It’s no secret that things are on the up-and-up for the oft-maligned suburb of Redfern. Quietly opened and still relatively undiscovered, the Pitt Street Diner is among the latest upwardly additions to this inner-city burb, which is seeing a massive gentrification and now boasts a number of slick restaurant and café operations (with small bars soon to join the mix).

Owner Darryl Ferguson, who you’ll find behind the counter, tells us that his vision was to serve modern and innovative café fare that focuses on fresh produce at affordable prices. PSD is currently open for breakfast and lunch, but plans are afoot to add evening meals and a liquor licence, which will see them plying patrons with a boutique wine list soon enough.

The fit-out is simple yet sleek enough, with stained wooden bi-fold windows and large double doors opening this slip of a joint out onto the street. The open kitchen reminds us that it’s all about the food.

Not content with the ubiquitous eggs benedict that often dominate area cafes, Pitt Street Diner offers more, well, more-ish breakfast choices. Try the classic croque madame – a leg ham and gruyere cheese toasted sandwich layered with seeded mustard and béchamel sauce, and topped with fried eggs. Also worth a whirl are the house-made ‘Boston baked beans’, enriched with ham hock and served with a seeded sourdough breadstick from Bronte’s ever-popular bakery, Iggy’s, perhaps the best sauce-dipping device around. The beans are a winner in our book.

For lunch, a Reuben pastrami sandwich is the only real allusion to the venue’s ‘diner’ moniker. That and the tempting salads, rich ragus and house-baked cakes – like the quince and lemon caramel number we had on our last visit – make this one café to add to your hit list.

 

Where: 96 Pitt St, Redfern
Phone: (02) 8668 5936
Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-3pm | Sun 8am-3pm