Palomino Espresso, Sydney CBD

Liesel Schmidt has been surrounded by honest, homemade food ever since she was a little girl. Her love of fresh ingredients and quality home cooking is tangible at Palomino Espresso. Liesel sought out a space in the city with the intention of offering a point of difference. And she definitely succeeded! This is the kind of cafe you’d normally find in cafe hub Surry Hills. The cafe only opened late May, but it’s been buzzing with customers from the get-go.

Inspiration for the cafe name stemmed from the band The Redlands Palomino Company, but the reference to horses also manifests itself in the cafe philosophy. There’s an overall penchant towards rustic, down-to-earth food at Palomino.

THE FOOD

At Palomino the menu takes on seasonal changes. They bake their own goodies every single morning – from sweet and savoury muffins to mini quiches, the cafe counter is overflowing with homemade delights. Liesel has to drag herself out of bed at ungodly hours (ie. before dawn) to make it all happen. The morning I sit down with her for a chat, she was at the cafe at 4.15am.

But accompanying their home-baked goods are of course our artisan products. Our bread is the staple for sandwiches and toast; our burger buns are displayed on the counter; and rows of our croissants sit in the cabinet.

Liesel tells me the shredded pork and coleslaw roll on our Brioche Burger Bun is quite a popular menu item. Our New York Rye is the star of the Reuben sandwich, and our Quinoa & Soya Bread is paired with mushrooms and truffle aioli.

Alternatively, you could opt for a simple breakfast of toast or a ham & cheese croissant that’s jazzed up with some basil. If you’re on the hunt for something heart-warming this winter, try the soup served with sourdough toast.

Benedicts with Salmon on our Brioche Burger Bun

Prosciutto Sandwich on our Organic Sourdough

THE COFFEE

At Palomino you’ll be sipping on Morgan’s handcrafted coffee. Liesel (appropriately) picked the Pony blend, an award-winning and organic blend that boasts traces of chocolate, caramel and dried apricots. For the more serious coffee drinkers, there’s the cold drip experience, which is the brew of the day served with maple syrup on ice. I love that they suggest sharing it with a bestie on the chalkboard. Cute!

On the counter there’s an antique espresso machine, called the Astoria Regina or Queen of Coffee. It’s a restored 1950s lever espresso machine that Liesel got from Morgan coffee’s owner Dean Morgan.

I’m also pleased that the takeaway coffees are served in BioCups (which we also use in our cafe!) with their horse symbol stamped on.

Jeremy checking out the cold drip coffee

The antique Astoria Regina

Today's Single Origin

Piccolo time

BioCups don't cost the earth 🙂

THE PLACE

With a palette that mostly spotlights orange, white and black, Palomino’s aesthetic is warm and inviting. Wooden tables are juxtaposed with steel chairs. Liesel & co have taken their homemade concept to the extreme when they decided to tile the white and orange counter themselves. Palomino has instilled a sense of family enclosed in four walls. When I speak to Liesel, she keeps reiterating how thankful she is for her family who was there every step of the way during the Palomino journey.

While at the moment the cafe is only open on weekdays, Liesel is looking into opening up on Saturdays as well. This is very good news for all you coffee connoisseurs! Finding good-quality coffee in the city can sometimes be a bit of a struggle. Liesel is also thinking about running monthly coffee appreciation evenings where you’d be able to taste different coffees.

Make sure you check out the Palomino Facebook page, where you can follow the story from the very beginning. You can also read more about the Palomino cafe and its voyage on Liesel’s Palomino blog.