Restaurant Review: A tour of Sydney CBD's muesli

As I've previously mentioned I travel a lot of work. Recent a lot has been every week. It is fairly exhausting and makes keeping up with regular meals and exercise difficult. I have a load of workouts on my laptop and try to do one each morning in my hotel room - which can be difficult on the days a hotel room is postage stamp sized. I also often try to find a nearby supermarket and buy something close to a normal breakfast. The only problem with this approach is that you end up camped out in your hotel room for too long and if you get in late and are only staying for one night finding the supermarket can be a challenge.

Over the last couple of months there have been a series of these days where I have instead found myself a nearby cafe for breakfast. When faced with a cafe menu there are many things I could order but at 7am the only thing my body wants is some form of cereal, preferably topped with yogurt and fruit - aka what I would have at home. Luckily muesli and granola are having their time in the sun. The cafe offerings are significantly more decadent than my low fat, untoasted, homemade version but they certainly satisfy my breakfast cravings.

So without further ado, here is my tour of the muesli offerings of the Sydney CBD.

Vanto @ QVB
Shop 44, Level 1, Queen Victoria Building, 455 George Street, Sydney CBD

Organic toasted granola with yoghurt, rhubarb compote, fresh strawberry and passion fruit $14.90

This has to be the most beautifully plated muesli - sorry granola - I've ever seen. A delicious toasted granola, topped with creamy yogurt, berry coulis and an array of fresh fruit. Yum, if slightly difficult to eat from the flat platter.

White Rabbit
Ground floor of 28-34 O’Connell Street (on corner of Hunter Street), Sydney CBD

Fire roasted granola - homemade granola, homemade poached fruits, passionfruit curd, natural yoghurt $13

Another delicious crunchy granola with beautiful creamy yoghurt, this dish was lifted by the decedent and yummy passionfruit curd. The combination of poached fruit, fresh berries and mint also made this a really fresh and and lively dish.

Pablo and Rusty
161 Castlereagh St, Sydney CBD

Burnt fig & almond granola, pomegranate & orange blossom sheep's yoghurt & strawberries $15

The addition of pomegranate in both seed form and as a drizzle of pomegranate molasses made this a much more tart breakfast than the others listed here but truly delicious. The orange blossom sheep's yoghurt was a great sweet counterbalance to the tart pomegranate and again it was a delicious crunchy granola. Pablo and Rusty also have the cutest tea pots - doesn't impact the flavour but I did enjoy my tea very much.

Doppio Espresso
284 Pitt St, Sydney CBD

Sonoma spelt maple and almond muesli with mixed berries, yoghurt and your choice of milk $12.50

This was probably the least fancy muesli. The Sonoma muesli itself was delicious but I'm pretty sure the berries were just frozen mixed berries that had been microwaved (something I do all the time in winter) and the yogurt was a little sweet for my tastes. But the service was fast and the coffee seems to have a loyal following judging from the number of people stopping in.

Silks Coffee Lounge
170 Phillip Street, Sydney CBD

Bircher muesli with berry compote and fresh strawberries $9.80

While they did have a granola on offer, this particular morning I chose to go for the bircher muesli. This was the cheapest of all my Sydney CBD breakfasts by far and also one of the most generous serves. The bircher was tasty with shredded apple and plump sultanas. The berry compote, fresh strawberries and blueberries were fresh and tasty and the slivered almonds added a nice texture.


Overall White Rabbit was my favourite but all of the cafes I visited offered a tasty, health alternative to the usual eggs for a cafe breakfast. So muesli lovers of Sydney rejoice, there are many great options for you within about a 5 block radius!

My travel for the year is pretty much over but no doubt there will be plenty of time spent in Sydney's CBD again next year. Have a missed a magnificent muesli? Feel free to let me know what I should be trying next.

Random Musings: Scent of Spring

I don’t know what spring has been like in your part of the world but it has been weird in mine. Much warmer and wetter than usual which has resulted in the most lush green look I’ve ever seen Canberra sport.

This last week has been a bit cooler with a lot of rain. Yesterday it truly poured down, areas around me were flooded and rooves caved in. But today the sun broke through the clouds to make for a warm, humid atmosphere, something we aren’t used to in the nation's capital.

I try to get out for a lunchtime work most days. Today was the first day I’d managed this week, but what a day to get out and about. The warm, humid air made the scent of nature around me truly profound. As I walked along I could smell the rich, dark earth, the fresh growing grass, the sweetness of honeysuckle.

We rely on our eyesight as our primary sense, sometimes to the detriment of the others. However, as I walked along today I was so aware of how the world smelt it was almost overwhelming. 

I paused for a moment, closing my eyes and drew in an even deeper breath to fill my head with the heady scent of spring. It was a small perfect moment in an otherwise unremarkable day. And sometimes that is all we need. One perfect moment to make a whole day a good one.