MCA Cafe

We absolutely loved our experience here! MCA Café has great food and a lovely view of Sydney Harbor. The food comes out pretty quickly and the staff is helpful and accommodating. I ordered the avocado toast which was really good. The dessert drink menu is pretty unique. I tried the liquid apple pie and it was delicious. Overall a very pleasant lunch experience!

Worst hot chocolate in Sydney, just luke warm milk with chocolate on the sides of the glass.
Found a hair in one of our meals. The manager was very apologetic and gave us a free drink.

You pay for the view. The menu is simple and limited. The food is Ok. However pair it with the view if the iconic Sydney harbour bridge and the Opera house, you got your self a deal.

Great food, great vibe when the weather allows outdoor seating and a nice way to relax after taking in all the wonderful art.
The wagyu meat pie is generously packed with tender delicious beef. The flaky crust is baked to perfection. Only wishing that thw pie crust waa through and through rather than merely topping the dish.
A little pricey, but you are paying for the location.

I had just gotten off a flight from Melbourne and my friend and I headed to the touristiest spot in Sydney, the opera house of course! We were starving and Unilocaled some places, the nearest being the MCA café. I didn’t expect much from a museum café, so I was pleasantly surprised by the harbour and opera house views on the fourth floor. I got the day’s special– lamb skewers and pita bread– both were great. The food was pricier than I had expected, but I would later realize everything in Sydney is about that price (and without the fourth floor terrace view). Also, enjoy the museum’s free wifi!

This was the first café my friend and I saw after flying to Sydney. I Unilocaled the place and saw it had good reviews. Starving, we decided to give it a try. First impression was that the view was perfect. You can see the Sydeny Opera house to the Bridge.
Food wise, was awesome. I ordered a potato onion tart with a side of salad and salmon ($ 19). It was the perfect size for a person.
Next we decided to stay for a while to have afternoon tea. Best part was FREE WIFI! I ordered a hot chocolate and it was OMG. The best hot chocolate I’ve had since I flew to Australia and I’ve tried a lot. It had the perfect amount of sweetness and the chocolate bits just melted in my mouth smoothly. Highly recommending it to give it a go!

I was recently recommended the MCA Café, so I finally scheduled a brunch appointment on a weekend to check out the hype.
The café is located on level 4 of the museum (I think there’s another café around the corner by the museum, and people tend to confuse the two) so you need to go inside, and take a lift up.
We entered the café, which has a semi indoors and outdoors area. It’s laid out like a «posh canteen», where instead of tumblers and water bottles, you see champagne, polite waiters, and nice handbags.
Instead of taking a seat, we waited at the entrance to be seated. Initially we were baffled why nobody would pay us any attention… until a group walked in from behind us and found a place on their own. Embarrassed, we seated ourselves at a spot near the window overlooking the harbour (plenty of tables luckily) and called the waiter, who promptly told us we had to go to the counter to place our order and pay straight away.
Damn it… no table service. Oh, and you also gotta go get your own water.
I walked up to the counter and ordered the vegetarian option (I’m not vegetarian, I just found the tomato, basil, olive, and feta cheese tart an attractive option), and a large cappuccino, upon which I was informed that there was only one coffee size. Ok, not a problem, gimme what you got.
My bill = $ 20.
My friend ordered a chicken salad and a soy cappuccino, and her bill came to a similar total.
The food came quite quickly. I’m not able to comment on my friend’s salad, but I can confirm the coffee was good. When I tried to pour brown sugar into my (not very clean) teaspoon, it wouldn’t come out of the spout. When I opened the cover of the sugar jar and peered into the spout, the sugar was jammed in there, and had not been cleaned out for quite a while (I’m assuming since it was jammed!).
My tart came, but it was not a tart — it was a quiche. This is particularly relevant because quiches have egg in them (and quite a lot of egg too). Not suitable for vegetarians AT ALL. The crust was excellent, and the quiche (not tart!) was alright generally. It was not worth the ridiculous $ 16 I had to pay for it. Not even the sad little accompaniment of rocket leaves with pine nuts could justify that price tag. Maybe if they had table service, that would have eased the pain of paying $ 20 for a small piece of quiche and a tiny cappuccino.
As I finished my meal, I noticed an errant hair (yes.A HAIR) below my pile of rocket. I gagged a little because by then the quiche was at the bottom of my belly. Were there more hairs? Had I swallowed any? Where was this hair from? What was it doing there? This was not good at all. :(
My friend and I finished our exorbitantly priced meals, drank our water out of glasses which begged to be scrubbed, and enjoyed some views of the harbour.
Although there is no table service, you get a number after placing your order at the counter, and the food is brought to you. Apart from the obvious cleanliness faults, the staff are really warm and nice, and generally oblige.
The pricing for this place is absurd, especially since it’s just regular café food. I’m still kicking myself for spending $ 16 on a goddamn slice of quiche.
Would I go there again? Probably not.

Toasted banana bread! Toasted Banana bread! Toasted Banana Bread!!!
Gorgeous space overlooking Sydney Harbor. I came for the Chuck Close exhibit and grabbed a treat at the café before hitting the RBG en route to the Art Gallery. I cannot stop thinking about the yummy, warm, aromatic banana bread– the stuff dreams are made of.

Lovely! Great views, yummy food, nice wine list. Menu is themed to the major exhibit on. A real oasis above the carnage of Circular Quay. Fair prices for the view and quality of food. Casual, good for kids. You can sit both indoors with AC or outside. Awesome views of the Sydney harbour bridge regardless. Will def come back next time I’m in town!

Great menu options, tasty food and fantastic staff. Would definitely come back here and recommend to friends.

Great view, great food, free WiFi. What more can you ask? The pulled beef sandwich was tasty but a bit chincy with meat.

Really lovely spot atop the MCA which offers fantastic views of the harbour and the bridge. Highly recommended for a coffee or lunch to take in the views. The café is «order at the counter, deliver to your table» format with a selection of salads and sandwiches which are tasty but not going to blow your socks off. You pay a premium for the views, or consider as a donation since you can visit the rest of the museum free of charge.

Great place to drink a coffee or have a meal. The view is one of the best in the city, but not help when there’s a giant cruiser in front of the café.
The price is very reasonable for the quality they offer and the food is greatly prepared.

Lights On Thursdays is lovely. The café had the most amazing view, a nice crowd and very reasonably priced items.
The service comes with a smile. This is the exception, bit the rule.
Patrons all seem normal, feet solidly on the ground and with heavy exist representatio.

Wow! Go here for lunch if you come to visit the Opera House, the Taronga Zoo from Circular Quay, or are just in the area!
At the top of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) is the best café with the best view of the bridge and the opera house ever!
The dishes are few but are amazing. I had a chicken and peanut sauce over noodles that was amazing. Some of the other dishes looked great as well.
The inside of the café is very open, and is surrounded by large floor to ceiling glass walls so you get a true 270 degree view of everything.
There is also a patio (terrace) if the weather is nice.
Since this place is on the 4^th floor, I think it keeps some people from knowing about it. I only found it because I Unilocal’d restaurants in the immediate area. The MCA café was the only one that seemed ranked high enough. There are some other restaurants in the area, but not with the same open and unique charm that this place has.
Great date place or casual hang out!

Great place for tourists or locals for great views and good food. The menu is a bit short but is of good quality. The view can be blocked by a cruise liner docked at circular quay, but that’s life in a tourist area.
Service can be a bit patchy as our group of 9 ordered a mixture of hot and salads. The meals came out in a strange order as some of the salads came out of the kitchen after the hot meals like 10 minutes later.

The view from this place is just worth the trip.
You order at the counter, and the service is pretty good and it didn’t take long for the food to arrive.
I had the chicken salad with quinoa and some fried chicken.
I will be back

I’ve been here twice now and ordered the same thing both times ~ the shredded pork with rice noodles. And a latte. I may have had a glass of wine last time too, I can’t remember.
Yeah, it’s all good! I feel like they could have more choice on the menu. There are only like, 4 mains. But, the menu is clearly marked for gluten-​free items and vegetarian items, so that is a major plus. Also, fast, free wifi. Woo hoo.
It’s a beautiful location, spectacular view, friendly service. Definitely one to bring the out-​of-​towners to, especially on a beautiful day.

Sometimes you forget you live and work in one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in the world. And by you, I mean I. So when this happens, I take myself on a little be-​a-​tourist-​in-​your-​own-​city adventure and head down to the MCA. Sure the art is stunning, but let’s be honest, I’m headed there for three reasons and three reasons alone:
1. stunning view
2. fast, free wifi
3. cake
Depending on my mood, the order of the three aforementioned reasons change, but regardless of what I’m in need of at that moment, I know I’m getting all three whenever I come here. This is easily Sydney’s most picturesque café work spaces, so don’t be surprised if getting the coveted seat by the power source is a battle of Hunger Games enormity. And may the view* be forever in your favour…
[insert «fast, free wifi» or «cake» depending on situation]

The worst thing in the world would be being blind and stuck at the top of the MCA without any idea what kind of view is just sitting there all around you, unseen ad unappreciated. I won’t wax lyrical about that though, as it’s been covered in the other reviews. It’s good though, hoo boy is it fine.
What you may not know is this place has free wi-​fi. Free, *fast* wi-​fi. Allelujah, let all the angels in heaven rejoice and throw confetti, for this is far too rare in Sydney. Ugh, don’t get me started on the lack of free wi-​fi rant, that doesn’t end well for anyone.
The food is all (well. .. mostly) reasonably priced, with main meals between $ 12 and $ 20, and let me tell you its an appealing menu indeed, I wanted to order everything. But my sweet tooth was flexing its influence and I went for a slice of the coconut and mango cake, which set me back $ 9. Ummm. What? Nine bones for one small piece of cake? That hurt. Shoulda gone with the burger, or the pulled pork sammich. Will next time.