We love walking into a venue that you instantly know will be fun. If the bright yellow exterior at The Little Eastern didn’t tell you that already, the interior wall that greets you with vibrant crayon drawn doodles certainly does.
It became clear once we sat down at our brown paper lined table, topped with an array of crayons, that the stunningly well done images upon said wall were done by cafe goers, doodling away while sipping their coffees. Now, we can whip up a decent stick figure but we’ve got nothing on some of these.
Although we’re no Picasso we certainly loved the whimsy of this little detail. Encouraging folks to put away their phones, and instead engage in some old style amusement. If you do have an artist in your group, we recommend you kick them off your table. It’s way funnier when there’s a limited level of talent.
Owner Michael was perched behind the coffee machine when we arrived and he barely left his post for the duration of our stay, except to come have a friendly chat. It’s always wonderful to see the owners of these venues taking a hands on approach to their businesses. We think it shows an unwavering passion for the industry, to their customers and to their staff.
But of course, what we’re all here for, the food! Honestly, the fact that we didn’t put the cafe’s name and eastern menu influence together is laughable. Give us a break alright, we needed a coffee. But that is the beauty of the menu at The Little Eastern, it puts a Lebanese twist on the classics.
Feeling a little worse for wear after the previous night’s festivities always makes the morning’s food selection tricky. We were definitely experiencing a ‘one of everything, thanks’ moment.
After a careful process of elimination we decided on the Smashed Pumpkin with roasted almonds, Danish feta and chunky tomato salsa on sourdough and the Green Bean, Pea and Haloumi Fritters on a baby spinach, avocado and tomato salsa salad. It was definitely hard to surpass the Lebanese [Big] Breakfast featuring scrambled eggs, turkish sausage, labne, olives, fresh tomatoes, cucumber and turkish bread *nom, nom, nom* but we went for the lighter options (for once).
Each dish was packed with flavour and exotic spices. The smashed pumpkin wasn’t a mess of mush, it had the perfect crunch of the toasted sour dough and roasted almonds, with the tomato salsa adding a vivid pop of flavour. The fritters had that brilliant fatty, salty haloumi element, but the fresh, zesty salad dressing helped cut straight through it, creating a wonderful balance. The meals left you feeling satisfied without that groggy, unbutton your pants uncomfortableness.
With other brekky faves on the menu like Smashed Avocado on toast, Baked Eggs and Eggs Florentine there’s something to satisfy all. Although, we hate to be the ones to tell you this… there’s no bacon. Shock horror! We know, but when there are other tasty options like the Turkish sausage, the whole no bacon thing doesn’t seem so bad.
And the coffee? Well that was spot on, and as self appointed coffee snobs, we don’t say that too often. If, like us, you spot the clocks on the far left wall with the times of several seemingly uncoordinated locations such as Ethiopia, Java and New York and stare with puzzled bemusement, owner Michael will tell you that those locations depict the growth and progression of coffee across the world since its discovery. A lovely little touch to remind you that it hasn’t always been Starbucks and Nespresso machines (not that we don’t love those in their own special way too).
Next time we visit (oh yes, we think this is the beginning of a delicious love affair) we’ll be trying one of EACH of the Manoushi. The delicious 9” Turkish style pizza comes in a whole variety of flavours and the most expensive is only a cheeky $9.50! We’ve got our eyes on the Lamb and the Gourmet Sujuk.
The Little Eastern is accurately named, and honestly quite little, so get in early to make sure you get yourself a comfy table on the weekends. There are adorable little pallet box tables and chairs out the front if it is a little busy on arrival. On the plus side there’s ample parking out the back, which we lovvvvve.
This gem in the Eastern suburbs flew under our radar for too long, but it appears plenty of locals are on the ball. As we said, we’ll definitely be back to test out the rest of the menu, and practise our artistic Crayola finesse to make it onto the coveted back wall.
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