Lamrock Café

Lamrock Café

Where: Lamrock Café, 72-76 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026

Coffee Bean: Di Stefano

Lamrock Café is located just across the road from Bondi Beach. It was a swelteringly perfect summer’s day when we caught the bus down from Bondi Junction, and as such we had an amazing view of the deep blue ocean when we took a table outside the café. Lamrock radiates ‘beachy’ vibes: chilled out music, white-washed décor and a lazy all-day breakfast menu.

Pretty Awesome View!

The menus were pretty cute, stapled to worn paper bags and hung by the handles on the back of the chairs. The waitress came by our table with a bottle of water and two glasses filled with ice, which was great service seeing as how hot it was getting.

Their food menu isn’t extensive, composed of all-day breakfast items, lunch and drinks variety. Julia ordered the Big Bondi Breakfast ($14.90) and her usual regular latté ($3.80), and Erin went with a Vegetarian Panini ($14.90) and a regular flat white ($3.80).

To be perfectly honest, the latté was a bit bland for me. Maybe I was just particularly starved for coffee or something, but it seemed to be missing that aromatic bitter punch of caffeine that I like. Presentation was nothing spectacular either. For $3.80, it was a bit disappointing.

Flat White

Same, same for the flat white. It was pretty standard, with some nice fruity flavours. There was just nothing exceptional about it at all. If all you’re after is a pick-me-up, coffees from Lamrock will do the trick – and that’s about it. No great textures, tastes or finishes. At $3.80, definitely overpriced. 

At the risk of sounding like a grump, the food wasn’t that great, either. Big Bondi Breakfast comes with two eggs cooked according to preferences, bacon, mushrooms, sausage, hash brown, tomato and multigrain sourdough. I asked for poached eggs and—dun dun dun—they were cooked through, more like boiled eggs, and nearly cold. Bleargh. Bacon was almost too crispy (if there is such a thing), to the point of being almost burnt (you can see in the photo, if you squint). If you like to eat your bacon like crackers, then you might be happy with it. The sausage, on the other hand, could have used some more colour.

Big Bondi Breakfast

Mushrooms were nothing special. The hash brown was good, though—nice and crunchy and hot. Tomato? It’s tomato. Grilled. The multigrain sourdough was another good thing: nicely toasted. But the little packet of butter that came with it was completely melted! When I opened it, it spilled onto my fingers and made a greasy mess. Not nice. I get that it’s a hot day, but it’s Australia, it’s summer, it’s Bondi, and really, shouldn’t they have a way to keep the butter cool or something?

Vegetarian Panini

It would have been a good value meal for $14.90 if all the elements were done well. Unfortunately, they weren’t.

The Panini was less of an underwhelming experience. It was stuffed with spinach, grilled halomi and roasted spiced pumpkin, and finished off with generous dollops of mayonnaise. Eating it was messy, and there was probably too much mayonnaise. Nonetheless, the Panini itself was fresh and crunchy, and the fillings tasty. I found it easier to eat after cutting it in half.

It seems the only exceptional thing about the Lamrock Café is its location: just across the road from Bondi Beach, you'll cool down with an ocean breeze and impressive views of the sea (though somewhat obscured by the traffic). For tourists, this is probably enough. If you're looking for a more refined dining experience, you're better off going elsewhere.

Yays:

• Great location; the view is amazing.
• Good service; iced water is a plus. 

Nays:

• Coffee was bland.
• Food could be better: they should especially work on their poached eggs, other reviews on the internet report same problems.
• Execution of food and drinks leaves much to be desired.
• No air-conditioning – thank goodness for the ocean breeze!

Overall Experience:

60% -- Pass!