5 Boroughs

Good, strong coffee and brilliant bacon and egg recovery rolls are just the beginning at Potts Point’s 5 Boroughs cafe. And it begins early for once in Kings Cross, with this reliable Darlinghurst Road local opening its doors at dawn with a thankfully large-font breakfast menu offering the works to Sydney’s voluntary and involuntary early birds. Rolling over to lunch the tone is much the same – solid cafe fare with plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options, and the ever popular Big Aussie beef burger dominating the menu. With a welcoming staff and an owner-manager who knows your name, it’s enough to convert anyone to a 5 Boroughs regular. And it’s almost 24/7 here: 5 Boroughs opens up for drinks at 10am, showcasing top shelf whiskies and vodkas and a range of signature cocktails all the way through until the wee hours.

Slap bang in the heart of Sydney’s Kings Cross, 5 Boroughs does a brisk trade in morningtide pick-me-ups. It’s raw, NYC-style interior matched by great coffee and a bold and beautiful food offering bodes well for both punters in The Cross and regulars poached from the Potts Point neighbourhood. 5 Boroughs down Darlinghurst Road is the kind of place that inspires loyalty, helped along by the friendly attitude of the ever-present owner and general manager, who’s the kind of guy that knows your name when you’ve drunk and dined there but twice. But it’s also the kind of cafe and bar that you know will be open and ready when you’re fiending for caffeine, needing a feast, or desiring a long drink.

Opening early for breakfast, 5 Boroughs has famous bacon and egg rolls, classic big and veggie breakfasts, your eggs in all your favourite ways, and a couple of edible acronyms: the S.T.A.R. (sourdough, tomato, avocado, ricotta) and the better-known B.L.T, with optional extras. Lunch adds the C.L.A.T. (don’t go getting any dancehall ideas yet), a substantial chicken, lettuce, avo and tomato (plus coriander mayo) stack, and before you know it this King’s Cross cafe (down the Potts Point stretch of Darlinghurst Road) has transformed into a bar, complete with terrace seating so you can lap up the action at Sydney’s hottest party district.