B-Side offers a cool, quiet space to dine and drink. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
I walk past B-Side all the time, usually in the heat of the day, when I cast a wistful glance at the cafe/bar’s patrons sitting tucked away in the cool shade. B-Side sits conveniently close to the free parking end of Braddon, a stone’s throw from the Mandalay bus.
Like its name suggests, standard cafe offerings do not populate the menu here. A cursory glance at its unique brunch fare promises new favourites. The brilliant team behind Campbell’s Intra, co-founders Nick Wood and Sean Baker, and their edgy head chef Steven Hahnen, opened B-Side early 2023.
While B-Side’s bar feels earthy and very cool, the outdoor space is all cafe alfresco. Opening out onto Lonsdale St, you can watch the world go by or hear it talk about politics at the table next to you, while being tucked a bit out of the way yourself.
“Our tea list looks like a wine list,” Dylan says. “We specialise in Chinese tea and have a range of white teas.”
White tea, created from the young leaves and delicate unopened buds of the tea plant, is light and fragrant.
Dylan says that their ‘I Can’t Believe it’s not honey’ white tea actually smells like honey. “It is sweet and naturally has the fragrance of honey.”
Or try the taste sensation pu-erh tea range, both raw and ripe. This is a niche tea for sure, a fermented range of black teas. Dylan says the pu-erh tea is “unique, funky, syrupy with a rich flavour profile”.
We make our brunch choices based on Dylan’s recommendation. The restaurant takes inspiration from European bistro dining and then twists it into its seasonal menu.
We order rice pudding, smashed peas and tomato, white anchovy.
The last time I think I had rice pudding, it was reluctantly. This B-Side reimagining pairs silken vanilla pudding with plump grains of rice, tart strawberry coulis, fresh blackberries and a sprinkling of mint. It is mouthfuls of comfort, tasting familiar, refreshing, and not too sweet.
I would never have ordered the smashed peas without Dylan’s recommendation. The smashed peas, a play on avo toast, is more sustainable and a fresh idea. The dish incorporates mint, lemon zest and lemon juice on ricotta and sourdough.
The peas on toast breakfast showcases the savoury, earthy side of the mint/peas combination in a way I have never experienced: double textured, including peas, both mashed and whole, spread across a slather of lemon ricotta on a plump slice of sourdough toast.
The peas on toast showcases the savoury, earthy side of the mint/peas combination in a way I have never experienced. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Simple as it sounds, the tomato white anchovy dish requires drawing excess liquid from grated fresh tomatoes (pan cot tomate-Catalan style), leaving them light, fresh and spreadable. They’re the perfect complement for the heady flavour of lightly cured white anchovies as the anchovies have a mellower flavour than salty canned anchovies.
Close your eyes, take a bite. With the delicate sea flavour of white anchovy, plops of garlic aioli and Catalan tomato, you might be in Barcelona!
The tomato white anchovy tastes like mouthfuls of Barcelona. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
We have loved stepping out of our comfort zone and ordering some B-Side deliciousness rather than our usual vanilla A-side brunch staples and cannot recommend B-Side more highly!
B-Side is located at G01/35 Lonsdale St, in Braddon, close to the Mandalay Bus. It is open weekdays from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm, and on weekends from 8 am. Follow them on Instagram.
Loading ...
