Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills

Back in my early 20s I would've really struggled going to a cafe or restaurant on my own - but luckily those days have passed as I really wanted to check out new kid on the Surry Hills block - Paramount Coffee Project.  As luck would have it I was only free when everyone else wasn't!

I think this place must have opened up whilst we were in Europe as there's been nothing but talk about it since I got back. It's on 1001 food blogs and now I'm adding my 2 cents worth to the mix, cos my opinion is all that matters, right? Oh, it's not - umm, OK.

The cafe is run by the crew from Rueben Hills and some coffee dudes from Melbourne and can be found in  the foyer of the lovely art deco Paramount House Building.  The ground floor is also home to a plant pop-up shop and a bike shop and downstairs is a small cinema showing Golden Oldies (that's old movies for you youngsters who cannot speak Baby Boomer).

Even though the space the cafe occupies is quite large there's not a lot of places to sit - two big communal tables, a long table outside, a bench for two people and some cushions perched on the large window sill (which is where I sat). I guess fewer seats gives the place a bit more of an exclusive feel but think of how much more money they could make with more bums on seats! That said the space, in this overcrowded city of ours, sure is nice.

In the interest of full disclosure I'd only just visited Lord of the Fries about 10 minutes earlier so I could only fit one more thing into my stomach. I arrived *just* as they were closing the kitchen so I quickly ordered the item I'd heard the most hype about - the Crab Po'boy ($18.00). Who needs a menu when you've been stalking this place on social media. I really wanted to order the side of potato crisps and a gherkin ($3.00) but I just could not fit it in. Shame.

The po'boy was great - not only was it visually impressive with a muddle of deep-fried soft shell crab legs trying to make an escape from it's bready prison, it was super tasty! The crab was shatteringly crunchy and the coleslaw was super zingy. Best of all the bun was lovely and soft. Two thumbs up.

As the name suggests, Paramount Coffee Project also has a big focus on all this caffeinated. As well as cold drip, they offer a black iced coffee or an iced latte. Guess which I chose? Yes - iced latte. It was good - tasted like coffee (eye roll I know), not too strong so I didn't need to add any sugar to take the bite away which is how I measure a good coffee.

Paramount Coffee Project is at 80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills.