Contessa Balmain

A friend of mine is a landscape architect and he knows that because I’m a full time student, I’ll take on any form of paid work. So when he asked if I was free to do some paving work with him in Balmain, although it was scorching hot and I was hungover from the night before, I said yes. The work basically consisted of carrying heavy pavers through a narrow hallway into the backyard, and laying them onto a level surface, which is tougher than I thought it’d be.
By lunch time I was starving and Bar Contessa showed up on Unilocal as one of the places to go for lunch in Balmain, so we decided to go there. I thought it’d be unlikely that, with the chicken burger I ordered, my appetite could be satisfied. It was beyond satisfied however — the burger was very tasty, and the serving portion was enormous, thanks partly to the chips that accompanied the burger. Oh, and another thing, I didn’t really have any expectations regarding the presentation but boy did that burger look beautiful on that wooden board.

Great coffee. Super friendly & attentive service. My boyfriend had the breakfast burrito which was both massive & delicious. The beautifully presented eggs benedict was a big disappointment as I discovered that the hollandaise sauce was pre-​made :(I quickly recovered from my food depression though by helping my boyfriend out with his burrito (thanks babe) & ordering a second cup of coffee. Despite the below par hollandaise I’ll definitely be back.

The wonderful waitress wowed me with her wit, wisdom, and willingness to give my request for a Magic Flat White a red hot shot.
I’d never had one, she’d never heard of it (got the hot tip from Howard C, thanks Unilocal!) but she went and done diddiliy got it made for me, a flat white made on a ristretto base, and it was maaaaahgical.
She also dished up some raisin and fig toast and baby, this thing was a sensation, the figs went all caramelised when it got toasted and it was sweet and yielding and a bit charred and when basted up and slathered in butter it made me want to howl at the moon. I didn’t though, largely because it was 10am.

In a hazy hungover daze, BF and I padded out of bed this afternoon and down Darling Street, determined to try a different breakfast place. We stumbled into Bar Contessa. Excellent decision!
BF immediately chose the spanish omelette special, and I was torn between the corn cakes with rocket, avocado and tomato salsa, and the deluxe bacon and egg roll. I asked the gregarious front of house barista who took our order for his recommendation. «Wow, they are both so good! Try the corn cakes, though. They’re different.» You could choose between a topping of hickory smoked bacon, Tasmanian smoked salmon, chorizo, or sauteed mushroom. I chose bacon. Two flat whites completed our order.
Let’s break it down:
Coffees: some of the best on Darling Street, which is saying a lot.
Ambiance: cozy, casual but sharp.
Staff: attentive (but not overly), enthusiastic.
Food: while the corn cakes did not come out with the promised tomato salsa and instead simply had chopped tomato, the presentation was beautiful. The corn cakes were crispily fried and unique in flavor. The only things I can fault them on would be that there was no tomato salsa and that bacon was totally unnecessary (and I LOVE bacon.) If I ordered it again, I would get mushrooms. A poached egg on top also would not go amiss. In my hungover state, I ended up being grateful for the corn cake recommendation as my tummy felt much better after a belly full of salad, avocado, and corn.
BF’s omelette was more of a frittata: open-​faced, perfectly cooked (that is to say, not over cooked, but not runny either), creamy, chock full of delicious cheese, olives, roasted pepper and chorizo, again beautifully presented. It came with two large bits of sourdough toast and a dish of butter on the side. They also have several gluten free options, which as a dietitian I appreciate even if I happily devour gluten like its my job.
All in all, for $ 44 for two it’s a bit more than I like to spend on breakfast, even for Darling Street. Had to ding them a star for price. $ 19 for an omelette? $ 14 for a bacon egg roll? But the quality was certainly there. I will def be back to try the bacon egg roll– while snooping around I spied one of the sandwiches looking decadent and delish. The salads also looked yum.

So I called this place to make a booking and the dude was all «we don’t take bookings but come in 15 minutes before your group arrives and we’ll work it out». Normally when I’m going out for a client lunch, that doesn’t cut the mustard but after reading the reviews on this place, I took a leap of faith and trusted the phone dude.
On the day, phone dude stayed true to his word and a table was put together and I looked über organised when my party arrived.
The wait staff are turbo attentive but not annoyingly so, coffee is almost forced upon you and you’d be a fool not to accept. If you only take one thing from this review, make it this: The coffee is good, no, wait, the coffee is grand.
I had the B.R.A.T sambo, others had the cheese burger and eggs benedict (that’s right, all day breakfast — FTW). Everyone raved about their meals and we all had another coffee before leaving.
There were 5 of us, we drank bottled water and paid $ 120 which was freaking awesome. There’s this big old rad mural on the left side wall, you can’t miss it and don’t want to — it made me want one in my house.
The atmosphere is casual, organic and a teeny but grungy. The wait staff fit the atmosphere, their knowledge and professionalism makes it a no brainer for me to take clients here for a casual meeting.
I love this place and will defo be back.

A stroll away from the busier part of the Balmain Darling St strip near Woolies, Bar Contessa has a nice outlook onto the Town Hall and Library. This cool little café offers something a little different from the others in Balmain. Good coffee, food and service come together with a chilled urban atmosphere to provide a relaxed haven for lunch or a catch-​up and caffeine fix with friends.
Coffee: Excellent and consistent. Good strength and aroma and no bitter aftertaste.
Food: Delicious, generous and well presented. The quality of the food is excellent and great thought has been put into the menu and care into the preparation and presentation. It tastes fresh and flavoursome and doesn’t look like it was just thrown on the plate.
Service: Prompt and friendly. I took a recommendation on the salad special (Grilled Chicken Pesto with Haloumi) and was not disappointed.
Atmosphere: A raw urban look with dark colours, exposed brick and copper conduit for hiding lighting wires (nice touch) and a cool graffiti style mural. A cool spot to eat or catch up with friends over a few coffees.
Overall: Excellent. I am honestly not sure how things could be improved. This little café is fast becoming a new Balmain favourite for me.

The food arrives as we’re discussing the coffee and suddenly it becomes hard to concentrate on anything else apart from the burger sitting in front of me! The Ultimate Bacon & Egg Roll $(14.50) really is just that. Hickory smoked bacon, fried free range eggs, caramalised onion, provolone cheese, house made tomato relish and mayo all on a brioche bun. Let me tell you, this may actually be one of the best bacon & egg rolls I’ve had. Ever. The bun is fresh, there’s just the right amount of mayo and relish, the onions are cooked to perfection, and the hickory bacon is ah-​ma-​zing. This is definitely an indulgent breakfast, however lucky for me, we’ve also ordered the healthy Bruschetta ($ 13.50), so that should balance it out, right?!
Overall: Great atmosphere, a café dedicated to delivering fresh ingredients and great coffee. Nice options for kids and the health conscious
Price: Reasonable. Great portion sizes, takeaway sweets and toasties great option if you’re in a hurry
Taste: Fresh, great flavour combo’s and tried and true menu items as well as modern additions.
Décor: Very cool, urban vibe.

Had an amazing home-​made meatball linguini that was made to perfection. As satisfying as it was, my eyes still wandered to the mouth-​watering Tiramisu with the unmistakable Frangelico after taste. Not only was the food beautiful, the smiles, friendliness and service of the team at Bar Contessa did not miss a beat either. My whole family loved it and we will be back for dinner again. Also been there for breakfast and the «Rosa’s Breakfast Bruschetta» was very healthy and delicious. They also make the cutest Baby Elmo Chino for our lottle ones that surely brings on extra smiles and laughter. See you again really soon guys :)