Little Rock Cafe, Stockland Mall, Old Northern Road, Baulkham Hills

Little Rock Cafe is a favourite weekend breakfast cafe of mine and has been for several years. The scrambled eggs is to die for....but I digress. Today we came for lunch, and with a growing and changing menu, I'm glad we did. The mixture of indoor and outdoor seating gives the cafe a light airy feel and the red chairs give a distinctive pop of colour and add to the relaxed atmosphere. The friendly wait staff showed us to our table (beside the kids playground area as requested) and after providing water and menus staff kindly allowed us ample time to settle in, say hello to each other (my family made us a group of 8!) and make our meal choices. The menu had changed since the last time I had been for lunch and it is several pages long. There is a large selection from sandwiches, wraps and burgers, to salads, pastas, risottos and mains, as well as a separate kids menu. Our kids were not in adventurous eating moods so I only got to see the kids hot chips (which was shared between two children) and the vegemite sandwich! The mains were really restaurant quality and more than I would have expected to get in a cafe. In addition to all of these choices, and a highlight for me, is the changing specials board and I have often enjoyed a tasty dish from the specials on offer and I have never been disappointed. I particularly love how the board is continually moved around the cafe so that customers who are ordering can easily see the specials.

Today was no different - the chicken breast with apricot, brie and honey mustard sauce was scrumptious.

As it was a late lunch for the kids, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our garlic bread and kids' meals, the vegemite sandwich arrived first and the chips arrived a short time later. Unfortunately our garlic bread had been forgotten and even after asking several times, it only arrived after our mains were finished. On the other hand  all of our main meals were well presented and some of our choices are shown in the photos below: the tempura prawn salad, the rib eye fillet with seared scallops, the BBQ braised pork ribs and the salmon and mushroom risotto. It was obvious, by the empty plates a short time later, that the meals were all happily enjoyed. 

                                                       

After all that amazing food no one had room for cake. I finished off my meal with my trademark cappuccino order and was not disappointed! Good coffee! Luckily I can vouch from past experience that the cakes, cookies, slices and desserts at Little Rock are divine and I will be back another day for cake! Thanks Little Rock, Sonia xo

Arthur Street Cafe, Arthur Street, Baulkham Hills

I had heard friends talking about Arthur Street Café and so, after frequently driving past the street side café, we stopped in for lunch today. 

 Located in a local 1960’s style suburban neighbourhood strip of shops our first impression was of smiling friendly staff and a relaxed sunny atmosphere. We were offered our choice of several tables and our drinks orders were taken straight away while we perused the modern Australian menu. There was a moderate selection on the menu and a separate kids menu and we took our time deciding between burgers, salads and all day breakfast options when our coffees and milkshake arrived. 

We ordered a spicy BBQ pulled pork roll and a steak sandwich while Master 3 was offered a selection of in-house toys and colouring books, making this one of the child friendliest cafes I have been to, and I think he agreed!

The food arrived in good time and as well as being well presented, it was also delicious and exceeded our expectations, the cappuccinos were so good we ordered a second cup! 

                                

I chatted to the manager Matt when we paid – overall a relaxing, reasonably priced enjoyable break and a refreshing change from the Michels, Gloria Jeans and Muffin Break shops flooding the suburbs and their shopping centres. Yes, we will be going back! Sonia xo

Welcome...

As three students, enrolled in Macquarie Uni's ISYS100 course, this blog is one of our assignments. Little Cafe Critic is on the lookout for excellent coffee shops in Sydney's suburbs. Some will be our favourite haunts while others will be a first time experience. We are hoping to share with you our love of good coffee and cafe food over the next few weeks as well as expanding our coffee horizons by visiting coffee shops in our part of Sydney that we have never been to before. Our blogs will include photos as much as possible and we will share our first impressions and the atmosphere of the cafe, along with a description of the coffee and food on offer. We will also write about our overall experience including service, price along with any extras that we found enjoyable or interesting. So grab a cuppa and join us... Bon appetit!