Halcyon Coffee

On arrival at Halcyon Coffee, a massive gust of wind blows Fashion Dog wildly along the footpath.

Small girl is bereft.

But, 10 minutes later, sucking on Halcyon's housemade strawberry and basil soda and clutching her retrieved fluffy toy, she is blissfully becalmed.

Halcyon Coffee, situated on a busy, windy corner in a modern business district in Mascot, is something of an oasis.

It can be hard to find as cars and trucks roar by and the streets throng with workers in smart shirts, their security passes swinging around their necks.

Many are heading for this small, four-month-old corner cafe. Some sit on spruce garden benches in the surprisingly green and shady courtyard out front.  Behind, a queue for the cafe's house-roasted coffee stretches out the door.

Halcyon opened in October last year and an extraordinary level of care is evident in its look, food and operation.

Dishes, beautifully arranged with well-considered ingredients, have an artisan touch. Service is unobtrusive, swift and scrupulous. And the decor, a streamlined mix of retro English cafe and modern atrium-style office foyer, mixes a 1950s green wall menu featuring white, push-in typography letters, with white subway tiles, nifty wooden tables and tall glass window-walls letting in plenty of light.

The menu is small but wide-ranging, with six breakfast dishes from toast with jams, organic honey, smashed avocado and more, to a bacon, egg and hash roll and house-smoked trout.

We choose the last two plus a haloumi and broccoli salad (from three salad options, available from 11am).

The house-smoked trout comes with eggs, whole peas, fresh apple slivers and greens. It is burstingly fresh, the rosy pink fish plump and smoky and the hand-picked salad leaves blooming green.

The bacon, egg and hash roll is its racy cousin. Offered with spicy house barbecue sauce, it's a revelation. Lovely eggy ooze dribbles through smoky bacon and light, crispy fried potato on firm, toasted bread.

I've ordered the haloumi and broccoli salad, which feels like a sad, health-focussed decision until it arrives and the first mouthful goes in.

Made with quinoa, a kaleidoscope of delicate salad greens and seeds, there is nothing glum about it. The salty haloumi chunks are great with plump broccoli florets and a citrusy vinaigrette.

As well as admiring the food, our table has been guzzling on a variety of stand-out liquids. The house-made strawberry and basil soda is joined by a sparky traditional lemonade soda and good fresh orange juice.

Now we come to the coffee. Halcyon roast their own, an earthy, caramely seasonal blend sourced from Brasil, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Kenya. They also offer two weekly single origins, one served as an espresso and the other as a pour-over.

We savour two flat whites and a long black, all strong, sweet and creamy in their own way. Bags of the blend and single origin beans are available to buy.

Ordering is done at the counter and service is swift and friendly, ferrying out dishes on hand-made ceramics in a jiffy. There is also a level of seriousness, with staff intent on maintaining certain standards.

It's working, doubly highlighted by salubrious home-baked apple and peach pastries chomped down with another round of fine, fine coffee.

Fashion Dog is clutched in sated happiness as we leave.

THE LOW-DOWN
THE PICKS House-smoked trout with egg; haloumi and broccoli salad; house-made sodas
THE COFFEE House-roasted blends and single origins from Brasil, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Kenya
THE LOOK Half retro-English cafe, half modern streamlined atrium
THE SERVICE Low-key and friendly