With cracking coffee, flavour-packed plates, a relaxed, chic space and natural vino with snacks at sunset, Effie’s – a café by day and wine bar come Friday and Saturday nights – is the kind of place you wish was just around the corner (Manly and Fairlight locals, you’re lucky). The sunny, minimalist space is named after owners Aniella and Sam Batten’s second daughter, Effie. The duo also run another outpost at Manly Boatshed, open all summer long as a ripper pit stop for an icy pole and espresso.
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Effie’s coffee beans are sourced from Mecca. Are you an early riser? Grab a warm brew from Effie’s marble hole-in-the-wall window from 6am on weekdays and 6.30am on weekends, then head to nearby Manly Beach for an ocean swim.
Food-wise, the morning line-up includes smashed avo with balsamic onions, goat’s cheese and Effie’s dukkah, as well as chilli eggs with local sourdough, chilli oil and Aleppo pepper. For something sweet, try the sourdough crumpets topped with strawberry gum cream cheese and macerated strawberries; and if it’s later in the day, go for the chicken sambo with Swiss cheese, butter lettuce, jalapeño mayo and pickled fennel. At night, it’s all about salty, snackable hits like cheese, olives and charcuterie, along with more substantial numbers including seasonal pasta, vegetables, fresh fish and charred meat. And top-notch wine, of course.
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