Albion Lane Cafe, Mosman

Down a pretty little lane is a cafe that I walk past almost every day and it always catches my eye not because of how tiny it is, but because it’s always busy – they must be doing something right!

A pretty little lane

A pretty little lane

As I mentioned a few posts ago, Miss Arabella is studying for her exams.  She doesn’t study at home because apparently I yell too much so she spends her days in the library.  This morning as she was heading to the gym and then to the library she optimistically stated, ‘I’m going to fail that exam tomorrow’.  I didn’t take much notice because Miss Arabella is overly dramatic and instead of settling down to be her therapist I asked her if she would like to meet me for lunch at Albion Lane.  She didn’t hesitate. 13.11.14.9What is unusual about Albion Lane Cafe is that very definitely the customers prefer to sit outside.  It could be because the outdoor surroundings are peaceful and pleasant or it could be because there’s a large selection of toys for customers with small children, or it could even be because they don’t mind you arriving with your four-legged friends.  Whatever the reason, at the Albion Lane Cafe, outdoor tables are occupied first.

Lunching with friends

Lunching with friends

The cafe is tiny; tiny but popular.  If the cafe is tiny well then the kitchen is miniscule so I was surprised to see such a wide selection of items on the menu as well as a few specials.  How does all this food come from such a tiny space?

 A very little kitchen

A very little kitchen

The service is very friendly and there are two pleasant waitresses who bring water to the table and present us with menus as soon as we sit down.  The customers seem to be equally as friendly although four-legged friends are terrific ice breakers – everyone wants to talk to you if you have a dog!

Indoor seating not as popular as being outside

Indoor seating not as popular as being outside

Then it came time to order and you might remember me telling you that Miss Arabella orders like Sally from When Harry Met Sally.  I took a deep breath and waited and if I didn’t have to hold on to the dog leads I would have stuck my fingers in my ears.  Firstly she wanted to know if they could juice spinach and kale and spirulina which of course they couldn’t.  So she asked what they could juice and in the end chose a beetroot and carrot juice that she said had too much carrot and not enough beetroot.

Beetroot and Carrot Juice and Miss Arabella's clevage

Beetroot and Carrot Juice $6.00 and Miss Arabella’s cleavage

I just had a mineral water.

Sparkling Mineral Water $3.50

Sparkling Mineral Water $3.50

Then Miss Arabella ordered her food and chose the grilled chicken breast sandwich with avocado, bacon, rocket and aioli but instead of turkish bread could she have gluten-free bread and instead of the bacon could she have tomato and instead of aioli could she have onion relish.  Not too bad, only three changes to the sandwich; it could have been worse.

Gluten-Free toasted sandwich with chicken, tomato, avocado, rocket and caramelised onions

Gluten-Free toasted sandwich with chicken, tomato, avocado, rocket and caramelised onions $13.50 + $1.00 for GF bread

I was tempted to order one of the specials which was a creamy pesto pasta with chicken and spinach but decided instead to have the pulled beef sandwich on gluten-free bread with rocket and roasted garlic aioli.  The bread was toasted and the sandwich arrived with the bread almost too hot to touch.  I do like it when food comes straight from the kitchen to your table.  The beef was full of flavour and very tender and there was a generous amount of aioli to go with it.  Gluten-free bread can more often than not be disappointing but both Arabella and I agreed that this seeded G-F bread tasted just like ‘normal’ bread.

Pulled beef sandwich on gluten-free bread with rocket and garlic aioli.  It looked a lot more appetising before I lifted the lid on it!

Pulled beef sandwich on gluten-free bread with rocket and garlic aioli. It looked a lot more appetising before I lifted the lid on it! $13.50 + $1.00 for GF

We decided to try a couple of the sweet treats.  I ordered a chocolate caramel slice which arrived on a very pretty plate and was a generous serving.  Actually too generous to get through but too good to waste so I wrapped it up in my napkin to enjoy after dinner.  The base contained coconut adding to the flavour of the slice, the caramel with thick and firm and the chocolate rich and dark.  It was exactly how I like chocolate caramel slice.

Chocolate Caramel Slice - an oldie but a goodie!

Chocolate Caramel Slice – an oldie but a goodie!

Miss Arabella had a chocolate brownie with pecans in it.  I do love brownies with nuts.  It was a lovely fudgey brownie but Miss Arabella said, ‘I much prefer your brownies, mum’.  I would have to say the difference would be that if I make brownies, they don’t sit around in cool rooms but instead are served almost as soon as they come out of the oven.

Chocolate Pecan Brownie

Chocolate Pecan Brownie

Arabella and I had a very pleasant hour at Albion Lane Cafe.  The service is prompt, the waitresses attentive, the environment peaceful and relaxing and the menu varied and modestly priced.  Long may it last.

Outdoor seating.  Heaters and blankets are provided during cooler weather.

Outdoor seating. Heaters and blankets are provided during cooler weather.

Verdict:  Therapeutic Albion Lane Cafe:  2/643-645 Military Road, Mosman NSW Ph:  9969 7226

The lane leads to a park

The lane leads to a park

If you liked this post, you’re welcome to share it! Footnote:  Just a bit of house-keeping…Recently 50% of my subscribers disappeared.  Vanished.  All at once.  Very strange.  Then I found the ‘subscribe’ button at the top of my blog had also vaporised for no good reason.  I have fixed the problem and you can now subscribe but for those of you who found you had been un-subscribed, you will have to subscribe again!  Many thanks for doing so.

Comments

  1. What a great find! And I wonder if they bake their own GF bread or buy it in? That’s always the hardest to get right!

  2. What a fabulous place for lunch. I’m super impressed with what they can do in such a teeny tiny kitchen.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  3. FaAAbulous!
    Can I split the Chocolate Caramel Slice w/ you, Charlie?!! MMmmmm
    I LOVE! xx

  4. Did the food therapy work for Arabella?

  5. Oh my soul…that beef sandwich looks sooo good!! And that chocolate caramel slice!! Get Out!!! 😉 Om nom nom…

  6. I’ve never tasted GF-bread but I’m glad the resulting sandwich was successful. Both the desserts look tasty as well. I haven’t made/had a brownie in ages. 🙂

  7. Mother-daughter lunch joy makes me so happy and sad all at once. xo

  8. Your photo captions crack me up Charlie! This little spot looks lovely, what a great find and fab that you can take all your girls with you. That choc caramel slice definitely looks worth doggy-bagging. Good luck for Arabella with her exams although I’m sure she doesn’t need it.

  9. That caramel slice looks delicious. The sandwiches look good, but I have to admit, I’m not one to order a sandwich when we go out for lunch.

  10. Both of those sandwiches looked really yummy! Glad you enjoyed your lunch.

  11. Haha I prefer to study in the library rather than at home too – not because my mum yells too much, but because she’ll turn the TV up so loud and try to talk to me when all I want to do is be left alone in peace!

  12. Yay finally a decent meal for you! I would have ordered the shredded beef sandwich too and I love the look of the desserts. Have to say I’m with Arabella on the brownies. I’m always disappointed when I order them out but I think it’s because Celia’s recipe that I have adopted is so good!

  13. I think you provided better therapy than any conversational follow-up to “I’m going to fail” could have provided 🙂 This sounds like a gorgeous little spot and as you say, it’s very impressive that they can do all of that in so small a space!

  14. Looks like a great little place and a nice outdoor space is always welcome. Hope Arabella’s exam went better than she expected!

  15. This sounds like the type of cafe every neighborhood needs Charlie. Warm, friendly, cheerful- and can make gluten free bread taste good!
    I hope Arabella left in a more positive frame of mind, and that she did well in her exams too xox

  16. G’day Charlie! What a great mother daughter bonding impromptu date!
    Always treasure the memories as they are great!
    What a lovely little find, the brownie I could almost smell from here!
    Great post!
    Cheers! Joanne

  17. How awful that you lost your subscribers. Do you keep a backup?

    The Albion Lane Cafe looks like a place I could be a regular patron of. I like the way you felt so comfortable and the food was good. Even the dogs were invited!

  18. Sounds like a great place for lunch, I adore sitting outside to eat. It’s lovely that you can bring the girls too.

  19. I hope that spending time with her mum at such a lovely eatery gave Miss Arabella a boost and the exams went well! She strikes me as a smart cookie! 🙂

  20. I love places that allow fur babies, even if it’s outside 😀 I think this was an sweet lunch and I would join you in a heartbeat!

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