Just open: Three Queens on King, Newtown

What's all this, then? A cafe has opened in Newtown and there's zero recycled wood, exposed brick, milk crates, steampunk fittings or knock-off Banksy prints? Surely there must be mismatched cutlery, a cat-scratched Chesterfield or bearded barista lurking about? Nope. None of those either.

The owners of St Jude cafe in Redfern, Kate Thomas and Grant Piper, have partnered with Ursula Pfister (DOV Cafe) to open Three Queens on King. Perched at the city end of King Street, the cafe breathes new life into Newtown's cafe culture.

The interior looks like a Danish taxidermist had a go at decorating a child's nursery. There are bell jars, a stuffed fowl, blond timber, potted succulents, embalmed butterflies and six wooden horses of the apocalypse wearing skintight hessian onesies. Big, sliding windows open onto the street and in spite of all the wall clutter, it's a light and breezy place.

Open daily for lunch and dinner, the venue punches out cafe classics such as croque monsieurs ($13.50), bircher muesli ($9) and a cured salmon salad with baby beetroot, potato and poached egg ($19), plus some slightly-out-of-the-box dishes including toad-in-the-hole with smoked bacon butter ($12) and apple fritters with toffee sauce ($16.50).

A regular coffee will set you back $3.50 and there's a few speciality house teas ($4.50) with flavours such as fennel twig, chai and spearmint and palm sugar.

It's a shame Mag Nation closed down the road. Three Queens is the ideal cafe to tuck into your latest copy of Kinfolk or any other food and lifestyle magazine based out of Portland.

2-4 King Street, Newtown, (02) 9519 7744, 7am-3pm daily