Big Tree House

We sat down at one of my friend's local favourites since he recently migrated from the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney to nearby.... He claims this is the closest place he's been to that even slightly resembles decent food and coffee with that Bondi cafe feel. 

I personally don't venture out much especially to cafes only because they somewhat reproduce similar dishes to one another.. some better than others but alas nothing that really goes outside of the box of the cafe mould. That's whats great about Sydney... there's a mass market of coffee and food lovers and if you can produce something half decent in a marketshare that doesn't exist yet, your cafe is an instant hit. A great way for people to survive in this society without reinventing the wheel. This is somewhat a reflection on places like this... where you open a cafe up with nothing but suburban homes situated around it... and it still gets its fair share of diners.

When we walk in, you immediately notice the signs to make your own order at the counter... implying nobody will come to serve you... slightly surprising for a "cafe experience". We grabbed some menus from the front counter and proceeded to sit outside... half watching the weather since we planned to do some golfing after this meal. We chatted for a while and half glancing over the menu... I suppose if you take long enough contemplating your order at your table the waitress must reluctantly come out and take your order...  and that's exactly what happened...

I chose a Rachel Sandwich - pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss cheese and pickles served with chips.  First of all I don't normally order sandwiches.. mainly for the reason that I feel I can probably reproduce something similar at home...since bread isn't the hardest ingredient to source. I did however note that this came with pastrami... ahh bringing back those New York deli memories which I hoped to relive... hmm my gripe was the thin slice pastrami I received in the sandwich barely made a meaty dent in my tastebuds...

Though overall the meal was small, the sandwich was at least prepared well.... enough sauce for flavour and moisture... sourdough bread is faultless in most counts... and the chips on side were done to perfection. It was simply made well...

My friends both ordered the burger... which I somewhat regret not trying for myself... the burgers looked like they just came from a photoshoot and stacked up high... The above is a picture of the Big Tree Beef Burger - beetroot, bacon, pineapple, tomato, onion, lettuce, cheese and aioli served with chips.

My other friend ordered his favourite... the Cajun Chicken Burger - chicken thigh fillet, avocado, bacon, rocket and aioli served with chips. He looked at my sandwich and noted that I really should have gotten a burger... hmm thanks....

All in all another cafe in Sydney... but if you want a cafe with decent coffee and food, that industrial look with niche touches and don't mind splashing Bondi dollars in a suburban area... then I'd say give it a try... I'm not saying you would be disappointed.. I just hate paying $15 for a sandwich and chips... and still feeling hungry when I leave...