Pablo's Vice

Some things are guaranteed to raise a smile: finding 10 bucks on the ground, cute old couples holding hands and beardy baristas in flannelette shirts singing along to Diesel's Right on the Tip of My Tongue in hip cafes. Pablo's Vice looks impossibly cool, all industrial warehouse vibe with red-hued walls, concrete floors and patrons in ankle-baring skinny jeans. But then all the trucker-capped staff start singing along to Matchbox Twenty and someone orders a takeaway cup of decaf tea. Anyone fits in here.

The hole-in-the-wall cafe is a stalwart in the Surry Hills-Darlinghurst area. It handles several Campos coffee blends with aplomb to produce a rich, smooth cup, or try the Punjabi chai lattes, loose leaf T2 teas, fresh juices and milkshakes.

Customers shout in their orders through the big open window by the coffee machine and perch on a bench seat to chat.

Outside, on the slight incline of Goulburn Street, the smattering of tables and stools are a bit awkward to sit on.

The menu, scribbled on the blackboard wall inside, includes all-day breakfast with such attractions as breakfast caprese - bocconcini, tomato and basil on sourdough - boiled eggs and toast soldiers for grown-ups and Sonoma muesli. The breakfast panini is generously and precisely layered with a fried egg, fresh tomato, spinach, leg ham, cheese and zippy home-made aioli on a chewy toasted roll.

For lunch there are burgers, wraps, paninis and salads. A few treats lurk in the glass cabinet, including brownies, home-made muffins and moist, not-too-sweet banana bread. Footloose plays as we leave and despite our best efforts, we can't help singing along.

Pablo's Vice

Address: Corner Goulburn and Crown streets, Darlinghurst, 0409 242 616, Open: Mon-Sat, 7am-5pm