Something Very Familiar About Clovelly’s New Gordons Cafe

By Dining Dave Instagram @diningdave on September 27, 2016 in Food

Clovelly’s newest corner café may only be three weeks old, but it’s not exactly new to the Eastern Suburbs. In fact, Bronte residents may do a double take upon entering Gordons when they see cheery Hannah Simmons behind the espresso machine or running around the café serving tables. Hannah was previously the owner of the much adored Café Salina in Bronte, but after selling up, she and the Salina crew made the transition to Clovelly for a fresh start.

Located just a stone’s throw from the secluded, breathtaking Gordons Bay (which has obviously lent its name to the café), Gordons straddles the corner of Clovelly Road and Beach Street. The calm residential neighborhood that it’s situated in lends itself to a relaxing Sunday lunch, like the one my better half and I recently enjoyed.

Gordons is a large space encompassing two rooms, with the lower level drenched in sunlight due to its wrap-around windows. Hannah and her team designed the café themselves, opting for subtle shades of wood, white tiles with black borders and a bright yellow coffee machine.

After bringing us a Single Origin Roasters coffee and a ‘power’ smoothie of mixed berries infused with chia seeds, Hannah proudly explained that her goal was to create a place that centered around the neighborhood and served up seasonal, fresh food sourced from local purveyors, all at a reasonably price.

The menu bears a number of similarities to the Café Salina menu, with a few of the old favourites making the transition south, including the awesome sweet corn fritters with bacon, two poached eggs, avocado, cherry tomato, coriander and lime salsa verde, which we couldn’t resist. The three stacked fritters of crispy corn topped with sizzling bacon and perfectly white eggs went beautifully with the in-house salsa. It’s clearly a standout dish.

Following the fritter first course, the two mains we selected were the six-hour slow-cooked lamb salad with beets, pumpkin, quinoa, mixed leaves and mint yoghurt, and Gordons’ signature winter dish, the fish and prawn pie.

Gordons does slow-cooking right. The lamb pieces were succulence squared, and the rest of the dish combined well, bringing out the rich flavours of the meat on top. The pie also hit the spot on a cool August afternoon. We tore open its perfectly baked golden crust and dug into the steaming barramundi and prawns with reckless abandon. Not too heavy, not too light, this pie is an absolute must.

About two hours into our lazy afternoon lunch, we capped it off with a spongy slice of Hannah’s house-made banana and walnut bread (they also bake brownies, muffins and gluten-free nut slices) and a couple more fair-trade coffees.

Gordons will be offering dinner around summertime, and if their lunch is any indication, I expect it to be just as busy at night as it is during the day. Clovelly just got very lucky.

Gordons Cafe
Address 353-355 Clovelly Road, Clovelly
Phone (02) 9665 2342
Instagram @gordonscafe
Email hannah@gordonscafe.com.au
Open Brekky and lunch
Prices $10 – $22
Cards Accepted All major
Licensed/BYO Fully licensed