PIÑA — Restaurant in Sydney

I wish that I could give this place six stars because it’s just that amazing. This earns a spot in my top five brunches of all time, worldwide! This was easily one of the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life! I will definitely come back.

Be prepared to wait if you come for a weekend brunch though—it’s worth the wait of course. If you’re local, might be nice to just pop in for a midweek lunch instead.

After waiting against the brick wall across the alley for about 25-30 minutes, we were seated at one of the outdoor tables—a must for our dog! It’s dog-friendly in the sense that there are many outdoor tables, but I didn’t notice much in the way of dog water bowls and certainly no menu of options for our pup to feast on while we ate. If they added that, this place would be a slam dunk.

I was hesitant to try the “seri” sourdough pancakes as I’m not a big fan of sourdough bread, but I couldn’t really taste much of sourdough. The pancake was just a large fluffy loaf covered in berries. You don’t need the bacon option because the pancake is so big that you’ll be full off of just that. I would come back just to get this pancake over and over again until I’ve unlocked the secrets of this pancake.

My partner had the chickpea pancakes which was buried under a generous pile of rocket. I normally find rocket to be a little overwhelming but the mix of (pickled?) onions and dressing made it quite tasty. The chickpea pancake was a little flat, reminded me a bit of the kind of wraps that might be served with Ethiopian food. Still good and a nice semi-savory complement to the sourdough pancake.

We washed our meal down with a mix of waters and caffeine. A flat white for me as I usually do, and a matcha latte for her as she is partial to non-coffee drinks. No complaints on either of those and they were just a wee bit cheaper than I expected despite us upgrading to large sizes.

Overall, am quite glad to have...

Pina is a vibrant and aesthetically pleasing brunch spot that delivers on presentation and flavor, but comes up a bit short when it comes to wait times and service.

We arrived on a busy day and waited almost 50 minutes to be seated, followed by an additional 30-minute wait for our food to arrive. It’s important to note that Pina doesn’t take reservations, so it’s walk-in only. If you're planning to visit, be prepared for a wait especially during peak hours or weekends. While the atmosphere is lively and inviting, the wait times did affect the overall experience.

On the upside, drinks came out quickly and were a definite highlight. We ordered the Strawberry Iced Matcha, and it was not only beautiful to look at but also really well-balanced and refreshing, one of the best parts of the meal. The attention to detail in the drinks was impressive and gave us a great first impression.

For food, we ordered a Fruit Plate, Scrambled Eggs, Crispy Sweet Potato, the Savoury Pancake and the infamous curry omelette! Each dish was thoughtfully plated and tasted great. The fruit was fresh and colorful, a simple but satisfying start. The scrambled eggs were fluffy and paired perfectly with the crispy sweet potato, which added a really nice texture and slight sweetness to the plate. The savoury pancake was hearty and filling, with well-balanced flavors that felt comforting but still interesting.

While the food and drinks delivered, the service could definitely use some improvement. Staff who took our names seemed stretched thin, and there wasn’t much engagement or attentiveness on updating wait times. That said, they were polite and seemed to be doing their best under pressure.

All in all, Pina is worth visiting for the food and drink quality alone, just be ready for a wait, and don’t expect the most polished service. If you're in the mood for a relaxed brunch and have time to spare, this spot definitely has a...

Room Ten in Potts Point has been a popular breakfast haunt in Llankelly place and the little spot is often hard to score a table. We can certainly understand why the team decided to open new place in addition to Room Ten just across the lane way. Pina has been opened by husband and wife team, Andrew Hardjasudarma and Yuvi Thu, and they’ve done an amazing job all round.

We wonder why it’s called Pina, we first think maybe it’s South American. We learn Pina, "Piña (pi-nya) means pineapple, a symbol for hospitality or the centrepiece at events. How lovely. On our visit, hospitality was delivered in spades, for the waitress was absolutely delightful, food came out fast and even the chefs said hello as we finished up and paid.

We peruse the menu and we love that there’s so many interesting options. Kurt did want a bacon and egg roll, though opted for something a little different, however when we saw the bacon and egg roll be delivered to a neighbouring table, we know we’ll be back again for this looked unreal!

Kurt tries the braised greens with pine nuts and stracchiatella on a thick slice of brick fields bread, topped with a fried egg. What a meal. The bread is amazing and all the flavours work perfectly together.

In addition, the creamy omelette was incredible, served with a zucchini and rocket salad which was so refreshing and so good. Each ingredient was carefully considered and worked so well to provide delicate flavours. It Even comes with a small herb dressing and individual cultured butter portion.

You can also find sourdough pancakes, gluten free granola, chickpea pancakes, cannellini beans, salads and sandwiches.

We love coffee too, one of our favourite by Mecca. I spot a chai latte that looks great so I’ll be back...