Brothers Ben Cafe — Restaurant in Sydney

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT so many previous reviews (including my 5* one of several years ago) no longer relevant. The kitchen is basically the same so if you just want excellent food then please visit. However the well known weekend specials sometimes get repeated the following week, and on some weekends (the last two weekends for example) there's no special on offer at all. It's the front of house that has undergone major changes and which has resulted in this lower grade review. After 7yrs of Ash and her family who were genuinely likeable there's now a lot of forced bonhomie. It is now noticeable that there is often friction in the air which seems to be sapping staff morale and most of the good girls have departed. What seems to be the result of lack of hiring experience has also resulted in Casuals that only last a few shifts. Worst of all, the very good barista who has been a mainstay of the business for most of its existence has departed . Sada will hopefully be still holding the fort Sunday through Thursday but the coffee on the busiest day, Saturday, is a far cry from the usual standard. Apart from a six week period a couple of years ago Brothers Ben have previously served great coffee poured by people who knew what they were doing and had years of experience. That is no longer the case every day. Currently there are also hassles regarding the outdoor seating as new management it seems didn't do their homework. A similar lack of knowledge or unwillingness to enforce rules results in occasional dogs in the cafe, dogs on chairs and/or eating in outdoor seating areas, and smoking in those same areas (their excuse is that they can't see but Council rules say that all outdoor seating must be able to be seen from inside the cafe). The remote POS that allowed customers to pay outside has been disconnected resulting in solo dog minders being forced to enter the cafe to settle their bill. In addition, on days when the new owners can't be bothered turning up there is no longer a Duty Manager to field complaints, solicit feedback, etc, which is showing contempt for the customers in my view. Add to that that there seem to be a lot less cakes on offer, and the fridge of bottled drinks has disappeared. The smoothies are still worth ordering. So, while I still love the food, I'm marking the place down due to substandard management, erratic coffee service, and...

Such a cute corner cafe with both outdoor & indoor seating. I am a regular here and they make the coffee so well with Little Marionette. You always feel welcome and are greeted with smiles. The menu is modern, interesting, beautifully presented and delicious. I have eaten all the dishes & love every one of them! Some of my favourites include the house cured salmon which is not overpowering and you can still taste the natural oily flavours of the salmon. I loved the potato hash which is a football shaped hashbrown. Its super crunchy on the outside with delicious nutty flavoured shredded potato inside. Hash Benny comes with 2 perfect, creamy, runny poached eggs and you can also opt for the vegan version with crispy deep fried enoki mushrooms which looks like blooming flowers on the plate! Crumpets by Merna are the best old fashioned crumpets I have had. Love both the sweet & savoury options with the crumpet. Either with creamy chilli oil scrambled eggs, snake beans & prawns or poached stone fruit and ricotta. The chia pudding is so refreshing and light. Love the reuben sandwich & crispy yet tender fried chicken for lunch. The salmon & potato fishcakes has a creamy texture & punchy flavours without being at all heavy. The forbidden rice with beautiful colours of vegetables makes eating healthy fun & a breeze. There is a cabinet filled with pastries from Bread & Butter Project & muffins, cakes & banana bread all homemade. The daily changing muffins are one of the best I have had - so light, moist & fluffy. Such a wonderful cafe doing great things & worth the visit even if your not...

Came in for some Bahn Mi’s today but they had run out of the roll bread. After about 2 minutes of deciding whether we still wanted the bahn mi on normal bread, we decided to still purchase. When my mother went back to the counter the lady at the register and the chef were so nice and wanted to make them for her but the grotesque, witch of the waste lady out the back would not let them make the meal for my mum. The chef and counter lady insisted and were trying to plead with the angry woman but she wouldn’t budge. I feel so bad for the staff for having to work with this mean lady, who apparently is running the cafe. I wonder how she treats staff when customers aren’t around if that’s how she treats them when they are. If this is how local and frequent customers are treated, especially during COVID when businesses haven’t been doing well, then I don’t think it’s worth going anymore. Coffee also had a sour aftertaste :(

I’d recommend Brighton On The Corner, I’ve never had a bad experience with them and always been...