Rosebud – Rozelle, NSW
"rosebud" blend coffee - 4.50
I think one of the most important factor that makes a cafe/restaurant ahead of others is to have an experience coffee barista who knows his coffee. I never claimed to be a coffee expert, but I definitely can appreciate a good cup of coffee when it is well made with a good blend. The “Rosebud” blend has caught my attention. With the help from one of my favorite coffee roasters in Sydney, Single Origin, this unique blend sends a sweet malt, toffee and caramel smoothness down my throat. The “Rosebud” blend is only available at the Rosebud restaurant in Rozelle of course.
Clockwise L to R: crispy bacon on the side; rosebud signage outside restaurant; pinkish fresh smoked salmon with creamy scrambled eggs; the love of a good cup of coffee
With our pre-arranged Adriano Zumbo’s winter collection outing, I decided to arrive at Rozelle a little earlier to have a browse at my favorite Rozelle weekend market. I love junkyard market, carboot sale, tender center; I love going through someone’s junk and always fascinated by them. I always think the items they owned reflect that personalities’ alot. I like how there is this stall at the market who only sells army military uniforms and he will always manning his stall dressed up in uniform too.
You will amazed what you could find at the markets sometimes. I picked up some good gems now and again, including some old etchings for $30, and recently scored a carving fork for $12. Unfortunately this morning is rather windy and the rainy season in Sydney recently doesn’t help, a lot of stalls are not open and some already started packing up as we arrived. Hence we decided to follow suit and find ourselves at the Rosebud cafe aross the street to have our pre-zumboism brunch.
Organic fried eggs with thick slice toast, sides of bacons and english breakfast sausages - 18.00
The Rosebud’s minimalist design delivers a relaxed atmosphere with spacious open plan and outdoor dining area. A massive black chalkboard wall inside restaurant has the daily menu scribbled all over. Impressive yet useful. The restaurant is absolutely buzzing with customers having their late weekend breakfast, sipping the fresh roasted coffee with their nose buried deeply in the newspaper.
We are handed out with the lunch menu and there is only a very short list of all-day-breakfast items available. As we both not really ready for a big lunch, so we decided to go for the eggs on toast with a side. The pom goes for the organic fried eggs with thick sliced toast which is over toasted to a earth shattering crunch, and it becomes too hard to bite into. He chooses a side of bacon and english breakfast sausages which is nicely fried and not too greasy. I love bacon fried with a toasty crispy edge.
Organic scrambled eggs with thick sliced toast, side of smoked salmon - 14.00
Just to be different, I opt for the organic scrambled eggs with the side of smoked salmon. Same story, the rock hard toast is scraping the skin off the roof in my mouth every time I take a bite. Despite the over-crunchy crackers toast, the scrambled egg is creamy and fluffy with perfect consistency. The smoked salmon has the most vibrant pinkish flesh, which has a subtle hint of smokiness, not too overpowering and still can taste the freshness of the salmon.
When the bill comes, we soon realised we have made a mistake due to a confusing menu. On the menu it reads,
SIDES
Field mushrooms, roasted truss tomatoes, sauteed baby spinach – 4
Bacon, English breakfast sausages – 4.50
Smoked salmon, grilled haloumi – 5
The price is charged on each item separately per line of the menu. My initial thought was I am going to make a complain because they forgot about my grilled haloumi to go with my smoked salmon! I still strongly think using “comma” in a line means “a combination of” in the same sentence! A “/” or “or” are compulsory in this case.
Despite the little hiccup and rather pricey, the food is great, and the coffee is fantastic. I definitely will come back again to try its proper breakfast menu, or perhaps a lunch.
Rosebud Bar & Restaurant 654 Darling St. Rozelle (corner National St) P: (02) 9555 8999 W: http://www.rosebudsydney.com.au
Open for Breakfast & Lunch Mon-Fri 7am-5pm Sat 8am-5pm Sun 8am-4pm Open for Dinner Wed–Sat 6pm–Late
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
Oh yes, the perils of razor-sharp sourdough toast! Breakfast does look good although the Pom’s did end up rather pricey! Didn’t realise they had their own blend of coffee either.
Helen (GrabYourFork)’s last blog post – Lowenbrau Keller, The Rocks
I love a good coffee, so Rosebud was made in conjunction with Single Origin ? It has to be good then!
looks like a nice place. i think comma’s tend to be quite common for listing items on menus although a ‘/’ or perhaps a semi colon ‘;’ would be more appropriate to avoid confusion. pity about the really hard toast.
Simon Food Favourites’s last blog post – Poached Egg: Attempt #4 (8 June 2009)
Love the name ‘Rosebud’. Who doesn’t love a good cuppa? Sound tempting enough to give this place a try. Perhaps a detour on my virgin Zumbo trip
Ellie’s last blog post – Malaysian Pisang Goreng (Fried Banana Fritters)
a cafe that serves up good coffee is definitely hard to find! food here looks scrumptious!
jenny’s last blog post – chocolate peanut cookies
Mmm, that all looks delicious. I miss a good Sydney breakfast. I also miss stumbling across treasures at the Rozelle weekend markets, and love the Moroccan tagine breakfast down the road at Kazbah on Darling.
Kat’s last blog post – Is food worth your life??
I was going to go to Rosebud on the weekend, but ended up at Trojans in Balmain instead. The brekky there was wonderful. Rosebud is always packed, though, so it must be good. And didn’t some of the MasterChef contestants do their work experience there?
Belle@OohLook’s last blog post – Pressure Test pasta
@Helen (GrabYourFork): yeah the food is pretty decent there, and the coffee is def the highlight.
@Howard: I would assume the coffee is specially roasted just for Rosebud. It is quite “special”.
@Simon Food Favourites: Yeah perhaps I should upload the menu, just the way it displayed on the menu and how it formed is rather confusing. If there is indentation I probably would have more aware of the differences.
@Ellie: Oh totally… rosebud then zumbo, perfect combo!
@jenny: Yup, good coffee makes everything taste 10 times better.
@Kat: wow I can hardly keep up with you guys these days, once in Japan, then Thailand,….. where are you guys now?
@Belle@OohLook: Yeah it was pretty packed when I got there. I didn’t know someone from MAsterchef is doing working experience there, should have peak into kitchen if i knew…
Ouch and OUCH! Been past this place quite a lot while I’m in the area. I’ll have to see what the coffee is like the next time I’m around.