When Darryl Kerrigan from
The Castle uttered the words "Charm...adds a bit of charm" he was talking about the white picket fence at the brand new café cum bike temple Robocog. Pass through the picket fence and a wide front yard complete with wooden benches, tree trunk stools and solid wooden tables greet you. This description makes it sound like the set of Jungle Book theatre piece. That is wholly misleading.
I take a seat, road side, and am met by a guy who has a natural quiff that makes me jealous, who certainly puts the hip in hipster. His name is Jet, and this is another reason I want to be friends with him. Immediately. I grab a menu and am in love with the original combinations of fruit juices and have a Pineapple Pick Me up for a stellar $4.50. With pineapple, a hint of grapefruit, a dash of honey and something else that escapes my mind, it does exactly as the name suggests. Who needs coffee when you have Pick Me Up?
My friend ordered the banana smoothie and I lunge at the glass garnished with a huge chuck of it's namesake. The taste...sensational. I sense a hint of vanilla bean and heaven. I might be wrong on the vanilla bean.
The food menu is substantial, while the prices are not. The peri-peri chicken sambo, on brown, goes down a treat at $8.90 and comes out faster than one can pull themselves up off the ground after falling off their
fixie. For next time, I already have my eye on the Thai beef salad (I'm led to believe it will be delish, as the cool guys who own this joint are Thai don't ya know!)
Inside the single story terrace, the light and airy room greets you with robot and cycling trinkets dotted all over the place and the charm factor is through the roof. Miniatures of guys on bikes edge the till, there are signed photos, robots in frames and great wall decals, as well as hot bikes hung up on the wall. Behind the counter I'm charmed by the two other hipsterlicious staff as well as the
Sonoma and
T2 brand tea.
What started out as a
bike workshop down the road has transformed into one of the coolest cafes on the block. And by block I mean
Surry Hills. Yes that is a tall order. But I'm sold on the staff (be my friends), juices, prices, menu, location and trinkets. And the robots, they add a bit of charm.
