Luxe Kitchen Woollahra

A morning visit to Woollahra’s Queens Court can be quite the decadent affair, especially if the prospect of a champagne breakfast takes your fancy.

Cafe-bakery outfit Luxe has taken up residence in the space once occupied by Bill’s, serving sweet-treat favourites and a few tipples from 7.30am. 

Luxe’s oozing, darkly lush salted caramel chocolate tart is on the menu, as is French champagne (plus Bloody Marys), available by the bottle or glass.

During our morning visit, however, it's the caffeinated beverages doing a roaring trade. The house blend, roasted by Toby’s Estate, is strong and creamy with a bitter edge in piccolo latte form. The other brew of choice comes courtesy of Tea By Chamellia, and ranges from English breakfast to masala chai.

Luxe Kitchen opened last September. Tucked away inside the Queens Court building, it’s a bustling breakfast spot, inside and out.  The latter made possible in winter, by outdoor heaters in the courtyard.

The breakfast menu by head chef Griff Pamment stretches to 3pm on weekends, and ranges from the usual cafe mainstays - eggs, muesli and croissants - to the likes of grits and quinoa felafel. Fresh salads sit behind the counter, alongside the tarts and pastries made at Luxe’s wholesale bakery at Moore Park.

Owner Jono Harvey started Luxe in 2003 with a cafe, now closed, in The Strand Arcade. Bondi Junction and Newtown followed a few years later. These days, Luxe makes about 3500 loaves of bread and 4500 pastries a day, supplying the likes of Chur Burger and Room 10, as well as its own venues. Harvey’s next plan is to open at Westfield Miranda in November.

Harvey and Pamment oversaw a significant refit of the Woollahra cafe, and the end result has an understated feminine charm, with mauve walls, a marble floor and pink woven cane chairs. It makes for a comfortable visit, even when the chatter builds to a crescendo.

Service, while friendly, is a little hit and miss when busy. Variations to orders are mixed up at both our table and our neighbours’. On another visit we have to grab someone’s attention after a decent wait to order, then one of our coffees goes awry. It’s slightly out of step with the expectation set by the price tag and surrounds.

But Luxe is a reliable purveyor of quality breakfasts, and the Woollahra venue is no exception. On a cold Sunday morning we tuck into a serve of slow-cooked beans. There’s a double hit of spice, with some heat in the al dente beans cooked with tomato, and a creamy chipotle sauce.  It packs a punch, served alongside a poached egg and sourdough toast. 

Another hearty option is five-grain grits. Thick, savoury and porridge-like, it gets a crucial boost from the banana, cinnamon and coconut yoghurt on top.

Egg lovers can choose from six Luxe breakfasts, all served on toast and priced a little on the steep side at $20 a pop. Egg and beans with brisket slow-cooked in coffee and bourbon is one for meat lovers. There's also a mushroom option, and a twist on bruschetta with roast tomato and pesto. We opt for the more traditional eggs royale (there’s benedict and florentine too). The eggs come with a generous portion of smoked salmon topped with a light hollandaise.

As for the champers, well, coffee o’clock is a bit early for us. Same goes for the salted caramel chocolate tart. But, tempted by take-away, we can report it goes down just as well for afternoon tea at home with a cup of tea.

THE LOW-DOWN
The picks Coffee, baked beans, eggs royale, salted caramel chocolate tart
The coffee Toby’s Estate
The look Classic charm
The service Friendly with moments of confusion