The Fern

This business has closed.

Walk along Pitt Street and you’ll find one of the terrace houses with the signage «The Fern» out in front. It’s pretty rad when you think that this was built as a house but now used as a café/​restaurant.
The Fern is a wonderful place to get some work done as you can sit in a booth (don’t sit too long though as sitting in a booth will make your tooshy uncomfy after some time) with convenient powerpoints located inside. They’ve got free Wi-​Fi you can connect to and the staff is pretty chill (and by staff, I mean the guy that works there) who doesn’t mind that you’re there doing your thing. The food is quite alright too so when you can eat lunch and do work, it’s a bonus.
I’d definitely love to just come here and hang out (sans laptop) at night, have a few drinks, and see what the vibe is like.

The Fern is quickly becoming my favorite local café. It’s a lovely space with funky interior and nice outdoor patio. The coffee and food has been consistently good. I’m especially fond of The Burger… it’s a simple burger made the way it should be, without the distractions that are typical in Oz (though you can get your burger with beetroot and capsicum and avocado if you must). As an ex-​pat, I have to say it’s my favorite burger in Sydney so far. The Hangover Cure is another favorite of mine for breakfast, especially since it comes with real crispy bacon! (I have found it impossible to find real bacon in this city.) This café is the perfect neighborhood café and is now part of my café-​hopping routine. I definitely recommend it…

I live very close to this café, so I really wanted it to be super amazing. And it is quite lovely, but it’s not top notch. Here’s the rundown:
— The menus come in old record covers (but what did they do with the records?) and it’s always nice to see which old album you get.
— The Fern is in a stately old terrace on Pitt St, The Fern makes good use of its front garden, with plenty of outdoor seating.
— Raining? Yeah, it’s always raining these days. Don’t worry, The Fern have three cute little diner-​style booths inside, if you’re lucky, plus some other large tables.
— The coffee isn’t bad, but also nothing to write home about.
— The Fern has the benefit of not being too popular, so you can almost always get a seat.
— They’re licenced, and complete with cocktails and lengthy happy hours.
— Some nights they do dinners. Haven’t tried that yet… but dining al-​fresco on Pitt St is a nice idea.
— Most breakfasts are in the $ 16 – 17 mark, which seems unnecessary.
Here’s the big catch: the food just isn’t that good. It looks pretty awesome on the menu, but when it arrives… hmm. The pulled pork is overly sweet, and some of the dishes have a half-​warmed-​up pre-​prepared feeling about them. That said, when I came here with a bunch of friends, most people seemed pretty happy with their meals. The food has a bit of a Spanish feel: pulled pork, ceviche, gazpacho, churros.
I will definitely come back — it’s a business I’d like to support. Plus — the folks who work there talk a bit of Redfern gossip, great for eavesdropping.

This café has a wonderful energy, friendly staff and a lovely patio to sip your coffee and relax before you stroll to the nearby park. The perfect way to start your day without waiting in long lines or dealing with jerks.

After trying to get into Baffi & Mo around the corner but getting impatient with the wait, a friend and I stumbled upon The Fern for brunch one weekend. It looks like a sweet old terrace house you’d love to live in, with a quaint courtyard out the front and an interior packed with quirky furniture and knick-​knacks. Sink into an armchair inside and enjoy the excellent coffee (make that a plural). I enjoyed the eggs served with toast and avocado (choices of sides also included smoked pork belly, bacon, pulled pork, salmon and house-​baked beans).
For lunch, the burgers are awesome — and not just for their great names, though I must admit they won me over to begin with… Try ‘the reason you came’ (beef, bacon, HP sauce, sauerkraut), ‘thunder cat’, ‘shimmy’ or the ‘dingo ate my burger’.
The Fern is fantastic for brunch and lunch, I can’t wait to go back for a glass of wine and dinner. In fact, I might just never leave.