[invite] Bianca: A stalwart in Double Bay, 21 Espresso is a notorious spot for the movers and shakers of the Sydney elite. The cafe started in 1958 by current owners, Michael & his father, George Schiffer’s father. A Hungarian immigrant who had a vision for the area.
With my FFS reinforcements in tow, Felicitations and Christina, we made a rather small dent in the sizeable menu. Starting with a well balanced Soy Cappucino $4.90.
I was keen to try some of the more traditional Hungarian dishes, a cuisine I wasn’t too familiar with prior to my visit. Starting with the Langos – Hungarian flatbread made with mashed potato and served with garlic & sour cream $11.8. Anything carb related and you have my FULL attention, similar to pizza dough, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, I really enjoyed the combo with the fresh garlic/oil/sour cream. Perhaps not quite #datenight appropriate.
If you’re a breakfast fan you’ll enjoy the Potato Rosti-w/ Poached eggs, smoked salmon, avocado & dill mayonnaise $17.8. The potato rosti well seasoned and cooked well, with a nice outer crust. A clever alternative to bread.
And perhaps one of the more eye-catching dishes on the menu and one of the most popular. The Chicken Schnitzel with Cucumber Salad & Chips $22.8. A universal favourite with the girls, the shnitz tender with a crispy outer crumb. We all kept gravitating back to that moreish cucumber salad.
A great little starter is the Garlic Prawns -w/ chilli & sherry $28.8. Plump, juicy, buttery prawns and make sure you mop up every ounce of that buttery/sherry sauce.
The classic half Reuben -w/ pastrami, cheddar, mustard & sauerkraut $14.8 served as an open toastie. Possibly one of my favourite sandwiches of all time, if I had one comment it would be that the use of the sauerkraut was perhaps a little heavy-handed for my tastes.
Another Hungarian classic. Cabbage Rolls -w/ seasoned mince, blanched cabbage leaves and served with mashed potatoes $28.8. I was surprised by just how tasty this was. Despite appearances, the mince was seasoned beautifully, the tomato-based sauce was well cooked and full of flavour.
And last but not least. The Nutella Pancake -w/ Strawberry & ice-cream $12. So, after a bit of the ‘googly’ pancakes in Hungary are generally what we know as crepes. Despite semantics, this was very tasty. The batter, wafer thin with a thin smattering of Nutella, complimented well by the fresh strawberries and vanilla ice-cream. Shared between 3 after a big meal it was the perfect few bites of dessert.
Bianca
