Let’s do brunch 2011: Hyde Park Barracks Café

Situated on gravelly grounds and bound by a sandstone barrier wall is the Hyde Park Barracks Café, its facade almost completely cloaked in climbing ivy. If you score a table inside like we did, with windows and the aforementioned barrier wall obscuring most of the city skyline, you could fool yourself into thinking that you are actually someplace else rather than right in the middle of Sydney city. No wonder people choose to have weddings here.

Monsieur Poisson and I are here (sort of to celebrate our dating anniversary) to try the Let’s Do Brunch menu at $25 per person for 3 courses which includes either English Breakfast tea or filtered coffee. Our feast begins with ‘Homemade granola, natural yoghurt and poached fruit’.

Whilst I love the mixed and crunchy textures of granola, Monsieur Poisson is a little less excited. A jug of milk served alongside provides moisture and a dollop of thick tangy yoghurt imparts creaminess. The wedge of pear is not as soft as I expect from poaching, and blueberries softly pop open to reveal their purple juices.

‘Eggs three ways’ consists firstly of an ‘Egg, chorizo and roast tomato tart’ with crisp, flaky pastry and a still-runny quail’s egg when the tart is cut open. In the centre is the ‘Capsicum, caramelized onion and feta frittata’ of which Monsieur Poisson particularly enjoys the jammy-ness of the onion. At the far end is the ‘Ham egg benedict, on english muffin’ where greedy little me wishes there was more Hollandaise sauce.

By this stage we’re quite full and are thankful that dessert is to share. The ‘Belgian chocolate waffles with cherry compote and coconut gelato’ is not too sweet but we do wish the waffles were firmer and crispier. I scrape most of the cherry compote away, only as I have issues with cooked fruit, but surprisingly am taken by the coconut gelato. Not being a lover of many things coconut, I admire the smoothness of the gelato which is punctuated by tiny shreds of toasted coconut throughout.

Service is polite and efficient, with our water glasses constantly being refilled throughout the meal.

The Let’s do brunch offer is available at Hyde Park Barracks Café on weekends only during the month of October, from 8:30am-3pm. Hurry, there’s only this weekend left! Bookings are highly recommended.

Hyde Park Barracks Café

Queen Square, Macquarie St (cnr Prince Albert Rd), Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9222 1815

happy eating!