This pantry-sized café used to be a bicycle shop. We’re not sure how often people needed a new set of wheels on the short stroll between Redfern Station and Sydney Uni, but judging from the small crowds milling about in the sunshine outside Chapter Five, providing coffee to bleary-eyed students and government workers is far more lucrative.
We’ve been burned by tomato slices in a toastie before (Why do they retain so much heat? Why?). Much safer to order a tasty hot pocket of ham, onion jam and cheese or the one with house-made baked beans, quinoa and cheese instead. They’re still packed with melted cheese, but you come out of it scald-free. If you’re more a fruit 'n’ fibre person, the Bircher here is a small-but-filling bowl of creamy oats chocked up with grated apple, apricots, ribbons of coconut and fat, juicy sultanas. No time to chew? The after-school smoothie is a power-packed mix of banana, Fair Trade chocolate, yoghurt and milk.
Having a killer little café on your daily rounds means they take care of brekky with a slice of spiced, fudgy pumpkin walnut bread, a strong coffee and you don’t have to remember to buy milk. Plus it’s a budget-friendly way to live – nothing on the menu here breaks a tenner except the wagyu brisket sandwich with pickles sauerkraut, spinach, aioli and mustard. We're saving that one for payday.
If you’ve been forced out of bed at some ungodly hour then the silver lining is that they’ve been known to sneakily get the espresso machine pumping as early as 6am here to keep the rail workers caffeinated and help the trains run on time. These really are some stand-up guys.