After a failing attempt of visiting Kitchen by Mike during the Easter break and finding it not open, I was desperate to try my luck again the following weekend. Mr Dough drove into the street and teased that it looked like it wasn’t open and I was contesting right up until we pulled into the drive way and saw the open sign hanging up.
Kitchen by Mike is located in the industrial area of Roseberry and on the outside it looks like a big warehouse. The warehouse is home to Australian made furniture – Koskela The eatery is a canteen style where the menu is written on the steel exhaust in the kitchen and displayed in the glass counters. Upon entry what catches my eye is the natural bright light shining through and the lines of people at the front of the counter, waiting to order their breakfast. Headed up ex-Rockpool chef Michael McEnearney, there is no set menu and what’s on offer is determined by the fresh produce found at the markets each morning.
It’s nearing 11am and the places is filled with families, couples and friends catching up over breakfast. As I patiently line up, I was amused by watching the kitchen go into over drive prepping lunch and orders for breakfast. Breakfast is served until 11:30am and the lady in front of me was quizzing the staff about lunch and whether or not she should wait and she was assured that it will be worth the wait. With that in mind, I convinced Mr Dough that we would merely have a “snack” and wait for the lunch service.
Fresh honeycomb ready to be smothered on porridge!
Old school lemonade - $4.50 (very old school paper straw)
I wanted to try the baked beans with poached egg and bacon but I needed to save stomach space. So I went with the lightest options as possible. The bacon butty came with tomato relish which is made on-site and available to purchase.
Bacon Butty - $7.00
I’ve never had sourdough pancakes before and I find they are a lot lighter and not as doughy to eat. The thickness resembled halfway between a crepe and a normal pancake. I could taste the butter which the pancake was cooked on and the tartness of the lemon curd meant that this sweet brekky was not overly too sweet.
Sourdough pancakes with lemon curd - $12.00
We waited patiently for the 12pm lunch service and passed time by checking out the furniture in the show room. We fell in love with this dining table and maybe just maybe when we have a bigger abode, this can be sitting in the dining room.
Mika Table
Alas it’s 12pm and I noticed that there were a fair few people who did the same as us and sat through breakfast and waited for lunch service. As soon as the staff was bringing out the lunch time dishes, I make my way to the counter, viewing the menu displayed.
Today's menu
I couldn’t decide what to order and everything on that menu, me likey!
Service begins!
If only we had this at school canteens
Today's dishes
Hmmmmm....pizza......
Mr Dough gave me full creative control and I could choose whatever I wanted for him. Since by this stage he was starving, I chose the chicken and salad. The prices displayed are charged per serving/scoop. You could choose what cut of the chicken you would like and the thigh part, I find is always quite juicy. The dukkha on the chicken provided a smokey flavour to the chicken when roasted and was certainly more enjoyable to eat than your regular roast chicken. The cabbage slaw was nice and crunchy with just the right amount of dressing.
Roast Chicken Dukkha, Eggplant and Okra - $10.00
Cabbage, apple and walnut slaw - $4.00
For myself, I opted a healthy option of all veges. The autumn roast veges was roasted with lemon slices and it had my favourite brussels sprouts. I think I am weird because most people don’t like eating brussels sprouts because of the bitterness but I think it’s just eating a little mini cabbage! The roast squash with Persian feta was a decadent treat. Sweet roasted squash, piled on top of sourdough slice, topped with pieces of Persian feta and snow pea tendrils, every bite there was a contrast of crunchy sourdough against soft cheese. I got greedy and ordered the corn cob with lime chilli butter but couldn’t eat it. I’ve saved it for the next day…hee hee.
Autumn roast greens - $7.00
Roast squash with Persian feta - $9.00
Corn cob with lime chili butter - $3.00
If you like to see what’s on the menu on the day before you go, all you need to do is like their Facebook page and you would get updates on what is on offer that day.
Kitchen by Mike
85 Dunning Avenue
Roseberry NSW 2018
+ 612 9045 0910
Monday – Saturday 7am – 4pm
Sunday 8am – 4pm
Apple In a Bun 