The Little Kitchen

You’re officially invited to join husband-and-wife culinary dream team Neil and Amy Thompson at their very own Little Kitchen for relaxed cafe-style dining in a bright, light environment down Arden Street, close to Grant Reserve at the southern end of Coogee Beach. Well, perhaps we’re overstating the officialdom of such an invite, for to eat here is a far from informal affair, where you can tuck into breakfast, lunch, and dinner made with down-to-earth restraint from Australian organic produce wherever possible. Sydney’s The Little Kitchen is a showhome of sorts for the Thompson’s love of good food and drink.

Thank goodness the Thompsons are morning larks. They open up The Little Kitchen down Arden Street every day from 7am, which means they get a lot of sandy-footed business from early bathers fresh out of the surf at nearby Coogee Beach, all eager to grab a coffee (the Flight Path Blend from Sydney’s Double Roasters tops the list) and lap up a healthy breakfast. Go half English with a classic bacon and egg bap complete with HP sauce, the Middle Eastern-tinged baked eggs with eggplant, chickpeas, chorizo, harissa and labne, or the maritime kedgeree with smoked cod or house-smoked ocean trout on spicy toast with kale, sesame and scrambled eggs. Breakfast here is put together with humble charm, showcasing the flavours and textures of what which we might call Australian cuisine has absorbed from abroad over the years.

Lunch at The Little Kitchen is served from noon, and continues the carefully curated, Australian-meets internationalist character of the most important meal of the day. Ratcheting it up a notch, Coogee’s most down-home cafe-restaurant offers marinated Freemantle sardine fillets on bruschetta, a big Angus beef burger and open steak sandwiches, or a classic crispy-skinned chicken with heirloom carrots, kale and a tasty chicken broth. It’s all brilliant fodder for Sydney’s beach bums, but come dinner (restricted to Thursday through Saturday evenings), the Thompsons split the offering into smaller dishes, things more substantial, sides, and desserts. Perfect for sharing, the smaller dishes include bowls of Sydney rock oysters, South Australian Pipi’s pancetta with cider, and crispy duck egg with prosciutto, asparagus, and a soft herb salad. Bigger dishes reprise some of the lunch menu, with the addition of pork belly, blue eyed cod, and sirloin steaks. Before you bid your hosts and their Little Kitchen down Arden Street goodbye, don’t forget to try one of the homemade desserts – chocolate mousse with blueberry jam and white chocolate granita is a great way to finish.