Easy Like Sunday Morning – Garfish

Sunday brunch. A time for relaxing, often enjoying your first meal of the day at some restaurant or cafe with friends. In this instance, the relaxed atmosphere of Garfish in Crows Next.

However, when toddlers are in tow, there’s a certain degree of anxiety that builds regarding the potential loss of my Utopian notion of an easy, stress-free start to a relaxed day. Whether it by temper tantrum, an outburst of crying, or the incessant craving for attention.

Anxiety. The last thing I wanted for a chilled-out Sunday brunch.

To my considerable surprise, my anxiety was put to rest rather quickly and rather effectively by little more than a set of colouring pencils and some paper, provided by the friendly staff at Garfish. I was rather impressed by their service, to say the least.

It’s amazing, the capacity and ease that simple stationery has on keeping a toddler sufficiently entertained, at least for the duration of a Sunday brunch.

Speaking of brunch…

Mushroom Omelette ($15), which is served with a rocket and parmesan salad, along with a couple of pieces of wholegrain toast with butter.

From what I was told, for what it’s worth, it was rather nice.

The Garfish Breakfast ($18) is this restaurant’s version of a typical big breakfast. Eggs the way you want them, bacon, sausage (in this case chorizo), mushrooms, tomatoes, ciabatta toast and relish.

When asked for a verdict, the response I received was a shrug of the shoulders with a mumbled, nonchalant “it’s ok”. Take that however you will.

Belgian Waffles with Bacon & Maple Syrup ($14). Having been enamoured with the combination of bacon and maple syrup on a number of occasions in the past, this was a must get item!

Now that I’ve had the benefit of hindsight, I no longer consider this a must get. Actually, I was rather disappointed with it.

For my $14, what I’d gotten were two tiny waffles (about the size of a medium sized cookie) that were dense, chewy, somewhat doughy and not at all crispy; as well as two rashers of bacon that were dry, likewise chewy and not crispy, and served at room temperature. To say that I felt cheated was something of an understatement.

The Latte ($3.30) made up for it somewhat, as it was pretty nice. Not all that strong, but all I cared for was the caffeinated buzz, which was certainly there.

I’m not sure if I would be back here for brunch with my single friends. However, if kids are in tow, it will certainly be a consideration, as those pencils served as an effective toddler neutralising tool.

A free parking station very close to the restaurant also makes this venue rather attractive. Especially, when you consider the costs and hassles of parking at brunch venues in the CBD.

All in all, despite my earlier anxieties, having brunch with a toddler at Garfish was easy like Sunday morning. As it should be.

Garfish (Crows Nest)
6/29 Holtermann Street, Crows Nest
(02) 9966 0445
Mon-Sat: 8:00am – 10:00pm; Sun: 9:00am – 9:30pm

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Tagged as: Brunch, Cafe, Child-Friendly, Crows Nest, Modern Australian, Review, Sydney, Vegetarian