On New Year’s Day, Agenda was desperate for a good coffee and hangover feed. And while local Surry Hills eatery, Café Ish, was still holidaying, the owners were gracious enough to turn us on to the opening day of a stunning new roaster and noshery on Albion Street – Reuben Hills.

The vibe kind of reminds us of one our favourite Melbourne cafes: Collingwood’s warehouse-y Proud Mary. Reuben Hills comprises a long industrial space with lots of polished concrete, exposed brick walls and ceilings, orange-and-pumpkin fluoro lights and a couple of fashion-as-function espresso machines by Kees Van Der Westen. That said, what really makes it is the roller door that opens to the sunny laneway out back, the ceiling cut-outs to the roasting machines on the first floor, and a South American menu that breakfasts and lunches unlike anywhere else.

The food menu is by Megan McCulloch, who’s returned from the UK after cooking for Heston Blumenthal at The Hinds Head and for the horseracing well-to-do at Royal Ascot. Her menu focuses on the countries from which Reuben Hill’s coffee beans hail. So there are Honduran baleada (bali-yah-da) – folder flour tortillas stuffed with pimenton-spiced pulled pork or eggs with queso fresco and black beans – plus Costa Rican ceviche, pan-Latino empanadas and brioche served South American-style with dulche de leche.

The food is deceptively simple. Take the signature Reuben sandwich, which forgoes traditional corned beef in favour of wagyu brisket that McCulloch brines for days before slow-cooking for hours and hours until tender. Oh yeah, and the salted caramel milkshake is mind-blowingly good.

We’d come for the food alone, but the coffee is equally killer. Owner Russell Beard hails from Mosman’s The Source, and here he’s roasting and cupping his beans daily. He also hits the road to visit the coffee plantations directly, guaranteeing the highest-quality beans he can get his hands on. This is serious espresso business, and you can get in on the action each Friday at 10am with free cuppings held in the upstairs roasting loft.

Coffee hounds will also dig the filtered Aeropress and Clover coffees, while foodies will love that there’s not a single same-same big brekkie, toast or corn fritter in sight. Rueben Hills is a true original, and a top-tier addition to a suburb already teaming with good coffee. Magnífico it is.

Where: 61 Albion St, Surry Hills
Hours: 7 days | 7am-4pm
Phone: (02) 9211 5556
Details: reubenhills.com.au