Single O Surry Hills — Restaurant in Sydney

Customer service is really bad here The lady at the front wrote our name down and advise us to get take away first cuz the kitchen is about to close and the table waiting time is around 25 mins.

We followed the staff instructions and lined up to get takeaway first A guy ordered our food and we waited NEXT TO THE COUNTER for our food. About 10 mins later, I heard my name being called as “Saint? Connie” I looked and I headed to the counter (fyi there’s no counter for the food they just simply put it on the table where their self-serve coffee tabs are) I then had eye contacted with two of the staff there they saw me but did not instruct where my food is, so I thought maybe I heard it wrong but I still stood there for another 2 mins wishing someone can give me my food. Then, I headed back to my waiting spot (2m from the counter) thinking my food wasn’t ready yet. Then this process went back and forth and no one has ever directed me or whatsoever to my food. (all I needed wasn’t a good how r u kinda good service but really just give me a wave from far is your guys were busy or shouted from far and said yeah that box over there is your food) But what really happened was I had eye contacts with two of the staff there twice in 15 mins (food prep was 10 min then me not realising my food is ready for another 5-8mins) By the time I really got my food it was cold already. Then I kindly gave this feedback to one of the staff (a girl) and she blamed it on me saying she’s been calling my name for the past 3 mins which wasn’t even the problem I was complaining about??

Like YES I did hear you and I did come to the counter but no one was there u could have given me a smile and said yeah that’s yours. But really it’s like u heard your name 3 times but like no one ever said where ur the food is was crazy

On top of that I didn’t want my own food experience to ruin my friends too, so my friend went and ordered another coffee after I had the convo with the staff.

She ordered a cold brew where you’d have to self serve and get the coffee from the table yourself. She got 1/4 of the cup and the table finished and we asked the SAME lady to help and it’s like she doesn’t know what’s she’s doing just murmuring the whole time no instructions at all so we’re like r u just letting us take that 1/4 of coffee and go??? Like really??? And she’s murmuring again which we couldn’t really hear and we asked if we can just swap it to the one next to it and she murmured again and gave us another cup without saying anything Or giving us...

This café has been all over my feed and even has a solid 4.5⭐️ rating on Google, so I finally had the chance to check it out on my Friday day off.

We arrived around 12:30pm and the indoor seating was already packed. Luckily, the weather was decent so we didn’t mind sitting outside.

The most popular items seem to be the Chicken Sandwich and the Corn Fritters — unfortunately, the Chicken Sandwich was sold out!

🌽 Crispy Corn Fritters – $27 This seems to be a rising star on many brunch menus. It’s the third place I’ve tried this dish and I’d say this one ranks above average. The corn-to-flour ratio was well-balanced — definitely not one of those fritters that are just all batter. The yuzu avo and romesco sauces on the side were delicious.

🍞 Yuzu Benny (with Smoked Pork) – $26 I ordered this a bit randomly since my first choice was unavailable… and wow, I was pleasantly surprised! The milk loaf was super soft and fluffy, and the toppings were light and refreshing — thin apple slices, cucumber, tangy sauces, and even crispy rice for added texture. Every bite was packed with flavor. Highly recommended!

☕️ Three-Ways – $14 (Dairy milk, Firecracker, Reservoir) Wanted a warm drink for winter so I gave the Three-Ways a shot. The milk coffee part was quite good, but the Firecracker… definitely not for everyone. It was incredibly sour and bitter — hit me right in the soul. I guess I’m just not someone who enjoys black coffee. They’re also famous for their cold brew on tap, so maybe I’ll come back to try that next time.

🙉 One thing I wasn’t keen on mentioning, but it really stood out — felt a bit of differential treatment from one of the staff. While the white male baristas were friendly, the short Asian girl who took our order was quite dismissive. The first time she came around I wasn’t ready, and the second time when I tried to show her a picture of what I wanted (which was sold out), she seemed annoyed and uninterested. Even when we tried to order an extra coffee later, her tone and attitude were very impatient. Not great.

📝 Overall Summary: Menu isn’t huge, but both dishes we had were tasty. Coffee was decent. Service could definitely be improved. Heads up — there’s a weekend...

Visiting Single O in Sydney 🇦🇺 was an amazing experience when it comes to pure black single origin coffee.

It doesn’t take long to realize that Australia is a espresso based milk beverage country. According to the Square Coffee Report 2019, 74% of all coffees served in a café were milk beverages (latte: 27%, flat white: 25%, cappuccino: 20%, and piccolo: 2%). That is massive compared to other countries. This is also why the baristas here in Australia are milk texturing robots.

Single O launched an interesting black coffee model to emphasizing on the purest way to enjoy coffee – single origin black coffee: TAP-IN: “We launched black coffee on tap at our Surry Hills café in early 2019. The Freepour™ Taps were created to shake things up at the coffee bar, in the name of single origins. (Which we’ve had a thing for since 2003.) We set about to give pure black filter coffee as much precedence as the espresso machine. The result was a self-pay self-serve, coffee on tap system, front & center, at your fingertips.”

I enjoyed a tasty single origin coffee from Costa Rica – Finca La Manita. While sipping this coffee chilled on ice, I enjoyed reading about their farm trip to Fina La Manita in 2013. It is always great to see when roaster engage in long-term relationships with farmers.

I also liked the colorful chairs to sit outside against the nicely spray-painted wall. And one little extra: they made sure, that I won’t run away with the toilet key. Too big to run! And one more thing: it is also nice to see, that many cafés are using recycled toilet paper. The details make the difference.

A big thank you also to the baristas for their great hospitality and the time to explain the TAP-IN system, that was cool. THANK YOU.

#traceability #singleorigin #coffee #workflowautomation #workflowsolutions...