Slingshot cafe opens in Narrabeen

As a co-founder of Ashfield hit Excelsior Jones, James Naylor understands the increasingly important role of a cafe beyond food and drink.

At their best cafes are part meeting-place, town hall and a touch point for a community.

"I enjoy talking s--- to people all day," he says.

After selling Excelsior Jones in 2017, Naylor has taken his mix of caffeine-peddler and cafe confessional to the other side of the city, opening Slingshot on Sydney's northern beaches at Narrabeen.

He's hoping to bring a little of the community involvement engendered at Excelsior Jones, although he stresses Slingshot is a piccolo in comparison.

GSBN Studio has crafted a pruned room where the boundary between work space and customer is so minimal you half expect a payslip rather than the bill.

From a tight space, the menu punches modest fare, including the "odds and ends" (seasonal vegetables, pickles, ferments, labneh and bread).

"It's health food in disguise," Naylor says.

Naylor has teamed with Marcus Vogt; the co-owners worked together 14 years ago when Naylor was making a career change from panelbeating to hospitality and Vogt gave him a job.

Did Naylor use his former training to help craft the Slingshot interior? "I don't even own a welder any more, but we did assemble the furniture," he says.

Open Mon-Fri 6am-2pm; Sat-Sun 7am-2pm.

Shop C 1320 Pittwater Road, Narrabeen, slingshot.cafe.