Stain cafe is just the ticket after sunrise for radio's Deb Clay

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This was published 7 years ago

Stain cafe is just the ticket after sunrise for radio's Deb Clay

By Daisy Dumas

WHY I LOVE THIS PLACE

WHO
Deb Clay, Australian Radio Network news director and presenter; of Hunters Hill

WHERE
Stain cafe, Hunters Hill

Qualities of a stayer: Stain cafe in Hunters Hill.

Qualities of a stayer: Stain cafe in Hunters Hill.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

WHY
"The area has undergone a lot of change and Stain is my favourite of the new cafes.

"I associate Stain with relaxing, sitting out in the spring sun, gathering thoughts and watching people walk along the road, and getting perspective on life before heading into work.

Deborah Clay finds Stain cafe a place of happiness, relaxation and deep thinking.

Deborah Clay finds Stain cafe a place of happiness, relaxation and deep thinking.Credit: Paul Lovelace

"It's close to home. I do Sunrise once a week and I'll go in there to break up the two aspects of my day. Sometimes I run there for breakfast and then walk back. To me, it's a place of happiness, relaxation, deep thinking, time to switch off and enjoy.

"There is so much care in the food, you can really sense that. Josh at the front desk knows people, he's professional and welcoming. It's very community-focused, I inevitably see people I know. It's just an opportunity to chill out. I have little ones as well – sometimes on the weekend I go with them."

WHAT
"There is great coffee, often I'll have eggs. I've also gone in at the weekend and had lamb salad or six-hour slow-cooked beef sandwiches. It's a sensory experience, not only for tastebuds but for the eyes as well."

ABOUT
"I enjoy cooking, I love Japanese food, but making sushi is a fine art, it's very time intensive. I really enjoy Italian food and pasta, although we're coming into that spring weather where you want to eat something a little bit lighter.

"I'm managing staff in Sydney and Brisbane, then I'm on air presenting Drive News for Hughesy and Kate on Kiis and WSFM. There are a lot of different aspects of my working life and I love them all. I have a section on Sunrise with Richard Glover once a week, I love that witty banter."

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STAIN CAFE

49 Gladesville Road, Hunters Hill, 9817 6886

Breakfast $5.50-$17.50; lunch $13.50-$19.50. $50 for two, plus drinks.

★★★✰✰



I'm in a fug of hunger and my taxi cannot get to Stain fast enough. It's a relief, then, that the cafe is in Friday afternoon chilled mode, nice and quiet and ready to whirr into action even as it winds down for closing time.

Deb Clay is right – Stain is part of a little enclave of modern, upmarket cafes in a formerly sleepy strip that is fast-gaining its caffeine cred. It doesn't look unlike the cafe opposite, with the same neat, slightly industrial chic, and with the same view on to Gladesville Road. But Stain is less showy, more intimate and homely, with exposed brickwork, wooden tabletops and bright modern art on the walls. It also has those folding front doors, giving it indoor-outdoor readiness and lending it all a breeziness, in the most Sydney springtime way.

Our late lunch disqualifies us from the breakfast menu – folded omelette, bacon and egg roll, porridge, vegie board, fruit toast, you know the thing – which is served until noon. So we have salads, burgers, sandwiches and the cake counter to contend with. No problems there.

Our food is straightforward, nothing to write home about. Good hot chips, even better aioli. Salad – grilled chicken with feta, artichokes and a deeply roasted tomato – is given too much dressing, love. Our cheese sandwich is, well, just that, without bells and whistles. Slow-cooked beef sanga is unfussy and comes in a rich, dark miche. It all does the job without making a song and dance of things, and perhaps that's what Stain is all about.

A special mention for the cakes, of which I sample a selection way beyond what is needed, helped by my colleagues. They're just the opposite – very fancy indeed. Gluten-free (or what was once known as flour-free in recipe books) versions topped with a bright bar of rhubarb and berries are tip top and the old-fashioned renditions – in carrot and something bright and lemony – are not too shabby, either.

There is a sense of close-knit staff, regulars who are known by name and order and a general light-hearted touch. The team laughs together and is not fastidious – my teacup is whisked away despite having more (very good) chai in my heavy iron pot, and our cheese sandwich is almost a mix-up. It's all done with a big smile. At one point, a huge crash from the extended kitchen area behind the coffeemaking nerve centre is excused with a grin and a "Sorry, ladies, having a Greek party back here". I like it.

It's comfy and easy and local and dog-friendly, and while the fare is not destination stuff, Stain is a local haunt, serving a local crowd well. And no, it does not bear any resemblance to its name.

Some cafes come and go but I suspect that Stain – with its atmosphere and strong, personal character – will outlast the blow-ins and become a community haunt to last.

And on the note of longevity, I am going to begin a small but important campaign right here, right now. It's something I've talked about before but this time, I mean action. Please, let's start thinking more before ordering takeaway cups. Landfill is stuffed with the things.

Let's do as the French and Italians do and have a quick coffee in a real cup at the coffee bar before getting stuck back into our days. It's a chance to stop, to talk, to think, and not to rush away with a paper and plastic cup that, two minutes later, ends up in the bin, long outlasting us all. Let's do this, Sydney coffee crowd.

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