Beejays is the latest on the Marrickville expanding brunch scene. It’s been open for a week, already making a mark with friendly service and speedy baristas serving up Toby’s Estate Single Origin coffees.

The breakfast menu features variations on the bacon and eggs theme with a side order menu that, aside from the grilled haloumi, avocado, wilted spinach and asparagus, reads like a meat-lover’s dream – from citrus-cured salmon, crisp speck and chorizo to sliced prosciutto. Make sure you check out the specials board above the doorway or you’ll miss out on dishes like the Mediterranean omelette with prosciutto, fetta and Spanish onion, or the breakfast bruschetta with Heirloom tomatoes, fetta, poached eggs and tomato chutney served on turkish or soy and linseed Sonoma bread. Muffins and some cakes are baked on site.

The lunch menu has a multicultural mix of dishes like Greek salad with lamb or Thai beef salad, reflecting the cultural melting pot that is Marrickville today. Following the current trend in cocktail bar glassware, fresh smoothies are served in preserving jars.

A mural behind the bar depicts a cheeky chica and a map of Brazil – inspired by the single origin coffee’s source. The remaining walls are exposed brick, lined with hessian coffee sacks and accented with collections: old cameras above the bar, vinyl at the doorway out to the courtyard, cassette tapes affixed in line under a long shelf. Chairs are covered in collages of SBS pages from newspaper TV guides. There’s plenty of seating here – in the main café, out the back in the courtyard, or at the street-front counter for a platformed view of the passing parade along Illawarra Road.

Beejays lets us in on a secret the locals have known for years – that Marrickville is a top place to head to for breakfast, lunch and everything in between. And if owner Benjamin Terkalas (by the way he’s only 19!) has his way, Beejays will also start serving at nights as he has plans to apply for a liquor license.

Where: 395 Illawarra Road, Marrickville
Phone: 0401 098 558
Hours: Open: Mon-Fri 5am-5pm| Sat-Sun 6:30am-5pm
Details: facebook.com/pages/Beejays/403755282992300