Cornerstone Cafe UTS — Restaurant in Sydney

Highly rated by UTS students and staff alike, Cornerstone sustains its popularity amongst a multitude of other cafes chasing business from the university. It is home to the city's most amazing bargain breakfast deal, a large coffee and your choice of a breakfast dish for only $10! For a cafe located in the expensive urban precinct, the deal is a living and breathing miracle.

My recent mornings have been brightened by the affable boss manning the coffee machine, greeting you with a hearty smile that waves away the sleepy clouds. The servers reflect the same hard-working attitude as their boss, I was particularly touched to see one help an old lady who wasn't a regular place their order. This kindness is a major detail that sanctifies Cornerstone.

I'm rarely drink coffee so my standards may not be qualified, but the latte personally delivered by the barista was just what I was expecting from a barista-made coffee. Capped with a milk foam heart, the hot latte has a pleasantly smooth texture undercut by a slight revitalising bitterness.

Paired with the lovely coffee has to be the classic bacon and egg roll which comes as two small rolls. Yes, the bread rolls are the cheap artisan ones at Coles but their choice of bread is definitely not second-rate. A soft and bouncy roll providing the right comfy setting for the teeth to meet the crisp edges of the well-done egg and its lush yolk. So what about its even crispier partner? To my astonishment, the bacon wasn't your traditional crunchy, unctuous slice but a slab of reddish meat resembling Spam. I believe it is a halal substitute and all the power to them because it's still meaty, salty goodness at the end of the day. Their consistent squirt of BBQ sauce helpfully regulates the sodium levels in each bite with a tantalising tanginess. For whoever opts for tomato sauce instead, your enjoyment will be just as much be the same as mine.

Next up for cafe breakfast staples is the brekkie wrap. Cornerstone's version has fluffy egg, spinach, tomatoes, mayo and sujuk snugly held in a toasted wrap. I never thought I would ever describe an egg as melt-in-your-mouth but Cornerstone has gladly proved me wrong. Steaming from the get-go and evaporating in my mouth, it is a fleeting feeling you want to relish in forever. However, the wrap is 90% egg and 10% other ingredients, leaving very little room for them to intermingle and harmonise. Knowing this, the fresh spinach and tomato do their best to add a different texture alongside the creamy mayo. Surprisingly, there was a fair amount of sujuk hidden within all that egg, its signature spiced flavour and smokiness penetrating the uniformity of the palette. You know it's a solid feed when juices start running down your hand and the brekkie wrap did just that.

With wonderful hospitality and good food quality, it's set in stone for me. The cafe along Jones Street is concretely the Cornerstone of UTS coffee breaks, meet-ups and...

Come for lunch, stay if you want to be chastised by staff. (First ever 1 star, and it’s such a promising “third place” , cute little cafe at my uni 😭)

This place has a nice atmosphere with windows overlooking Jones St and Thomas St, at the intersection of UTS and Ultimo TAFE. Despite being in a nice place (or maybe because of it?) the food and service are awful. At best you’ll get your standard order-at-counter and take a number deal with affordable cafeteria style food. At worst, they’ll mess up everything about your order and then give you an earful.

I ordered a pre-made sourdough sandwhich and asked for it to be toasted. They gave it to me in a take away, bag, not cut in half, and kind of soggy/floppy, so I realise I’m going to need a plate and cutlery. They direct me to get the cutlery myself, I lift up the top piece of bread and… It’s the wrong order. The bag had my name and the correct order written on it, so I definitely didn’t take the wrong thing or someone else’s food. It said BBQ chicken but contained roast beef. I let them know and they said “just bring it back”, so I picked up my plate and brought it over.

When the replacement was ready, complaining was the furthest thing from my mind. I’m obviously not going to have anything to complain about if they get it right in the end, it’s no drama. The only thing is that the replacement toastie was again in a takeaway bag, not cut, cold and floppy, and I pretty much had to ask again for a plate and cutlery — same as before. I don’t mind cutting the sandwhich myself. I especially don’t mind the mixup or that they initially assumed it was takeaway. I didn’t expect them to be happy about the mixup, to put on a fake smile, or to apologise by just saying ‘sorry’.

What I expected the least, was how the person bringing my food would really not like my request for eating utensils. They responded by saying “next time, don’t ask for take-away”. When I explained that I never asked for take-away and that I had already asked for a plate and cutlery, they just shrugged and said ‘ok, whatever’. They seriously just wanted to vent to someone because they were having a hard shift. They picked me for some reason??

And in the end, they just couldn’t be bothered toasting the sandwhich properly. I would have been unhappy if I had taken the sandwhich and walked away, but at least I wouldn’t have been told off. In the end I learnt it’s better to just keep as much distance as possible from UTS Cornerstone Cafe. Hate to think how they talk to eachother if they’re that vitriolic...

I’ve been a regular here for almost a year because I genuinely enjoy the coffee. Today, however, I accidentally placed the wrong order, something I fully acknowledge was my mistake. I still accepted the order, but I believe the cashier could have responded in a more friendly and understanding manner. It was quite loud during happy hour, and I misheard the confirmation of my order. As an international student, I’m still adjusting to the language and accents here, which sometimes leads to misunderstandings. I’m sharing this as constructive feedback, not to complain, but because this was the first time I felt disappointed with the service. I hope it can help improve future customer...