Celebrated author Hanya Yanagihara once described pink as a "superb neutral" in the right setting, so depending on your feelings on the millennial’s favourite rosy hue, either the Sunday Baker is the Switzerland of decors, or decked out in a way that would make Elle Woods say “that’s a lot of pink”. It’s the favourite colour of twins Isabella and Adelaide Highfield (they have a pink car and a pink apartment to match), who co-own the new café and bakery on the old Daisy’s Milkbar site in Petersham with their mother, Jacqueline.
The permanent site was supposed to be a weekend upgrade for their side hustle, a bakery market stall in Summer Hill, but when both sisters lost their jobs on the same day they decided to go all-in on an Inner West café that takes inclusive dining very seriously.
There’s a big difference between providing for dietary restrictions, and embracing them, but it was important to the Highfields (who are non-dairy pescatarians) that everyone can eat together. Got a nut allergy? The dishes you want to avoid are clearly marked. Don’t eat meat? Eighty per cent of the menu is vegetarian; 60 per cent is vegan-friendly. No gluten? No problem. Got kids? Buy their favour with a fairy bread and milkshake combo. Don’t have any restrictions but love a sweet treat? Well, my friends, prepare your pancreas for the 'better than sex' brownie, made using four kinds of chocolate (dark, milk, white, caramel) and a whole lot of butter – it shares more DNA with fudge than cake. Or for nostalgia made sweeter, they take a little sunny yellow coconut cake and deck it out like an Iced VoVo.
It’s been a long time since a muffin had the ability to thrill us, but the secret to the light-as-air cakes packed with banana and blueberries is the whipped aquafaba (chickpea water) they use in place of egg whites – it’s vegan and it’s amazing. And since scones are the best thing about high tea (don’t @ me), you can skip the set dressing and get two with jam and cream for breakfast.
The jam you’re eating is from Dulwich Hill makers Drunken Sailor Canning, the tea is from T-Totaller, and the soy is Happy Happy Soy Boy. The full list of local supplier is on the menu – most of them friends made from their market days – as they want to support the small business community where they can.
Each day Jacqueline arrives at 5am to begin baking; Adelaide works front of house making coffee from Campos beans (chosen for their ethical business practices); and Isabella handles the kitchen, dishing up a fancy b&e roll with Japanese mayo and spicy beans on toast made from creamy cannellini and butter beans slow cooked for 12 hours.
The Sunday Baker operates with a generosity of spirit for those with dining caveats. Bring them your vegan, your allergies and your intolerances and they will serve you a café breakfast that never feels like an afterthought. That’s about as hospitable as it gets.