Toby's Estate: Woolloomooloo

The service here has improved significantly - it's more personal and more competent - and the coffee has always been good, if you like the chocolatey Toby's blend, but I still don't love the place. Probably two main reasons: the food, which is ok but not great (sandwiches too bready, breakfast eggs not up to snuff), and the small tables, which preclude newspaper reading (a cardinal sin in a cafe). However the weekend and late afternoon opening hours make it a convenient option when other places (e.g. Collier's) are closed.

Toby's at Woolloomooloo has a corner position near that great Gorilla Gardener's street sculpture. It gets great morning light and I am a fan of the staff. The new kitchen upgrade they've done makes it a bit more crowded for patrons but ultimately more functional for the cramped baristas. The Toby's Breakfast Blend is worth the trip alone and if you can get seats at the common table it's a wonderful place to have a working meeting. Like the sculpture that sits near it, this cafe has a distinctly Woolloomooloo neighbourhood vibe about it.

Toby’s makes great coffee and has several tasty food items; the interior is warm, and relatively comfortable, and the staff are always friendly. Yet I can’t give them the highest possible rating because of the cafe’s unpredictable service – specifically, the highly variable arrival (and sequencing) time of one’s order. All too often (at least fortnightly, and I go to the cafe at least 3-4x per week), food and/or coffee is significantly delayed. Or, one item arrives quickly (e.g., coffee) but the other doesn’t come for ages, by which time I’ve given up or am so anxious about my order that I’ve lost the relaxation that’s the whole point of a cafe meal. As the service is very friendly, the fault clearly lies in the operations of the place – somehow orders don’t seem to be timed or sequenced together. Two other minor gripes: most of the tables are small (so it’s difficult to read the paper & eat) and the newspaper availability is spotty. Bring your own! Despite all of the above, I keep going back – partly driven by proximity, but mostly by the excellent coffee and a few very tasty food items (the goats cheese, pesto, and roast tomato toast is delicious). If they improved the consistency of their speed, and always had the paper, I’d be able to give them my whole-hearted thumbs up.