Counting your cafe blessings in Hurlstone Park

There's a light-versus-dark battle brewing in the small inner-west suburb of Hurlstone Park.

In one corner, you have the celestial-looking, gold-accented Kylon, and in the other (30 metres away), Saint Lucifer with its controversial name, shiny hellfire-red tables and timber-clad walls.

But is it a choice between good and bad? Nope. Local cafe-goers are #blessed to be able to preach/post favourably about the food and coffee at both.

That said, "good" seems to be a recurring theme for Kylon owner Simon Lakis, who previously ran All the Good Things cafe at Kingsgrove.

Kylon (a combination of Simon and wife Kyla's names) skips the Greek food cameos featured at his previous venture, and focuses on current cafe hits, done well.

Service is comfortably casual and welcoming, and the mini kids' table tucked away in a corner plus a brief kids' menu keeps the younger set quietly happy.

The space

Is "modern minimalist Greco Deco" a thing? If not, Kylon has invented it, with its navy-and-white colour scheme, polished concrete and Art Deco touches gold (the cutlery, the entryway – and if you visit without delay – the autumn-gold leaves on the deciduous tree out front).

It's a fairly bare space but the effect is calming, and it allows the food to take centre stage. The kitchen is up back, seating up front, with tables inside and out – the latter looking towards Hurlstone Park train station.

The food

The menu covers all bases: burgers, bagels, bowls, and eggs every which way. And while the decor keeps colour to a minimum, the food goes all out with a vibrant rainbow palette.

The chilli eggs reigns as top dish – the spiced-up scramble teamed with a Luxe Bakery croissant, chorizo, confit chilli and jack cheese – while avocado toast is more farmers' market bounty than quick snack.

House-made falafel could use a little more herby freshness, although the slack is picked up by roasted cauliflower, curls of cucumber, and a crunchy mix of kimchi, grated carrot, sweet pickled onion and cherry tomatoes, and a big dollop of hummus.

The poke bowl is another kaleidoscopic serve of veg, topped with cured salmon and a sesame-ponzu dressing.

At the other end of the spectrum are the beef burger – saucy, pickly, cheesy – with mound of chunky chips, and the towering banoffee french toast, in which big brioche slabs are topped with caramel sauce, hazelnut praline, cream and banana. It's not saintly, but it's good.

The brew

The cover-all-bases approach includes the coffee offering. There's filter, cold brew (plus three iced coffee options), and all the milks (almond, macadamia, coconut, soy and, do we need to say, cow?). Beans are from Five Senses, with the Darkhorse blend used for white coffees.

Espresso is a rotating single origin – the natural processed Ethiopian (Ardi) on our visit had a nice bitter-sweet balance with a cocoa finish.

The booze

Kylon is not licensed, but if you're after something other than coffee, there's kombucha and sparkling water on tap, hot chocolates made with Melbourne's Mork chocolate, turmeric and matcha lattes, milkshakes (rated "best ever" by the six-year-old co-reviewer), smoothies, juice and sodas.

So go to town, or to Hurlstone Park's slice of heaven, as the case may be.

The low-down

Kylon Eatery & Specialty Coffee

Avo factor Top-notch – labna-smeared, sumac-sprinkled toast topped with avo, poached eggs, sesame seeds, finger lime, pea shoots and confit cherry tomatoes $15

Caffe latte $4

Loving The accommodating menu. Vegos, dudes, kids, sweet tooths – all covered.

Not getting Black coffee service stumbles. 

Overheard "Hey, it's all good, we're all family here."

Score Two cups

Food 7/10

Coffee 4/5

Experience 4/5