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Meadow Cafe

Jacqui Taffel

Chill out: Meadow Cafe looks summery even in winter
Chill out: Meadow Cafe looks summery even in winterLisa Maree Williams

Modern Australian$$

It's nippy at Prince Alfred Park Pool this morning: the car thermometer shows 12C. As always with winter swimming, the bad bit is getting from the freezing change room into the heated water. After the first shock of getting wet, the chill subsides within a lap. The good bit – apart from getting some exercise – is breakfast afterwards at Meadow.

In front of the pool's entry, the cafe occupies a bright, white-tiled cave underneath the long grassy slope that also forms the roof over the change rooms. The ingenious, airy design has won Neeson Murcutt Architects multiple gongs since the pool upgrade opened last year, including three prizes at last month's NSW Architecture Awards.

About half the cafe's seating is outdoors, scattered among a grove of tall palm trees. Although it's chilly, the sun is shining, so we take an outside table and grab some of the fuzzy pale-blue blankets provided, using them as cushions to insulate ourselves from the metal chairs.

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Smoked speck and egg roll with Meadow relish.
Smoked speck and egg roll with Meadow relish.Lisa Maree Williams

Meadow is run by wife and husband Stephany and Gary Burton, who also look after Poolside Cafe at Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool in the Domain. When ABC's pool and cafe close for winter, lots of swimmers migrate to Prince Alfred and Meadow, which stay open through the colder months.

As menus are delivered, drink orders are taken, calming those in urgent need of caffeine. The coffee, by Campos, does the trick, and tea is by The Rabbit Hole. A pot of Ginger Snap is a warming, well-balanced blend of ginger and cinnamon. For more decadent tastes, there's salted caramel hot chocolate and, after 10am, a short list of stronger drinks is available. (You can have a glass of sparkling wine with a late breakfast but beware of the menu's small type: ''Intoxicated persons will not be allowed access to the swimming pool.'')

On a day like this, it's hard to go past the steel-cut oats porridge topped with maple-roasted apples and mascarpone, or poached eggs with sage burnt butter, natural yoghurt and paprika crumbs, which we've had before.

Poached eggs with sage-burnt butter and natural yoghurt.
Poached eggs with sage-burnt butter and natural yoghurt.Lisa Maree Williams
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Today we go for lighter options. A generous hillock of avocado on a big slice of toasted Brasserie Bread sourdough is surrounded by a vivid party of heirloom tomatoes and basil oil, a spray of curly endive on top. It's pretty, healthy and tasty.

The bacon and egg roll is on a brioche bun with crispy smoked speck and a perfectly fried egg that drips yellow yolk, plus Meadow's house-made tomato relish. A small mountain of bircher muesli sits in a puddle of almond milk, with chia seeds and poached pear on tap. Roast hazelnuts add flavour and crunch, but the muesli is a bit heavy on dried fruit – there are only so many dried apricots you can eat in one sitting.

At an inside table, two small girls with their mum are kept well occupied, choosing from a shelf supplying books, pencils and colouring-in pages. A kids' corner has a small table and chairs, high chairs are stacked by the back wall, and a funky playground for littlies is within easy reach, with an elephant slippery dip and a sand pit.

The menu doesn't change too often and the concrete floor inside is not very cosy in winter, but when the sun is out and the palm trees rustle gently, it's like a small oasis a stone's throw from Central Station. Goggles and towel optional.

THE LOW-DOWN
THE PICKS BACON AND EGG ROLL; POACHED EGGS WITH SAGE BURNT BUTTER; AVOCADO ON SOURDOUGH
THE COFFEE CAMPOS
THE LOOK BRIGHT AND BREEZY
THE SERVICE CASUAL BUT EFFICIENT

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