Mr Watkins Bar — Restaurant in Sydney

If there's two things Penrith needed more of, it was good coffee and a cocktail bar that serves legitimate cocktails. Amazingly, someone decided it was a good idea to combine both and they hit the nail on the head in every aspect.

During the week, Mr Watkins is your neighbourhood coffee shop that serves up some really nice and unique dishes with some of the old favourites. As skeptical as I was for something called a "Bread Pie" and I couldn't have been happier with my choice. The coffee was spot on, which is surprisingly a difficult thing to find these days. Not to sound snobbish (ok, well a little) but there's a difference between a cappuccino and a flat white and these guys know it. Overall a fantastic breakfast option if you can get there.

Friday to Sunday night roll around and they open up the bar out the back and this is where the magic happens. Per the theme, the menus are converted novels (don't worry, it's as easy to read as plain paper) with a great selection of cocktails and spirits. These are the real deal, not the vodka spiked cordial you'd get from most other bars. We've ordered several of the cocktails and each one has been made so well, I've even enjoyed ones with bases I usually don't go for. Careful though, they really don't dilute the drinks and they go down pretty easy. Cocktails not your thing? No worries, there's a beers on tap and a good choice of wine available by the glass or bottle (to share, of course).

The staff are really easy going, day and night, and make a point of ensuring you're being looked after. Whenever they get a moment, they're always happy to chat and never condescending if you don't know what you're looking at.

With a great atmosphere and decor that has to be seen to be appreciated (it's pretty great), you'll be hard-pressed to find a reason not to drop by and spend a morning or evening here. My hat is off to the owners for taking an unknown shopfront to a go-to bar in the span of a few months. Very well deserved and I thoroughly recommend the place to just...

My girlfriends and I made a booking a week prior to our dinner. We were having a girls night out and long needed catch up. Our booking was made for 6.30pm. Upon arrival we were told that we had to vacate the table by 8pm. This was NOT made clear to us on the phone when we made the booking. My girlfriends and I were planning on having cocktails and dinner without being rushed out of our table and when we made this clear the hostess she was quite rude to us and said that we should have been told. We weren't. When we were ushered to our table we were given 3 bar stools and a tiny table shoved in the corner. I told the hostess that we were not happy with these arrangements, and given we had made our booking reasonably early we were quite disappointed. We decided not to eat there. I explained to her that whilst it wasn't her fault, I wasn't happy and I felt that this was not good service. I explained to her that I would like the name of a manager so that I could express my dissatisfaction to which she replied that there would be no point considering all of the correspondence was made through her. Whilst I understand that miscommunication happens I feel like we were treated quite poorly and our concerns were not heard. I can't speak to the food but I feel like if they are going to treat their customers in this manner then they should expect feedback that reflects the experiences of...

This review is for the cafe during the day time. The bar at night is quite enjoyable and a completely different vibe.

The food is average and not what you would expect from a cafe. I ordered the eggs on toast (your choice of eggs) and when I asked for poached eggs, was informed that it was not available.

I thought they were joking, considering it is a cafe, and poached eggs is a staple. However, I was informed this is not the case and the only eggs on offer are fried or scrambled.

I believe this is not acceptable and when enquired why poached eggs are not available, I was informed that they did not have the equipment available.

Last I checked a pot of water and gas stove was not specialist equipment only available in boutique restaurants. (Side note - I can see that they have a gas stove. If they don't have a pot capable of holding water I would be utterly shocked)

Anyway, that is beside the point. If you are after a standard cafe menu with staples such as Eggs Benedict (made with poached eggs, mind you) you will not be able to get that here.

Also noteworthy, the service is subpar and it feels like you are served when the waitress' want to serve you, rather than when you would like them too.

There are many good options in Penrith for a cafe, just not here, you will be rolling the dice on good service and...