NewsBite

Advertisement

A cafe so tranquil (and a fish burger so good), how can it be so close to chaotic WestConnex?

Menu stars at serene and clean-lined Alexandria cafe Ellen include a cracking fish burger and a brilliant emerald halloumi and pea salad.

Lenny Ann Low
Lenny Ann Low

Ellen’s serene and clean-lined interior.
1 / 9Ellen’s serene and clean-lined interior.Janie Barrett
Fish burger made with hoki, cucumber pickles, mustard seed, lettuce and American cheddar.
2 / 9Fish burger made with hoki, cucumber pickles, mustard seed, lettuce and American cheddar.Janie Barrett
Honeycomb espresso.
3 / 9Honeycomb espresso.Janie Barrett
Chicken ballotine.
4 / 9Chicken ballotine.Janie Barrett
Silky custard and coffee syrup.
5 / 9Silky custard and coffee syrup.Janie Barrett
Halloumi and green peas salad.
6 / 9Halloumi and green peas salad.Janie Barrett
7 / 9 Janie Barrett
Lemon passionfruit soda.
8 / 9Lemon passionfruit soda. Janie Barrett
9 / 9 Janie Barrett

Cafe$$

If you are negotiating the intersection of Euston and Sydney Park roads in Alexandria, a wide, rushing, multi-lane experience on the cusp of WestConnex, a cafe like Ellen coexisting metres away seems bananas.

Serene and clean-lined, its linen lanterns swinging in a breeze brushed by the tree-edged lawn outside, this cafe’s tranquillity feels like a miracle. Not a jot of traffic noise. Birds singing. Views of people walking dogs beside footpath gardens growing spinach and lemongrass and cherry tomatoes.

Walk around the other side of Ellen’s location, within the base of one of the 2019 Arkadia apartment complexes, built with half a million recycled bricks, and the roar of cars and concrete trucks is deafening.

Advertisement
Fish burger made with hoki, cucumber pickles, mustard seed, lettuce and American cheddar.
Fish burger made with hoki, cucumber pickles, mustard seed, lettuce and American cheddar.Janie Barrett

At Ellen, a curved and high-windowed space with wooden tables, tiled floors and slate grey walls, it’s quiet enough to hear your teaspoon swish through chef Dingqi Xin’s silky custard and coffee syrup dessert.

There are other dishes to enjoy before this wonder, but its well-crafted simplicity encapsulates the excellent, fresh and carefully thought-through dishes here.

The food is just plain lovely. Depending on the week, or even the day, parts of Ellen’s menu, and specials, change frequently. One highly popular menu stalwart is the cracking fish burger. Paper-wrapped, and made with hoki, cucumber pickles, mustard seed, lettuce and American cheddar, its crumbed fish is delicate and crunchy next to its zingy, saucy accompaniments.

Another, a gently charred, blushingly pink and tender curve of sliced Bangalow pork loin, festooned with fennel frond greens and herby pink lady apple segments, is fantastic.

Advertisement

That’s a memory now. In its place this week are wagyu steak and fries, with red wine jus and herb mustard puree; and fried chicken Maryland, featuring Brussels sprouts, pomegranate and spiced cashews, which is making the lady at the next table very happy.

“This is divine,” she says in response to my gaze.

I’ve polished off another menu star – the halloumi and green peas salad. As emerald as the grass edging Ellen’s outdoor courtyard seating, its combination of green pea puree, slender slabs of the salty cheese tossed with chickpeas, herbs and a sherry vinaigrette, is rich, light and bonza.

Honeycomb espresso.
Honeycomb espresso.Janie Barrett

Ellen, which opened in 2022 and offers breakfast until 11am and lunch after that, is owned and run by Xin, known as Chris, and his business partner, Jianxin Cheng, known as James.

Advertisement

Xin’s hospitality background includes time at Rockpool on George, Rockpool est 1989, Tetsuya’s and Cedric’s, which explains the sense of fine dining here.

“Ellen offers me a refreshing change, a space where I can explore new ideas and adapt to the unique environment of a cafe,” Xin says.

Everything is made in-house apart from collaborations with Staple Bakery for the viennoiserie and Moon & Back for speciality canele. Cherry Moon supply the sourdough for Ellen’s scrambled eggs with maple bacon and confit tomato, and a poached chicken breast sandwich doing a hot trade today.

Lemon passionfruit soda.
Lemon passionfruit soda.Janie Barrett

One of the stand-out things about Ellen is the way it inspires people to sit down and enjoy eating. Takeaway is available but customers fill its sun-soaked tables inside and out.

Advertisement

There is an alcohol menu with a selection of five beers and seven wines, all Australian, available by the glass. Good strong coffee comes from beans roasted by Cheng and there is a range of teas and excellent cold drinks. Stand-outs include the grapefruit soda, the lemon passionfruit soda and Cheng’s invention, the honeycomb espresso. This is the one to drink into summer. Cold, caffeinated and jingling with ice cubes, it comes topped with a house-made wedge of golden honeycomb. Cheng, a warm host, also tweezers out sample pieces to any honeycomb-curious customer at the counter.

There are plans to open Ellen, named after Cheng’s fiancee, for dinner but, for now, Xin is focussed on continuing the cafe’s high food quality and local feel. “We are grateful to be a part of the community,” he says. “We love having that connection, seeing marriages, kids and lives flourish.”

And people sinking their teaspoons into velvety coffee syrup custard to the tune of a quiet spring breeze.

The low-down

Vibe: High-end cafe dishes in a tranquil, sun-soaked room at the base of an architecturally designed apartment block

Go-to dish: Ellen’s mains menu and specials change weekly – the fish burger and custard with coffee syrup are longstanding favourites

Cost: About $100 for two, plus drinks

Continue this series

Your October hit list: The hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out, right now
Up next
Mondeghini meatballs come with lemony mayo.

Roll up to this newly hatted Summer Hill osteria for nostalgic Italian with a high chance of meatballs

Ormeggio chef Alessandro Pavoni’s new inner west osteria channels a mostly Northern Italian nonna’s repertoire.

Sails overlooks Lavender Bay, Luna Park, the bridge and beyond.

If you’ve ever searched ‘harbourside restaurants with a view’ this revamped diner will float your boat

Sails had recently had a major renovation, and now feels like a relaxed luxury weekender where you’ll want to linger.

Previous
The Grounds Coffee Factory was originally scheduled to open in 2020.

The Grounds opens new Wonka-esque locomotive-inspired coffee factory in Eveleigh

A colourful coffee transportation system decorates the sprawling space, with former Otto Ristorante chef James Kidman bringing ‘an Australian fleck’ to the menu.

See all stories
Lenny Ann LowLenny Ann Low is a writer and podcaster.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/sydney-eating-out/this-sunny-cafe-is-a-tranquil-oasis-serving-coffee-custard-and-honeycomb-espresso-20240909-p5k937.html