Vanessa: Marrickville is fairly unchartered territory for me which is a shame as I know it is bursting with culture and a vast array of dining options. Our very dear uncle (Zig) is a Marrickville local, so naturally when the opportunity arose to visit Kelby’s Café, he was my date of choice. Located on Marrickville Road, Kelby’s is clearly a favorite amongst the locals with a steady stream of patrons coming and going (and this was a Monday). The space is intimate and child-friendly with an inviting ambience.
We were greeted by the bubbly and energetic café owner, Kylie, who made us feel instantly welcome. As Kylie talked us through some of the popular dishes she also explained that the café had recently opened another branch in Surry Hills. It’s always nice to see suburban cafes doing well and branching out.
The menu has Middle Eastern influence dotted throughout some of the dishes as well as offering the more standard café fare. The portion sizes are large so do come hungry and/or prepared to share. We ordered a couple of dishes from both the breakfast and lunch menu to get a good feel for the food offering.
Starting of with the Lebanese brekkie ($17.90) this dish spoke to me on so many levels. I’m currently going through a Lebanese food obsession, so this meal combined a lot of favorite things on one dish. Fluffy scrambled eggs served alongside Lebanese sausages, tomatoes, zaatar, labneh and a generous serve of warm zaatar Lebanese bread. This is a substantial choice and one I would happily order again.
The Kelby’s hash ($18.90) has become a signature dish for the café and I can certainly see why. Again a very generous dish served up in a clay pan consisting of chat potatoes, grilled halloumi, sujuk, caramelized leek topped with two poached eggs and Kelby’s own hollandaise sauce…and a side of sourdough for good measure. This is a robust meal, one that would be ideal for breakfast or lunch. A really unique dish that is full of flavor and Turkish overtones with the addition of sujuk.
Kylie had recommended we try the grilled chicken breast sandwich ($14.90) as it was one of her favorites and again it did not disappoint. This was fresh, filling and nicely placed with a serve of fries. In fact I noticed a great choice of sandwiches, wraps , toasties and burgers on the menu.
And last but absolutely not least we had the warm French toast ($14.90) served with ricotta and maple syrup and a house mixed berry compote. As the camera eats first unfortunately we missed the warm part (which would have been ideal) but none the less these were some pretty incredible French toast. I loved that they had used Turkish bread cut into finger slices, it makes it a great dish for sharing (and/or portion control 😉). The toppings complimented the toast perfectly and it really was a dish that rounded off our meal nicely.
We gathered ourselves up after a copious amount of food and probably too many coffees to get on with the rest of our Monday. I really enjoyed our visit to Kelby’s and was pleased to see the variety they offer on their menu. If the place was that busy on a Monday, I can imagine it’s bustling on the weekend. I’m looking forward to another visit..and next time I’ll be sure to eat the French toast whilst it’s still warm!
Enjoy!
Vanessa
*For Foods Sake dined as guest of Kelby’s Café, all opinions however are our own.
