[invite] Bianca: Wentworth Point will forever have a soft spot in my heart, I bought my first property back in 2013 when there was nothing but industrial factories. Today it’s home with the hoosband and the dining and cafe scene is pretty darn envious.
Marina Square opened late last year and injected a serious dose of life into the area, a massive Coles, gym, restaurants/cafes and shops have all the bases covered. We’re slowly making our way through the eateries in the centre.
When an invite came through for Leaf Cafe, I just had to cross them off the list. Leaf Cafe is a franchise with 18 stores and they roast their own coffee in South Granville. The Wentworth Point cafe serves as the R&D test kitchen.
Joining me on my eating expedition was FFS ring-in Felicitations, her partner Benjamin & the ball & chain.
Our Soy Capps $4.7 needed a touch of sucre to cut through the bitterness and while the flavour was pleasant, the soy milk did curdle in our coffees, a bit of a pitfall when you just love soy!
The menu is quite inventive for a chain cafe, so if you’re expecting the run of the mill eggs on toast you’ll be disappointed.
We shared everything between us so we made quite the sizeable dent in the menu. Starting with the Brekkie Burger $12. Big tick from the crew, crispy bacon & hash browns, gooey runny egg yolk, a staple but a tasty one.
I think one person would struggle to finish this next dish as it was on the heavier side. The Kaarage Chicken & Waffle -w/ Nut & rice flake crusted waffle, green apple & cabbage slaw, bacon, cornflake, chilli, crushed berry, espresso salted caramel $19. There’s a whole lot going on here, the flavour was bang on, the chicken crispy yet moist, the texture was off the charts and that espresso salted caramel was heavenly. But I don’t think the waffle needed to be covered, as it was a little same-same eaten with the chicken, there was no real relief from the heaviness of the dish, even with the apple & cabbage slaw.
Roasted Pork Neck-w/ Sauteed kimchi, roasted nuts, pumpkin purée, saltbush,
chilli caramel $22 was an unexpected refined dish and full of flavour.
A must order was the Breakfast Gnocchi -w/ House-made potato gnocchi, roast tomato, chorizo, shallot, chilli, parmesan snow, poached egg, crispy potato skin $19. I’ve had several incarnations of this dish around Sydney and it was probably one of the better ones I’ve come across. The gnocchi was a standout, plump little potato morsels (the nonna would be impressed). The crispy potato skins were a masterstroke!
My weakness will ALWAYS be sweets. There’s a lot to like about the French Toast -w/
Espresso, whipped matcha ricotta, black sesame caramel, salted pistachios, seasonal berry $18. Pretty as a picture but let down slightly by the heavy-handed use of the matcha ricotta. If there was perhaps half of the mixture used here I felt it would have been a far superior dish, it was just WAY too overpowering, you really couldn’t taste anything but matcha with each and every bite.
And lastly, before we rolled out of Leaf. The Breakfast Eton Mess-w/ House baked granola, acai, yoghurt, seasonal berries, crispy kiwi, crushed dehydrated strawberry, wild honey $16. A super clever play on a traditional granola dish, well balanced and pretty as a picture.
I do applaud the inventiveness of some of the dishes and for thinking outside the box. Some dishes needed some refinements but Leaf Cafe Wentworth Point offers some top quality breakfast/lunch options in the area. I’d go back!
Bianca
*For Food’s Sake dined as guests of Leaf Cafe Wentworth Point.
The food looks good! I used to know someone that lived there. She used to get upset when I would accidentally call it Homebush. I can’t keep up with all the new suburbs!