Joe Black Cafe

I think coffee is one of the great pleasures in life, so whenever I travel I am always on the lookout for somewhere I can get my coffee fix for the day. And I didn’t even have to go looking for this place, as it is just next door to my usual Sydney hotel! It’s kind of tucked away down a narrow street, but is always busy when I walk past around brunch/​lunch, so I usually try to go when it is quiet and I can get a table.
On my most recent trip to Sydney, I was dismayed to see that JB was closed for renovations for the weekend, but it re-​opened on the day that I flew out, so I made sure to go before I left. It looked as if they gutted the café and refit it to look exactly the same as before the renovation, as I couldn’t see much difference. But anyway. The coffee was great as usual. The coffee is always good, the service is always friendly, and I can’t stop looking at the evolution of man painting on the wall. I like this place very much.

Great super quick service. Really lovely people. Good atmosphere. Yummy food & great coffee = easy!

Solid breakfast on a nice quiet street. The Swiss muesli was great, served with a refreshing berry compote and yogurt. The eggs were prepared well. My only gripe was the coffee was a bit bitter. Otherwise, the food and atmosphere were most enjoyable.

Okay, you can find some great places through other people’s recommendations on Unilocal,however if you simply go by what Unilocal recommends (and it does recommend places based on people’s experience) then you end up missing out on places that you may really like but never discover simply because nobody on Unilocal has yet to go there (which I why I prefer to write recommendations than to simply blindly follow other peoples — not that I have had any bad recommendations as yet). Anyway, this is a little café hidden in the back streets of Surry Hills and the atmosphere is really cool. They had mural on the wall as well as numerous items scattered about, including what looks like a chemistry set for brewing coffee. Wanting a place for breakfast I ended up picking this place, and I must say that it wasn’t bad at all. Okay, I’ve had better breakfasts, but the atmosphere was great.

Fantastic service. Absolutely perfect coffee. This place is the place to go for good coffee and staff who meet you with a smiley face. Also make decorations on their cappuccinos.

I went there this freezing Sunday morning and my friend had her dog with her– the lovely waitress was so accommodating in bringing a second table and chairs outside for us, and took the time to make friends with the dog as well! We were also waiting on a late running friend who we’d ordered for but was still on the way when the food came, so they kindly kept his food warm in the kitchen until he arrived.
In other words, what an absolutely lovely waitress! Customer service is great. Food was delicious, and they even had a roasted dandelion latte which was a really nice alternative when I didn’t want any caffeine or the usual herbal teas. Would definitely recommend!

Best coffee is in the area.
Had their soup of the day which was bacon leek and potato. Yums!

Friendly staff and great coffee. They have the expertise to do everything from pulling a great espresso to cold drip. Good spot for breakfast too.
Would recommend getting one of the gourmet sandwiches with a piccolo. Solves all problems.

Gotta try the Stormin Normin, the perfect mix of avocado, cherry tomatoes and poached eggs on a toast. Add flat white and it’s the best way to start your day!

Coffee is so so, but the food is very good. Had a variety of yogurt and granola bowls to their pastries and everything was excellent. Pastries were light and fluffy and the fruit in their parfaits was good. Coffee was a bit bland and a little weak.

Awesome little café in surry. When you walk in you get an instant feeling that they know what they are doing with the coffee. In fact any café with syphons is pretty much putting a sign up to say «we know our $&@/»
The service is ok and the food is what a decent café should have. Worth visiting more than once.

Great little café! Visited Joe Black’s whilst on holidays in Sydney & it reminded me of a Melbourne café. Nice coffee & the sandwiches are lovely.

Super hipster? Really? hmm There some moustached cups, some tattooed waitresses and a faux-​evolution-​of-​coffee mural. Perhaps it was just because it was packed with business types that it didn’t sell it to me? Or perhaps because I’m a Chippendale boy and I’m used to hipster-​as-​norm.
Anyways, their breakfast menu was super uninspired, which would be fine if the flavour wasn’t so boring. How do you make a bacon and egg muffin boring? I don’t know. Maybe they should ask McDonalds for some tips? OH BURRRN
I won’t be back. (Well I might if I want a café in that area — you’re hardly spoiled for choice)

Ok this place is gimmicky. They even have mustaches on their cups. I hate anything gimmicky, so I was hating it from the get-​go. But then I tried the coffee! That was a great cup of coffee. And the staff were awesome. To to top it off the sandwich was great. If stopping by if you want a good cup of coffee.

Unscheinbarer kleiner Laden, super Frühstück (Granola = Müsli; Top!).

There is not to say about Joe Black’s which hasn’t already been said.
The place looks great, buzzes like a bubble bee and the coffee and food are great.

Awesome place to grab a quick cup of coffee. Their cups with the moustaches are so cute!

Sydney coffee at its best. We visited Joe Black this weekend and found a very friendly bunch of guys behind the counter, and a really relaxed atmosphere that made us want to come back. Coffee is their speciality, so while they have some food, its all about the beans, the way its ground and the way its brewed. Three ways in fact, chilled extraction, what looks like a Japanese hot extraction and the every day espresso. A pleasure to visit.

Yikes — twins !
Coffee is really good. Really good.
The fellas are cool but they are also friendly — chat about golf, work, …maybe coffee.
When they know you are coming back you get a smile or two and can share a smirk when a Winklevice says something dumb to a regular. You may get invited to use a special handshake, a bit like the Society of Oddfellows. Shooting a small bird is involved but I can’t say more.
The legendary Peter Norman has pride of place on the wall too.
Never tried the syphon or coffee in an ice glass but I will soon if only to see if it needs a bloke in a white coat and horn rimmed glasses to make it. Nowadays everyone around knows that Joe Blacks coffee comes in a cup with a moustache so it has to be snuck past other cafes to get back to work.
Single origins per the blackboard, there is obvious passion here for coffee.
Post Script — had the cold drip, Ethiopian single origin. Yep — fantastic, Syphon next.
Bumped JBs to 5* — had to, they are bigger than me and there’s two of them, besides I go there pretty much every day — I’d look an idiot if I kept going to a four star joint !

You could be mistaken for thinking you need a rockin’ handle bar mustache to be remotely cool enough to step foot inside this side-​street café hole in the wall.
As we walked down the street I didn’t believe my friend that there was a «funky» (as he put it) café ahead.
Surprise, surprise. Less than 50m later we walk into Joe Black — the ultimate hipster hideaway. Tucked neatly away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney CBD we grabbed a quick take away coffee which was pitch perfect, robust and hit the spot after a day of wandering the streets of ol’ Sydney town.
I did manage to sneak a peek at a few meals as they were being transported to hungry hipsters around us and they all looked mouth-​watering delicious.
Joe Black, for me, is that diamond in the rough you find and don’t want to tell your friends about for fear the spot packs out with fellow caffeine fiends. I’m too nice however and am dutifully sharing this on-​trend haunt with you all.

Mmmm delicious coffees and a cute café to compliment it.
The menu isn’t super innovative or very big… but that being said, the food is good and service is friendly. They have similar seating to BangBang Café. A few 2 – 4 tops, and then a larger table in the front where a group or groups can use. I think they have a table or two outside as well.
It’s still sorta new-​ish I suppose and less popular than some of the other local spots which I don’t mind. Great option to have.