We stumble across this venue, a result of a hot tip by an Instagram follower! We check out their Instagram and made a trip to Slowhand, pronto.
The cafe is located in Mascot, right on the main intersection near the station. They’re flanked by all the construction but the noise doesn’t bother us one bit. When all the construction is gone, the cafe is really in a prime location. A great little spot with indoor and outdoor wooden tables, a small vase and the plants on each. Bright and open, the chef and barista are very welcoming.
Chef Julian Nikiel, Formerly of Kitchen by Mike and Alalas, The Oaks has put together a great menu, where it’s all about quality food, prepared well and we love the incorporation of pickled products as well as native ingredients.
This begins with high quality ingredients such as breads from Brickfields and Cherry Moon, Nonies GF bread, Crumpets by Merna, Pepe Saya butter, Pinos Dolce Vita for meats, Sydney Produce Direct, Fountaindale eggs, innmuse granola / oats, Yullis brews, country valley milk and pickled ingredients made in store.
The chef had made a beautiful range of baked goods, presented on the front counter. At 7:30 am we saw the fresh foccacia straight out of the oven, native lime syrup cake, meringue, chocolate and wattleseed brownies, and some delicious scones made with chocolate, earl great tea and sultanas.
In terms of the main menu, there’s a breakfast and lunch list, with a good range of options and plenty suitable for those with dietary requirements.
We’re big fan of oats this season and the one served here makes the top of the list. I love that the oats are activated by being soaked overnight with apple cider vinegar. This enables them to be easily digestible and they are then prepared in water, which we like. Flavoured with wattleseed, raw sugar, parsnip, blackberry syrup and blackberries. We’ve never had a porridge with parsnip before and it works so well.
We also had the avo on toast with finger lime, fermented cabbage and we added poached eggs, a great combination of flavours.
We’ll certainly be returning for some savoury crumpets, bacon and egg rolls with bacon jam, winter soup and the Aleppo Yoghurt chicken!
Coffee here, their own roast is excellent and a nice smooth blend.
A great cafe that is a welcome addition to the area.
Slowhand
244 Coward St
Mascot
Hours
Open 7-3 daily