Bite Cafe, Coogee

Now that I have regained custody of my car (albeit fleeting custody) I head on over to Coogee for brunch with my lovely English friend, Cat and her cute-as-a-button 8 month old daughter BabyG.

First up I have to confess that I am a pretty nervous driver. I’m 36 years of old and only bought my first ever car about a year ago. I began my driving career on the wide and empty streets of Broken Hill where the drivers are pretty relaxed and the speed limit doesn’t go above 50kms anywhere in town.

It’s mainly the Sydney drivers that freak me out, as they swerve in and out of my lane, merge without indicating and generally drive like they’re trying out for the Parramatta Speedway.

So it is with trepidation that I head on out on the l-o-n-g drive from east to west. Things are going well until it starts pouring with rain, so hard I can barely see out the window. Oh, and it rains INSIDE my car too so I end up with shoes full of water. Oh, I take a wrong turn INSIDE the cross city tunnel somewhere and end up on the road to Watson’s Bay.

By the time I get from Parramatta to Gladesville I realise I’ve been holding my breathe for about 15 minutes straight!

Needless to say, it’s with total relief and wonderment that I arrive in Coogee alive and unscathed and actually find a park I can drive head first in to. No reverse parking for this girl!

Sensing my distress Cat suggests a café that is a lovely stroll from her house along the beach front. Of course by this stage the skies have cleared, it’s uber sunny and actually quite warm. Stupid Sydney weather!

We end up at Bite Café, a small café with a great view over the north end of Coogee Beach.

We ask for a high chair for BabyG, but the only high chair they have is broken and we cannot strap BabyG in. Back into the pram for her. She takes her seating demotion pretty well considering she can no longer enjoy the view.

The café is virtually empty when we arrive, but quickly fills up. It’s a small small space and it quickly becomes so loud I can hardly hear Miss Cat talking to me and the wait staff can’t really hear us either. It’s certainly not a relaxing brunch despite the million dollar views.

I wasn’t sure if my nerves could handle a coffee, so in an “I’ll have what she’s having” moment order the Eye Opener ($5.50) that Cat orders for herself.

Our Eye Openers looks very very pretty, however I will take this as a lesson to not order something without actually consulting the menu first! This drink is WAY too grown up for me with grown up ingredients like tomato juice (yucky), Tabasco (yucky), celery, cucumber, lemon juice and ginger. It’s basically a breakfast version of a Bloody Mary.

For brunch I decide on the Bruschetta with Woodfire Bread ($12.00).

The Bruschetta comes topped with tomato, avocado, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. I ask for my hollandaise on the side as I don’t want to give my self a buttery induced heart-attack before I reach 40.

My breakfast is very tasty and the egg is perfectly runny. The bread however is too tough to cut with my butter knife so I end up eating with my hands. BabyG is eating her brunch without cutlery, so I figure it won't matter if I do the same.

Cat has been here a few times so she knows what she is having without even having to consult the menu.

She promptly orders Salmon Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce ($13.00). As bread is Miss Cat’s enemy she asks for an extra potato rosti, hold the Turkish Bread. Her special request is received without the bat of an eyelid, or any extra charge. I like it when a café can accommodate people with funny tummy’s without making a drama out of it.

BabyG has brought a packed lunch of Vegemite spread on crust less brown bread. No butter. She’s health conscious I can tell.

As I hop in to my car to drive home the heavens open up again despite it being sunny for my entire time at the beach. Sigh.

Bite Cafe is at  126A Beach Street, Coogee.