When Sydneysiders think of breakfast, minds are inevitably cast to bacon, egg, or some version of a smashed avocado. However, this Summer Hill café is determined to broaden the horizons by serving up super fresh and refined Middle Eastern breakfast fare in the recently revamped Flour Mill site.
Soul Tree Café is the mission of Suz Gursahaney, who left her former life in finance to open her ideal eatery. Gursahaney's goal is to provide a space where guests are immediately made to feel welcome, while enjoying world class food and coffee. Enter; chef Tomislav Martinovic. Martinovic worked under Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck in the UK before opening his now-closed Darlinghurst diner, Tomislav. More recently, Martinovic has consulted on menus around Sydney including Pyrmont’s Quick Brown Fox Eatery, Holly in Bondi and Three Williams over in Redfern.
Together, he and Gursahaney have curated a sophisticated and varied menu that explores the vast and complex flavours and regions of the Middle East. Whether it be the Tunisian inspired tuna toast with chili, garlic, tahini, capers and preserved lemon, or the Sydney staple of baked eggs, shakshuka style. The Soul Tree version is traditional in flavour but much more delicate than many of its counterparts, which leave you rubbing your belly and ready for a nap.
The stand-out dish, however, is the local's favourite of salt beef brisket piled high between slices of sourdough, not complete without Swiss cheese and truffled mayonnaise. Not delicate or elegant, but entirely delicious and worth the trip alone.
Gursahaney has worked with Melbourne coffee roastery Kaffeina to create a blend specifically for the café, using a mix of beans from Brazil, Costa Rica, India, Papua New Guinea and Kenya. The result is a complex, rich and slightly bitter blend that will put some pep in your step.
The venue sits on a quiet corner of the new Flour Mill apartments and is just moments away from where the Flour Mill Markets set up twice a month, making it the perfect pit stop to refuel before you shop 'til you drop.