverage, developed by staff member Will, is a shaken tahini latte, served warm or cold (choose warm).

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From morning to afternoon, as the sun floods in between rain clouds, order this earthy, nutty, cinnamon-topped bevy and allow a long unhurried visit.

The low-down

Vibe: Corner cafe with impeccable service, curated breakfasts and the whiff of sea air a block away.

Go-to dish: Breakfast plate with za’atar ocean trout, boiled egg, mountain bread and cacik, rounded off with ginger cake and double cream

Average cost for two: $50, plus drinks

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Lenny Ann LowLenny Ann Low is a writer and podcaster.

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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/sydney-eating-out/leisurely-late-breakfasts-and-shaken-tahini-lattes-star-at-this-cruisy-beach-cafe-20240514-p5jdha.html