Lid and Jar, Chatswood

The Chatswood Concourse has progressively transformed into a nice open space where locals gather and enjoy the sunshine.  We were initially sceptical of this idea but the local Council has really done a good job of enlivening this area and the recent addition of Lid and Jar certainly helps to create an even better vibe as people come out to enjoy the nice spring weather.   

Lid and Jar has another branch in Rhodes but we had never been there so were pretty excited when we saw this new cafe pop up in our local hood.  It has a nice relaxed feel, with a hipster twist, as seems to be the case with almost all new cafes these days.

You have to order at the counter - which is a bit inconvenient given the set up of the cafe but because of its open setting you can appreciate this is probably an effective way to stop people from disappearing after their meals without paying! 

Cronuts.  Lots of them.

More cronuts

Lid and Jar is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We went for breakfast on a Saturday morning but are definitely keen to go for lunch or dinner some time to try it out. 

To offset all the food she was about to eat, K ordered a "cold pressed juice" of pineapple juice, passionfruit and coconut water.  It's refreshing, not overly sweet and has a very generous serving of crunchy passionfruit.  It's a little on the expensive side, being $8.60 for a juice, but it seems like a larger serving than most places and they don't just pack the drink with ice.  It comes in a bottle so you can takeaway for later. 

Cold Pressed Juice - pineapple juice, passionfruit and coconut water

C ordered the smoked speck, sultanas, rocket, tomato oil and poached eggs.  The sweetness of the sultanas and tomato oil and the bitterness of the rocket contrast nicely with the saltiness of the speck.  It was probably a little too oily but overall, quite a nicely put together dish and the use of sultanas to add sweetness is quite clever. 

Poached eggs with smoked speck, sultanas, rocket and tomato oil on sourdough

 K opted for the Chinese sausage, baby onions, mozzarella melt with country style fried eggs.  I don't remember the last time (if ever) we've had lap cheong (Chinese sausage) for breakfast but gosh it was tasty!  Chinese sausages with mozzarella sounded like an odd combination initially but again, combined with the sweetness of the onions and the bitterness of the rocket, the flavours on the dish actually worked quite well.  The only qualm is probably that overall, the dish is a little bit hard texture wise - the super crunchy sourdough along with the hard/chewy Chinese sausage.  

Country style fried eggs with Chinese sausage, baby onions and mozzarella melt

The fillings underneath the fried eggs

All in all, a decent cafe serving good quality coffee (which Chatswood had been lacking for so long!) and food.  It's the perfect cafe for sitting in the sun with a book to enjoy the spring breeze - there aren't many cafes like this in Chatswood so hopefully these guys do well and stick around for the long run!