571 King St, Newtown, NSW
misslillys.com.au

I received a recommendation recently via the subreddit /r/sydney saying that I had to try the sausage rolls at Miss Lilly’s in Newtown. I must admit that I haven’t tried any places in Newtown apart from The Pie Tin, because it’s so good there and I am in the area seldom enough that all I ever want to do is go back there. But, if someone is going to go out of their way to specifically recommend an establishment to me, I have to try it!

I made a special expedition over to Newtown just for this. I messed up a bit reading Google Maps and ended up at the wrong end of Newtown, wondering why I couldn’t find it. Consulting my phone, I realised my error, and walked along the entire eclectic university-student-filled shopping strip to the far end. This was fortunate as it helped build an appetite!

I found Miss Lilly’s behind a humble shopfront on busy King Street. It bills itself as a “bakery cafe”, but there isn’t much room inside for the two tables, and there are two tables out on the footpath. The unassuming counter contains a small selection of slightly rustic, home-made style cakes, tarts, and slices. This is not a high-end patisserie – it looks like a typical small business cafe that someone just started to make a living. Unfortunately there isn’t a vanilla slice, but then that would have been a bonus since I really came here for the sausage rolls.

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Shop 7/52-56 Gladesville Rd, Hunters Hill, New South Wales
stonegroundbakery.com.au

On a grey and rainy Saturday Mrs Snot Block & Roll decided we could use a nice warming lunch at a bakery-cafe somewhere. I checked Google Maps to see if I could find somewhere promising and new within a short drive, and located Stoneground Bakery in a suburb acceptably far from home. Online reviews seemed positive, and the website offered various pies and other goodies.

So we drove over through the gentle drizzle and were fortunate to find a vacant table on the footpath outside, but under cover of the awning, where we could sit with Canine Snot Block & Roll while we inspected the wares and then ordered some lunch.

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Shop 7/19-25 Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay, New South Wales
bourkestreetbakery.com.au

I’ve been going back through old photos and notes, and found several reviews that I made quick notes on, but never found the time to post here. With COVID-19 lockdown in place, it seems like a good time to clear out the backlog!

Bourke Street Bakery is a good choice for sausage rolls, of several different varieties. Previously I’ve sampled no less than the pork and fennel sausage roll, the lamb, almond, and harissa sausage roll, and the chicken, pumpkin, and tarragon sausage roll. But on another occasion I visited the place and they had, believe it or not, a fourth type of sausage roll: Chicken and sweet corn. Naturally I had to try it to see how it compared to the others.

It’s thin and flat, as is typical for the Bourke Street Bakery style of rolls. Apart form that it looks decent, and as we know from past experience, these rolls punch well above their weight as judged by appearance. The pastry does look good, and there are thin crispy bits of burnt juices stuck to it, promising of a rich and moist filling.

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85A Bay Road, Waverton, NSW
www.thegrumpybaker.com.au

The Grumpy Baker is a small chain of artisan bakeries with a handful of locations scattered across Sydney. They specialise in a range of sourdough breads, but also have a small selection of sweets and savoury pastries. On recent expeditions in the car with my dog to our favourite dog park, we’ve driven past the Waverton shop each time, and for some time I thought I must try it. Then one day after the dog had had enough exercise we walked up the hill to check it out, buying a loaf of delicious bread and a couple of sweet slices for dessert that evening. I also noted a pie oven on the counter, with several delicious looking labels, but no pies as it was close to closing time. I vowed to return one day in good time to sample the hot savouries.

The Waverton shop is within a long walk of home, so one day while at home alone I took to the streets to get some exercise, climbing up and down the numerous hills of the North Sydney area. The exercise was well needed, because the end goal was The Grumpy Baker and an appointment with that pie oven for lunch. I planned to get a sausage roll and a pie, but when I arrived and saw the size of the pies and rolls, I quickly recalibrated and settled for just one sausage roll. The label said it was a “sausage roll with caramelised onions and dates”. And it looked huge. Plenty for a meal all by itself. I took the roll on the sky blue china plate and sought a seat at a table out the front, next to a large group of retiree-aged cyclists, who had stopped for a coffee break. As I sat down, one of the staff came out and chided the cyclists for rearranging the outdoor tables, pointing out a line on the footpath beyond which the cafe was not legally authorised to place furniture. The cyclists pushed the extra table in a bit, but the staff lady insisted they pull it completely inside the legal boundary.

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