Autumn Rooms - Darby Street — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

A Symphony of Spice and Sunshine: Our Morning at Autumn Rooms

Stepping into Autumn Rooms felt like walking into the cozy embrace of a Wes Anderson film—quirky, warm, and oddly elegant. From the moment we arrived, we were met by a smiling hostess who glided us to our seats like a caffeinated angel of hospitality. Menus? Water? Coffee order? All offered before we could even blink away the sleep in our eyes.

Now, let’s talk dirty. Dirty chai, that is. What arrived was not just a beverage—it was performance art. A little wooden board held our deconstructed delights: a rich espresso shot, a pot of warm spiced chai milk froth, and a sticky swirl of honey on the side—like a tea ceremony hosted by a hipster wizard. Mixing it together felt like casting a breakfast spell. The result? Absolute magic. A hug in a mug with just enough sass to wake the soul.

And the food… dear breakfast gods, the food. First up, chilli scrambled eggs on a flaky, golden roti—topped with micro herbs so delicate they looked like they’d just floated down from a forest fairy’s pantry. The eggs were fluffy, fiery, and flirted with your taste buds before delivering a warm, buttery kick.

Then came the Eggs Benny, strutting to our table like it knew it was the one. A thick, glistening slab of glazed pork belly—yes, slab, not slice—perched atop a house-baked English muffin still warm from its oveny cradle. Silky hollandaise draped it like couture. Each bite whispered, “You’ll never accept a regular Benny again.”

In short: Autumn Rooms didn’t just serve breakfast—it hosted a glorious, slow-dancing breakfast opera, and we were lucky enough to get front row seats. Possibly the best breaky experience we’ve had in recent memory.

Highly recommend. Bring your appetite and your appreciation for the finer things—served with a side of charm and a little...

Let’s start with the good, ambience was perfect. Instagrammable and aesthetic that’s why I rated 5 stars.

For the food, we ordered: Eggs Benedict - my brother said it was good Fried Chicken Burger - had this and I’d rather have the marty mcfly rascal burger tbh. No taste at all and to think I was waaay hungry at the time Buttermilk Hotcake - this was the saving grace! Looked and tasted perfection! 💯 recommend Chicken Pesto Toastie something - didnt hear if it was good or not Capuccino - pretty good, loved the art! ❤️ Blueberry Matcha - ❌❌❌ not even a hint of matcha, all it tasted was coconut oil. Nothing else. Matcha is nowhere to be seen or heard at all Gingerbread Chai - reallyyy cool!!! Had a video but dont know why I couldnt upload. 💯 recommend too.

2 stars lost because of the matcha and fried chicken burger. Real bad tbh for its price.

Now getting to the real disappointing part. So it was drizzling when our orders came up, there were two lovely waitstaff who let us know that we’ll be moved to a different table because of the drizzling rain but they’ll confirm with the host. So we were under the impression that we’ll be moved. But lo and behold, customers came in to the table that we were supposed to move. So I guess business before customer service then. Just another number. No one even told us or updated. So lack of communication there. Then it seems like we were rushed out of our table by giving us a receipt. Not a fan of this at all.

Will I recommend? Nope. Not at all. For the price and everything that happened. I’ll always be thinking we’re just another number to add to the business...

Suggested by a friend, Autumn Rooms on Darby Street in Newcastle certainly delivered to us with friendly and efficient service, great food and really lovely atmosphere.

We arrived and were seated promptly in a comfortable location inside, yet there is also dining upstairs and alfresco, both to the front and rear. Offered a coffee or tea since they have an extensive tea menu. If you’re there later in the day, alcohol may also be on the cards for you. Coffee was a lovely flavour, a little too cool in temperature, though the second one was better.

The menu was intriguing to us, for the options were a little outside the box, something we really like at cafes. Our choices were “Tabasco Tomatoes” (VE) - a lovely serve of Tabasco and lime cured tomatoes, miso and almond crema, tabasco vinnaigrette, chilli crunch, served with a side of roti. We added a poached egg. The Tabasco flavour was not overbearing and despite having a chilli crunch, it was not spicy, but brought a really lovely set of flavours to the dish.

We also had the garlic ricotta Tartine (V) which saw the toast topped with a garlic Garlic honey whipped ricotta, roasted asparagus, gremolata, pickled radish and toasted almonds. This was super good, though probably could have done with an extra slice of toast.

The food was delicious, albeit a tad small in our experience for the price. Next time, I’m keen for the crumpets or torts. Be sure to check out their menu as there’s so many...