Espresso Galleria

84 Ramsay Street, Haberfield
Monday - Friday, 8am - 5.30pm; Saturday, 8am - 3pm

The coffee here is really good.
In a town where the men gossip-folk more than the women and the houses need development applications for changing the colour of one's letterbox, an 'outsider' setting up shop in such a tight-knit community fuels the next couple of month's debates and rapid hand-gesturing. Haberfield - or the 'Ach-Field as I like to call it (...not...really...) - is exactly like that. For a very traditionalist Italian suburb to afford a man with a Greek background the privilege of making their beloved espresso is certainly no mean feat achieved by that single dude. Imagine that.
And he is a dude! With an obvious passion for what he is doing, the roasts and blends he sells and uses reflect a modernity he is trying to bring to both the coffee and the area. The shots are amazingly consistent and, although relatively unflourished with grand flavours and flashes of enlightenment, provide the boldness required for the local consumers. I also really love the texture of the milk he does for my macchiato, both smooth and creamy but still light to taste. It's pretty, non? Shiny too...

The fact that he gets his mother (or perhaps his γιαγιά (grandmother)...I can't remember which) to bake delicious goods is a bonus. The baklava is very good, and very Greek. A subtle sweetness that still keeps the essential stickiness of the honey-water and crispiness of the pastry makes for an easy-to-love sweet. A nubbin (is that not the right word to use? is that rude?! ...nib? is nib better? anyone? anyone...bueller?) of clove infuses a sublime spiciness within its rectangular being. Although not pictured, the Turkish Delight I sampled here is also supreme. Again, very subtle flavourings and the rosewater is just the right intensity to complement the gorgeous viscosity of such. I would say it rivals Ya Habibi's (Newtown) very own version, of which currently stands as the best I have personally tasted (and also from my expert mother who travelled around and lived in the Middle East for some time in her halcyon days of youthdom). To be honest, all of Espresso Galleria's sweet-goods (and now apparently jams) look to be prize.

No, correct that. The coffee here is fantastic.