I've only given this place two stars, but this feels a bit harsh. It wasn't awful, it had a few good points and was all round ok. Well, almost.
Cafe Abercrombie was a last ditch attempt at finding somewhere new in Redfern for breakfast. The food here was extremely cheap and in fact so cheap that it my confidence in the food dwindled - how good can bacon and eggs be for only $5? Surely a Pancake stack for $8 can't be that fantastic. And it's been a while since I've had a good salad at a cafe for under $9.
Walking into the cafe, we were hit with the pungent scent of deep fry and takeaway shops. Further unnerved, we opted to sit outside and try to shake the feeling that our food wasn't going to live up to what we wanted.
The meal was ok. Nothing fancy but easily edible. The falafels were nice, not too dry (although they were sliced like salami instead of in soft round balls) and the garlic sauce was quite nice too. However, the salad dressing (on the salad made up of lettuce, shredded carrot and alfalfa sprouts) tasted like the Kraft Italian dressing my mum used to use in the early '90's - articifically sweet and tangy.
Despite this, there were a lot of cute things about Cafe Abercrombie that made my experience ultimately confusing. They served T2 teas and also sold take home T2 packs as well as fairtrade and bags of organic coffee (Schibello beans) and cute vintage tins, mugs, frames and bags. The guy that worked here was really nice and the red stools outside were pretty cool.
It wouldn't be a bad place to stop for a cheap lunch if you work nearby. It wasn't exactly what we were after, but it was ok. Well, almost. read more