contessa balmain

it's a huge!!!!breakfastso make sure you're super hungry. i think this'll be a perfect hangover cure. i ordered the brioche french toast with caramelised bananas and crispy bacon, drizzled with maple syrup. my mouth is watering just thinking about it. what can i say, i can't resist bacon and maple syrup. the

✔️ was blown away by the amazing food & service at contessa. i came here with my uncle on sunday, they were packed as always which makes the vibe what it is. the service was impeccable the entire time, attending to us as before we would even look up to get someones attention. meeting the owner was a privilege as he is so passionate and beautiful with a heart of gold. we ordered thebreakfastbruschetta, the b.r.a.t and i got the signature corn cakes. omg!!! i can’t stress enough how so delicious and faultless everything was. i also love my coffee,and the coffee here is just superb. would 100% travel an hour to come back 🙌 💯

❌ absolutely nothing.

food: 5/5
presentation: 4.5/5
service: 5/5
location: 5/5

(one of the highest ratings i’ve given). 😊

we have been in this place forbreakfastand we have eaten the farmhouse omelette, rosa’sbreakfastbruschetta and coffee. they were ok, with a good presentation, but service was slow.

contessa is a busy cafe but it's worth the wait for a table if it's packed. the place has an indoor and outdoor seating with lots of natural light. menu consists of light starter, breakfast, lunch, beverages and few alcoholic drinks.breakfastis served all day and coffee is by the grounds. for brunch, i ordered thebreakfastbruschetta, thick slice of sourdough topped with smashed avocado, tomato, garden greens and a poached egg. lovely food and very friendly staff, i can't wait to go back!

our favourite "go to" for breakfast. we've been fans now for about 6 months, and i now judge everybreakfastplace by the standards at contessa balmain. the staff is amazing...courteous, knowledgeable and so friendly. you can't go wrong with anything on this menu, but our favourites are thebreakfastbruschetta, (extra egg for me, thank you) and the bacon and egg roll on sourdough with a hash brown. coffee is superb. love sitting outside and watching all the doggies walking by. hats off to the owner, chefs, and wait staff. love you guys. charles and megs are fans for life. (and yes we were there this morning!!)

generous serves of good food and friendly service

contessa balmain is a cafe/restaurant servingbreakfastand lunch 7 days a week. it is small cafe with limited seating available inside and outside. it is located on darling street, balmain.

we came for brunch as it was suggested to us to try and reviews were positive, so we had to give it a go. we were meant to go to devon on danks but i'm glad we went to contessa as it was a nice experience. we found off street parking and were seated immediately. throughout our time at contessa, there was a consistent flow of customers.

we ordered the ultimate bacon and egg roll, contessa corn cakes with chorizo, and the contessa fry up. to drink, my child had the contessa froggicino, i had a large chai latte and my husband had the seasonal fresh fruit freppe.

the servings of food were generous, we didn't end up finishing everything. the ultimate bacon and egg roll came with hickory smoked bacon, fried eggs, provolone cheese, caramelized onion (we asked for it to be on the side), tomato relish and mayonnaise on a toasted brioche bun. it was a big serving, no way could you get your mouth around it without pressing it down. a bit messy to eat but was nice. the bacon was smokey and plenty of it. i would have preferred a runny egg. everything tied nicely together.

i tried the contessa corn cakes as a review suggested to try it. i normally wouldn't order this kind of dish but decided to give it a go and i actually enjoyed it. but one cake was more than enough, the dish came with two corn cakes. it was served with guacamole, baby spinach, tomato salsa, and balsamic reduction with a choice of hickory smoked bacon, chorizo, mushrooms or smoked salmon. i chose chorizo and i'm glad i did as we quickly polished it up. it was yummy, flavours weren't strong, it didn't leave an aftertaste and were cut in nice thick pieces so it wasn't dry. there was plenty of corn in the corn cakes and was a nice sweet and savoury dish, however, eating both cakes would make me feel sick so i left the other one. the fresh element of the avocado, spinach, and tomato helped cut through the oil for me in the dish.

the contessa fry up or bigbreakfastcame with x2 fried eggs (you can't change how the eggs are cooked), hickory smoked bacon, mushrooms, grilled tomato, hash brown, house relish and sourdough bread. i prefer my egg runny and because they put the relish on the eggs, i didnt touch much of the egg as the relish was not to my palate. the bacon was smoky and was nice. the mushrooms were good and plenty of it. the hash brown was nice and crunchy. the sourdough bread was nice toasted and buttered.

the froggicino or babycino was a cute and novelty way to put a smile on my child's face. it came with two marshmallows and a face drawn with chocolate sauce. it was thoroughly enjoyed as it was polished up quickly. a definite hit with the kids.

my chai latte was nice and it came out quite hot as requested.

the seasonal fresh fruit freppe was nice and not overly sweet. tasted like it had mango in it.

staff were friendly and a table check was done.

verdict: if you want good food and have an appetite, this place is worth a try and it won't hurt your wallet either.

came here forbreakfaston a sunday and it was fantastic, the lovely waitress was super friendly and the atmosphere was great, they were super busy and they even gave us the chance to split the bill and pay separately, not many places do that.
my food was great. it wasn't so heavy.
they made me a banana and mixed berry smoothie (that wasn't on the menu) and it was beautiful, nice and creamy and smooth the way a smoothie should be.
i would definately come back to this place for breakfast.

great little neighbourhood cafe in balmain serving up a wide selection ofbreakfastand lunch items along with good coffee. contessa is licensed so they also offer up a boozybreakfastoption for those looking for something with a bit more a kick. it's a busy venue on weekends and for good reason too!

contessa balmain has been in balmain for 24 years and 13 years under the current owner. what i notice first is the incredible friendliness and hospitable nature of the owner and staff. truly felt welcome and had a fun time! that really makes for a great atmosphere. i'm a rarity at giving a 5 for a cafe, but this deserves it. the place has had a recent reno and styled much like the city cafes with the bronze pipes and hanging lights and little green flowers in vases on the table.
the menu is extensive and has 4 icons to highlight the menu, cocktails, good, coffee. starting with a cocktail (we are on holidays :), ordering a bloody mary and a bellini mimosa, what an awesome start to the day! sort of feel like we're in nyc! in regards to food, we took some advice from the staff and went for the nutella brioche, corn fritters andbreakfastburrito. though you could order eggs, burgers, pastas and more if that takes your fancy.
thebreakfastburrito was a huge wrap filled with scrambled egg, chorizo, cheese, sauce and topped with guacamole, this was great! also shared the corn fritters, which were less doughy than most places, which is a good thing. you can actually taste the corn kernels. we chose bacon to accompany it, though you could get salmon or chorizo if you like. then the mother of all sweet things, brioche french toast with nutella, toasted oats, coconut and this was insanely amazing. i'm not normally a fan of french toast as it's too eggy, but this was just right. although i might need to run around the block a few times to work it off, it was worth eating! i then also got a little 'froggacino'. what is this, you may ask?? but a baby cino that looks like a frog! i loved it, even as an adult. all round top place and thanks for great service!

we are kindly invited to contessa balmain. we popped in on a saturday lunch time and the cafe was pumping, full of customers!

we started with a few fun drinks. we had bloody marys and froggicinos, what's a froggicino? it's the cutest little milk beverage. suitable for children who don't  want to miss out a cappuccino like mum or dad have. with a cute chocolate smile and marshmallow goggley eyes, this tiny frothed milk treat contains no coffee. perfect for the young ones.

the bloody mary was so spicy! an absolute kick to the senses, i would recommend a virgin mary as a great morning beverage to really wake you up for a non-alcoholicbreakfastbeverage.
it worked a charm!

the spaghetti con gamberi was the star of the day, this spag alone is worth the 1.2hr trek to balmain. generous amount of sauteed garlic prawns, succulent by the way, and the sauce... if you have to pick anything from contessa this is it. diet later.

the smoked salmon omlette was yummy, but not as yummy as the spag. came with 2 slices of sourdough, which i couldnt finish. in all seriousness after i had a bite of the spag i was ready to trade my dish for sams spag.

nutella french toast was satisfying and rich. its actually not that bad for your waist line considering the amount of nuts used for topping!

contessa balmain is an experience that you have to be a part of along darling street. this place is a mix of new york and italian - a place to sit back and soak up the atmosphere, enjoy the flavour packed meals, sip on a brunch cocktail and/or enjoy a brilliantly brewed coffee.


this is a brunch spot for us, mainly because when we head there we are stuck trying to the choose between thebreakfastand lunch meals. these meals would fill a retired prop from the old balmain tigers to those who just want something light before shooting on down for a swim at the dawn fraser pools. we had the corn cakes and the chicken burger. the corn cakes are generous in size and cooked to perfection with a soft inside and crunch on the outside. the burger here was amazing - not too heavy with chicken and balanced well with the light and fluffy bun and avocado. the coffee here is beyond good, although if you are coming for a brunch spot then treat yourself to contessa’s brunch cocktail menu. we went the bloody mary - done very traditionally, because you can’t argue with a classic. if this isn’t for you they also have beer and cider.


when it comes time to pay, because let’s be honest this review has sold it to you, don’t go past the choc chip cookies at the counter. enjoy yourself and enjoy your meal at this place.

great atmosphere nice bigbreakfastcan be slightly $$$$ to be a regular but great every now and again. the decor is fantastic and it's worth a visit just to see the coffee machine

what an absolute gem. with the postive reviews i couldn't resist. came here with a group of 10 and they were happy to accomodate us. staff were very polite and cheerful. coffees smoothies and milk shakes to start and all were well received. with the steady flow of customers for take away coffees i suspect it's the locals favourite.
forbreakfastbig appetites were waiting and the large sized food portions were gladly accepted.
the front runners were the breaky burrito, corn cakes and beans and chorizo. the chorizo plentiful in most dishes and has an added nice touch of spice.
with the abundant tantalising pastries and cakes staring at you from the counter it just would have been rude for me to leave without a lamington scroll.
a well priced cafe with smiles all around.

yum! i often take my staff here for fri mornbreakfastmeetings. staff are nice, food is tasty, eggs benedict to die for! always busy, no surprise though as it really is excellent.

i think i have a new favourite brunch place! walking along the quiet main road of balmain i was drawn into bar contessa by its modern yet rustic style décor. at the first glance of the menu, i wanted to order everything, which is when i knew i would already love bar contessa.  i was drooling as the waiters were bringing out other diners' meals such as big juicy cheese burgers with thick cut chips, huge chicken tortillas and large bowls of creamy cauliflower soup and sourdough bread. the menu featured an all daybreakfastmenu (awesome!) and a variety of lunch menu items. the past few times i have ordered fritters at previous café i wasn't entirely impressed but for some strange reason i feel drawn to order them everytime. however, when the house make corn  cakes ($18.50)  came out my eyes widened, the serving was massive. i couldn't wait to dig in! the corn fritters were topped with fresh guacamole, rocket, tomato salsa and generous serving of  chorizo sausage. instead of the chorizo t