In the Annex, Forest Lodge

Yet another little suburbanised cafe hidden next to Glebe. It lies sandwiched between aligned shops of chemists’ and hair salon parlours. Very easy to miss. No wonder the dishes are so beautifully presented – the chef is former Joey Astorga last seen at El Capo  in Surry hills (closed)!

It was just us two and we sat on a long ass dining table to ourselves! The decor of this place was amazing and so intriguing. There were teapots, teacups, succulents in books, various vintage reads, vinyl records, funny salt shakers and kiddy figurines. Seriously, interior room inspiration!

Crumbed egg with leek and broad beans.
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☻

The concept of the crumbed egg is truly gastronomical and attributes any kind of taste palette. Being as the star of the dish — it was executed well with a crunchy outer-side whilst the gooey yolk sits inside waiting to pop! I loved the soft texture of the leek and various greens, that it almost attained a creamy taste. I’m not sure if it’s just the addition of those broad beans (edamame beans?) but they were packed with heaps of salt that the dish felt over seasoned! Of course, there were a few uneaten beans left on the plate… the only letdown! The dish was also accompanied with a loaf of bread (that looked like a log) which sorta balanced out the saltiness and it was pretty darn tasty at that one.
Regardless, I was in awe of the presentation of this dish. A simple, yet refined presentation for such a quaint little cafe.

Beef 2 ways

I had a slight taste of my cousin’s dish and again, the dish was slightly over-seasoned! Maybe a tad too much My Kitchen Rules for the chef…? Jokes, but it was a still pretty good dish that contained two different cooked types of beef. The artichoke definitely added dimension to the dish and it was ridiculously good with that sourdough toast. That egg yolk also looks like it’s about to burst. Kudos!

Freshly Squeezed Orange juice & Nutella Shake with the friendly neighbourhood dinosaur. Is it just me or do I have a love-hate relationship with those stripy candy straws after a few minutes of slurping through them? I wish they were made out of plastic so it’d stop getting so hard to drink once it starts getting sloppy. And, that Nutella milkshake. It was neither too sweet or too bland, just perfect. What is this sorcery? I love the mason jars!

HUBBA BUBBA LAMINGTONS?! I can’t believe I resisted them!

I’m not sure if I’d be keen to return but definitely, if I was ever in the area….. the presentation gets me every time though. The menu’s seasonal so dishes will have variations next time round. Thank God!

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Where? 35 Ross St Forest Lodge 2037
Mon-Fri 6am-4pm
Sat-Sun 7am-4pm