Unwritten Bookshop

Address Unwritten Bookshop Cafe, 107a Pittwater Road, Boronia Park (enter via Princes Street), 9816 1613

Open 7am-5pm Monday to Friday, 7am-3pm Saturday and Sunday

There is something pleasingly eclectic about this small suburban cafe, though not in the Newtown-graffiti-and-milk-crates kind of way.

Spread across two interconnecting shops, the walls are blue and purple, the chairs and tables wooden and mismatching, there are a few couches to sink into and shelves at the back are stacked with second-hand books. I stumble on an old pictorial history of the British Labour Party. The books are for sale but customers can also read them at the cafe. There are children's titles, too, and a small area for them to sit and read.

There's a counter with pastries and other sweet things and a blackboard with a smallish menu, including a lunch selection of sandwiches and turkish breads ($8.50-$9.50) and toasties ($6.50). The vegan burger ($10.50) is good, as are two pancakes stuffed with berries and yoghurt ($6.50).

The coffee, by Melbourne roasters Jasper, is excellent. My large flat white ($4.20, small $3.50) is strong but not bitter. And all served with a smile and a friendly chat.