Intra co-founders Sean Baker and Nick Wood with chef Steven Hahnen. Photo: Stevie Reinhart.
The team behind Campbell cafe Intra has opened a new location on the north end of Lonsdale Street. The location is tucked away on the ground floor of the trendy ‘& Apartment’ building which sits on the corner, overlooking Haig Park. The new venue is known as Intra LNSD, while the original Campbell location is Intra PRVN for their Provan Street address.
Co-founders Nick Wood and Sean Baker have set out to make LNSD distinct from PRVN by focusing on a bistro-style menu.
“Our focus is on serving what we love in food, coffee and wine. We believe in offering the best options done well. Nick and I wanted to explore a different type of venue to what we have done before, one that focused on more serious dishes which pair well with either coffee or wine,” said Sean.
The menu at Intra is fairly small, but the team says dishes will rotate regularly. Photo: Jess DiScipio.
Stepping down into the moody interior of Intra LNSD, you can see the space has been beautifully designed with earthy tones throughout. The open kitchen runs along one wall and there’s a mix of banquette seating and restaurant tables.
The aesthetics of every element have been thoughtfully considered, down to the pink glass water carafes and chunky, geometric coffee cups.
But it’s not all style over substance: the menu has been curated to showcase a handful of carefully chosen dishes.
“The main focus for Intra LNSD is to produce a changing menu with seasonal ingredients and a focus on simple, interesting and delicious dishes,” Intra head chef Steven explained.
Save yourself the order envy and get the spätzle for a comforting and flavourful lunch. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The menu skews towards ‘European comfort food’ featuring a grown-up version of mince on toast, scrambled egg with nduja butter and a lamb scotch egg.
I visited for lunch with my sister, who is a vegetarian. The menu is fairly heavy on meat options, but the spätzle with beer-braised sauerkraut and dill is meat-free. I went for the schnitzel Holstein, served with capers, anchovies, lemon and a fried egg.
It was a perfectly nice schnitzel, but I experienced a little order envy when I tasted some of my sister’s meal!
Spätzle is a rustic German-style pasta. It’s usually boiled and, in this dish, had also been pan-fried for a little extra texture and flavour. The beer-braised sauerkraut, dill and seeded mustard added a delicious depth of flavour. It was served with a 63-degree egg, creating a rich, creamy sauce when stirred through.
The moody interior at Intra is perfect for lingering over a long lunch with a glass of wine. Photo: Jess DiScipio.
Nick and Sean were also behind pop-up natural wine store Waxtop Wines (which has since closed) so the drinks game at Intra LNSD is strong. Wines are served by the glass from a list of rotating international and Australian producers. If you’re visiting before midday, they make a great flat white with their house-roasted beans and they also have a selection of unusual teas like white and pu-erh varieties.
I’ll be back for the spätzle.
Intra LNSD is open seven days a week, from 6:30 am to 3 pm during the week, with food available from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. On weekends they are open from 8 am to 3 pm, with food available until 2.30 pm. Intra LNSD is located at G01/35 Lonsdale Street, Braddon. Follow Intra on Facebook or Instagram.
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