Situated within the Balls Head Reserve by Waverton, Sydney, the Coal Loader Café is the perfect place to head for a well-deserved breakfast or brunch after a leisurely morning walk through the beautiful reserve.
Part of the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability, the Coal Loader Café takes pride in its green footprint, sourcing its food locally, whilst any kitchen waste is turned into compost – a great idea!
Here you can take in the absolutely stunning views of the Sydney Harbour over a casual coffee, with a choice of seating inside and outside. When we arrived, the Coal Loader Café was already bustling with activity and is a popular spot for families with children. Children can play safely outside, whilst parents can read through the morning papers and chat with friends.
We headed inside and both ordered a bacon and egg roll, which was reasonably priced. Other menu items included beautiful banana bread, muffins, smashed avo on toast and all your usual breakfast type items. Choose from a selection of coffees, teas or cold drinks and there’s plenty of cold tap water available as well – something I love about Australia.
We took our table number and sat in a quiet corner inside whilst watching the world go by. The Coal Loader Café is a casual place to come, with the friendly and polite staff on hand for anything you need. Our food, although busy didn’t take too long to arrive and our bacon and egg rolls looked absolutely superb and huge! We had a nice crusty ciabatta roll with a runny egg inside plus plenty of bacon. I had tomato sauce with mine, and this sauce was homemade and full of flavour and went down a treat.
We were both really impressed with our bacon and egg rolls, and I have to agree that they were one of the best bacon and egg rolls that I have had in a long, long time.
Once we had finished, we had a wander around the local area, through the community garden and down towards the water to take a closer look at the harbour. There is currently work happening on the tunnels, but we were able to walk through one of the coal tunnels and by the entrance there is still an original coal truck outside and some plaques detailing the history which we found very interesting.
Overall, Balls Head Reserve makes for a lovely morning walk, which isn’t too enduring and offers fascinating views of the gorgeous Sydney Harbour. The Coal Loader Café breaks up your walk halfway if you are feeling a little peckish or makes a nice end to your walk. There are also toilet facilities here too.
The Coal Loader Café is a real hidden gem, and I cannot wait to come back next time for another delicious brunch in a gorgeous setting.