Danks Street Depot – Waterloo, Sydney

As some of you may have known that I recently had a photographic exhibition called The Red Balloon at the 2 Danks Street Gallery. It all went well and had lots of positive feedback, so it is kind of a relief that is all over and well received. The next installment will be moving the body of work down to Victoria and hopefully to have it exhibit at Kinglake or Marysville. Wish me luck!

Exhibition aside, it is too good of an opportunity and definitely will be kicking myself for not visiting Danks Street Depot at least once. And that’s exactly what I did, I only managed to visit the cafe once with a friend who paid me a visit at the gallery.

Clockwise L to R: patron spending quiet time in cafe solving crosswords; a side of mashed potato with the chicken pot pie; line of wooden tables and chairs in the tiny cafe; creamy filling of chicken and green peas in the pie

We arrived before 12pm, the cafe is still pretty free from the lunch crowd; only a family with children at the far corner near the kitchen, and a lady solving crosswords on newspaper at the other corner on the banquette. The tiny cafe stretches out horizontally with a line of rustic wooden tables and chairs. A large communal table at the far right is where they held the ‘Early Dinner Club’ – a solution to surviving the financial crash by sharing platters of food including starters, mains and dessert.

Flat white (Bowl) - 5.00, Cup - 4.00

Soon we are presented with black and yellow menus of lunch and drink respectively. I couldn’t take my eyes off the large bowl of coffee at the next table the lady is drinking and order one myself. Hugging a large hot bowl of smooth coffee sends me the perfect wintery atmosphere. And it has just the right amount of caffeine that I needed to inject into my body for that extra perky boost.

The waitress comes back soon after and let us know some beautiful dishes on the specials that tickles our fancy. We don’t need much time to decide and both go for the specials.

Specials - veal casserole with herbed potatoes in mustard dressing - 18.00

My friend orders the veal casserole with herbed potato salad. The veal casserole comes in a surprisingly petite blue pot and a pyramid stack of potatoes in herbs and mustard dressing. After a few mouthful, my friend soon realises the casserole is actually quite rich and filling. Perhaps the small portion is just the right amount that he needed.

Specials - chicken pot pie with mashed potato - 18.00

I go for the chicken pot pie with a side of mashed potato. A shallow porcelain dish is sealed with a nice layer of puff pastry. I got all giddy and excited when I see the fluffy, flakey golden brown pastry atop and can’t wait to dig in to see what surprises hidden beneath. A puff of hot steam escapes from inside as soon as I split the pastry open, revealing chunky chicken pieces with green peas in the molten creamy white sauce. The pies is a little salty on the palate. I add a dollop of mash into the pot pie for that extra creaminess and also helps to reduce the saltiness of the dish.

Head Chef and owner of Danks Street Dept, Jared Ingersoll, practices sustainable and ethical principles in sourcing raw ingredients to create delicious and nutritious cuisine. I absolutely enjoyed my lunch with a simple hearty dish, homely but unpretentious. It cost a little bit more for better ingredients with quality assurance.

The ever-changing daily menu is another good reason why to visit this cafe again.

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Danks Street Depot
1/2 Danks Street (Cnr Young St), Waterloo, NSW 2017
Phone: (02) 9698 2201

Opening Hours:
Mon - Wed 7:30am - 4:00pm
Thur - Sat 7:30am - 10.00pm
Sunday 9.00am - 3.00pm

Tagged as: cafe, danks street depot, i ate this, jared ingersoll, lunch, restaurant, review, Sydney, Sydney East, waterloo