Gnome – 576 Crown Street, Surry Hills

To survive on Crown St in Surry Hills you either must be a stalwart of the street with a reputation that precedes you or serve up terrific food.
On an Anzac holiday Tuesday I walk up to Gnome cafe but find it packed. After a 15 minute wait I get a table outside with the warm autumn sun beating down and facing the sidewalk as the trendy locals walk by. Crown St is a great street for people watching, where you can spot the eccentric to the glamourous and everything in between.
Gnome seats around 15 people so it does pack quite quickly. Combine the small seating area with great food and coffee and you might have to be patient if you are after a quick bite on the weekend.
I order my usual and my cappuccino arrives in a huge cup that I call the soup bowl. Yes it does not have a handle, the first such coffee cup I have come across, cute nevertheless. The coffee starts off with an earthy bitter taste but quickly gives way to sweet strong flavors and the texture is so, so smooth. After a long weekend of below average coffee Gnome is a revelation and each sip is a joy to behold. If there is a better cup of coffee on Crown Street I want to taste it because Gnome is quality.
Another revelation at Gnome is the food. Delicious and great value are the highlights. I sample a pesto scrambled eggs with ham on sourdough. When it arrives I have a couple new arrivals looking at my green scrambled eggs. It sure is novel but tastes delicious. The slightly salty ham cuts through the creamy eggs. If I were to nitpick the scrambled eggs are slightly overdone. The wife has meatballs on a baguette and it too is yum! The meatballs are tender and the tomato relish/sauce is a perfect accompaniment. Each of our food selections was $10, a bargain for the area!
There are an array of food choices stretching from breakfast rolls, pies, burgers to really cool looking salami board, pate board and cheese board along with a selection of sandwiches.
Gnome may be small but it definitely punches above it’s weight along one of the premier food streets in the country. Very few cafes can combine good, innovative cafe style food with sublime coffee. Gnome is one such establishment!

Recommendation : If you don’t check out Gnome on your next visit to Surry Hills you are truly missing out.