Penny's Lane shone briefly in Kings Cross, Stanmore is home to Sixpenny (one of the star restaurants of 2012), and now Leichhardt is in on the Penny action with the opening of Penny Four's.

The new patisserie, which opened last week at 141 Norton Street, is the maiden venture of Penelope Ransley, the pastry chef Short Black has been keeping an eye on since she impressed in the Sepia kitchen about the time of the restaurant's launch.

Ransley has since spent time at Iggy's bakery teaching herself how to make bread, something she hopes to sell down the track at Penny Four's.

"The plan is to do bread and sandwiches and coffee," she says.

"At the moment, I'm doing sweet tarts and croissants."

Ransley decided to open in Leichhardt after moving to the area.

"There are a lot of empty shops around here. Hopefully, this can be the start of something new," she says.