Gnome Cafe

Reviews

• Andjelka J.

  star star star star star 25 October 2026

  Coffee, cozy window seat and nowhere to be - is there anything better on a Sunday? Gnome feels like you've popped into your friend's Parisienne apartment - a happy discovery while exploring Surry Hills on a perfect autumn morning.
  
  I arrived before the line-up started, as the sidewalks start to fill up around 10am on the popular Crown Street cafe strip. I had a almond milk cappuccino with local honey and caught up with the print news world.
  
  They do a varied and interesting cafe menu featuring eggs, museli, dairy free smoothies and impressive looking pastries.
  
  Seating is ideal for a solo or couple date, any bigger and you'll be struggling to comfortably fit. Service is friendly and prompt, I appreciated that I felt no pressure to chug my coffee and rush my reading. A quaint neighbourhood gem that made me smile.

• Victor L.

  star star star star_border star_border 18 October 2026

  I didn't use to be that fussy about my coffee because ristrettos don't exist in Oz so the rest didn't matter.
  Well now it does: my coffee was as disappointed and the food was nice and refreshingly original!!
  
  I ordered - with a smile - a large strong latte, and I got a warm-verging-on-getting-cold regular flat white. I didn't return it because I don't waste food, it's like my only life rule. Not even fussed over the wrong order. But I was disappointed the coffee wasn't nice.
  They lost one star because of that!
  
  But then they brought me this little treasure of a brioche bun with hummus, kale, slow cooked pork and a fried egg: a slice of Australia meets Lebanon and they go to bed together in France and geez Louise is that encounter a success. Go for that!
  
  The venue was nice and the girl who served wasn't overly happy about the socio economic condition of her existence that morning but hey, we all have shit days and she did her job with a very dignifying absence of hate.
  
  A shame for that coffee, I recommend it nonetheless as I could have been unlucky!!
  
  (If they fry that egg in duck fat, imagine the gastrogasmic result!!)

• Kurt C.

  star star star star star_border 18 October 2026

  A small corner cafè wine bar on Crown Street Surry Hills with indoor and outdoor seating. This rustic little cafe is associated with Brewtown Newtown, so you know they have decent coffee. The staff here are friendly and welcoming. This cafe is a great spot for taking in the action of Surry Hills. I visited this place for lunch. The menu is small with light breakfast and lunch options available at a decent price. I ordered the slow roasted lamb roll and a their cafè brewed Egyptian Rose iced tea. The lamb roll was nice enough and the iced tea was refreshing and sweet. I also had a coffee to go and it was as good as expected. It is worth a visit to this friendly little cafè to take in a bit of Surry Hills. I will be back to try their breakfast menu.

• Fernanda S.

  star star star star star 8 October 2026

  Gnome is my kind of cafe. Why, you might ask? There are plenty of cafes around that area and a lot of them are great, but this is the sort of place where you want to sit at one of the tables outside with your laptop, grab a coffee and do some work on a sunny afternoon.
  
  The place is tiny but it makes up for the smallness in other aspects: simple menu yet delicious food, great coffee, friendly staff.
  
  I had the pesto eggs which is basically green eggs and ham and if they still have that on the special board, I'd definitely recommend it.

• Howard C.

  star star star star star_border 1 October 2026

  Gnome...more like Nom, amiright?
  
  I'll show myself out...
  
  (coffee is alright, food is fresh and good. Try the meatballs.)