Blink and you’ll miss it, so our advice to you is to follow your nose to this treasure. There’s no mistaking the full tantalising aroma of coffee wafting through the tunnel that leads you from George Street to Queen Victoria Building via Town Hall Station. Therefore, tilt thy nostrils to the sky and trust thine nose to lead the way until you arrive smack-bang in front of the bright lights, coffee machines and ‘baah-ristas’ of two black sheep.
two black sheep sits on the lower level of the HSBC centre, close to the entrance of the tunnel that links George Street to Town Hall Station. They’ve been serving their sandwiches on Brasserie Bread for quite some time now, but what caught our eye about these guys was their rapidly growing presence on twitter and facebook, spurred on by numerous charity drives and quirky competitions they hold for their fanatically loyal customers. Not to mention an all-round friendly Aussie vs. Kiwi vibe that acts oddly enough as a bond between café and customer – all of whom seem to enjoy a bit of back-and-forth at the coffee machine or online. Chalk up a win for the kiwis at this joint who’ve named their sandwiches in Maori, deriving their daily dose of amusement from the Aussies attempting to order them at lunch. Yep, it’s the small things in life …
Three things we really like about two black sheep:
- Family is, as family does – Owned and operated by two kiwi brothers who don’t forget their roots. They make sure you don’t forget it either. Their reach into the community grows deep – Sandwiches have Maori names of places in New Zealand, such as their top seller, the Whenuapai*; they get involved with numerous charity drives, such as raising money for cancer in Movember, or more recently raising over $500 for the Christchurch Earthquake rebuilding efforts. Check out their Facebook page to see what they’ve been up to
- Lifting the game of lower-CBD coffee – They are the ‘Coffee Concierge’ of George Street – where service is fast, familiar and friendly, and the coffee is brilliant. Passionate about their coffee, they’ve recently launched their own customised two black sheep blend sourcing a variety of beans from around the world and roasting it at a local roastery
two black sheep customised blend, roasted locally
3. Did we mention their amazingly loyal and dedicated customers? – From rebranding their shop’s name using customer suggestions, to getting voted into the finals for the City of Sydney Business Awards 2010 by their customers, with their business case eventually winning the coveted ‘Best Café’ award – you don’t want to be standing in front of this mob dissing the place. Just saying.
A few more little touches of brilliance
The bread menu, how twee!
Big fans of the two black sheep t-shirts
Winning
Baristas and staff – Dave and Adam Wright, Josh, Gaelle, Pete, Jazmin and Lee (Manager)
Address: Shop LG6, 580 George Street, Sydney CBD (view map) or visit their spiffy new website
For: Good coffee, fast, efficient and friendly service, great takeaway sandwiches and pastries
Best-selling sandwich:
The Whenuapai sandwich on our award-winning organic sourdough – Lemon- herb chicken, sun dried tomatos lime chilli mayo and rocket
Also try: Badgering them for nutella with your toast. They’ll relent and start ordering it eventually
You can now order your favourite Brasserie Bread loaf to pick up at two black sheep.
Read a review of two black sheep on Cafe Dave
Tell us: Are you a two black sheep local? What is the one thing they make that’s got you hooked?
