Little bit of Luxe in Newtown

I really love Newtown, but to be completely honest I never feel like I fit in when I go there - I just don't think I am cool enough!  The Newtown locals always look so effortlessly cool, that whole alternative, yet hip modern look that I love, yet can never pull off!! It is because of this inferiority complex that I don't spend too much time investigating all that Newtown has to offer and usually only try new places when I go to meet friends. However, on Saturday Chris and I came across this yummy little bakery all on our own. This gorgeous little bakery/espresso bar is called Luxe - and I really like it!

It gives off quite a different vibe than most places in Newtown and reminded more of a cafe you would find in Darlinghurst, but the one thing that made it very Newtown was that it also was effortlessly cool! As soon as you walk in you are meet by super friendly wait staff, shelves of freshly baked bread and other treats (must say yes to Belgium chocolate chewy!) and the smell of deliciously brewed coffee. The ambiance is very simple with an industrial feel, a big chalk board wall menu, long share tables and exposed beams - which is very Mellie!

The menu was also very simple, and the dishes are limited but they try to cover their bases with an option for everyone. Breakfast is served until 2, which would be perfect for a sleepy (and maybe a little bit dusty) Sunday morning, but we opted for lunch. I loved everything on the menu but couldn't go past the linguini with ricotta and preserved lemons. Chris did struggle a little bit and thought everything was just a bit girlie for him but did settle on the wagyu melt. He was even more disappointed when he couldn't get a coke but rather an a-la-natural cola nut soft drink - but he ended up loving it, so a happy ending for all. He even took quite a liking to my linguini, and as per usual, he had scoffed down most of mine before I could even make a start. I like to think of Chris as my personal Tony Ferguson, stopping me from over eating! Thanks Chris.....

 

I look forward to going for breakfast next time, I have already picked a spot on that big share table to read the Sunday paper...

Pay day cocktails -Subsolo!!

Pay-day cocktails was an ingenious invention! After only a short period of time at my new work place, I was lucky enough to make some great girlfriends, however, because we work out in the wicked west and all live in and around Sydney, we only ever got to see each other at work! We all love nice food and wine (and cocktails) and wanted to try all the cool places in Sydney to eat and drink, and that is how pay day cocktails came about. The Rules: a) we (try) and meet once a month on pay day b) the venue must have some sort of cocktail special or happy hour and c) we never go the same place twice! After a few emails back and forth and a quick vote, Subsolo on King St in the City, was the pick for June!

Subsolo is a Spanish Tapas bar, they also have a little wine bar for drinks, but we decided to have pre-drinks at a  little underground bar around the corner that had Thursday $8 cocktails. I forget it's name, it wasn't wow, but wasn't bad, and served our purpose for some cheap but delish cocktails and some nibbles before the main affair. I was SUPER excited about trying Subsolo as I have heard such great things, and after a few cocktails we had left the underground bar and were walking into Subsolo. When I walked in the first thing that struck me was how busy it was for a Thursday night, it was packed! Not a spare seat (thank god we booked - note: make sure you book!). The next thing was the ambiance, I loved it, dimly lit with blood red hues, very Spanish and I was waiting for a bull to run out from the curtains at any minute!

I couldn't wait to see our seat and was massively disappointed when the waiter plonked the five of us lovely girls onto bar stools at a large share bench table (which would be fun for a few drinks) but not what I had in mind when I booked for dinner. But after a few words with the lovely waiter, he whisked us away to another cool table right down in the back corner with red curtains either side...perfect. The only down side was the noise level. The whole place was a buzz which added to the ambiance for me, but I could see how you could get annoyed if it was a romantic dinner for two!

As soon as we started trawling through the menu I forgot all about the background noise and could only think food! Subsolo is known not only for their amazing tapas but also the ESPETADAS (ridiculously large sticks of char grilled roasted meat). But we decided that because we had over-indulged with nibbles at our pre-dinner destination we would go with the tapas. All I can say is YUM YUM YUM. We got stuffed zucchini flowers, chicken chorizo and the most amazing potatoes bravas I have ever eaten (I am big on carbs and love my potatoes). But the highlight for me was definitely the dessert. How can you go to a Spanish restaurant without Churros! We decided to share Churros, and a chocolate fondant, and we couldn't have made better choices - we licked the platter clean! I have to say, as well as the great food, I really loved their selection of Spanish wines and beers. I usually always stick with the Aussie wines because I am used to the taste and enjoy them, but we ventured out and ordered a Spanish Pinot Grigio (sorry I forgot the name- too many cocktails) and it was very nice!

I have since found out that Subsolo is in our Entertainment Book, so I am definitely going back with Chris to try their Espetadas ....hmmm

Three strikes and your out ZARA!

Like every  girl who has come across ZARA in their travels overseas, I was super excited when I heard ZARA was coming to Sydney!! Finally an affordable option to "trendy" clothes,,, yey. I managed to postpone my first ZARA visit until quite a few weeks after it opened as I heard the queues were ridiculous, but after a good month or so I finally convinced Chris that we should go check out the new Westfield (omitting that the reason was to go shopping in ZARA). But once we finally got in to the shop, my first experience was less than impressive! PEOPLE everywhere, it completely sucked the shopping spirit out of me, there were queues to get in, queues to try on clothes and queues to buy them. I was out as quick as I was in. But I didn't give up and secretly planned in my head that my next visit would be on one of my RDOs - surely it would be much better when it wasn't so busy!



I hate to say it but the second time round was just a disappointing! My friend Kia visited from Brisbane this weekend which was the perfect opportunity to take an RDO and to show off the wonderful Sydney shopping to an inter-state guest. I talked up ZARA the whole train ride in, creating my shopping list in my head (black tailored shorts to wear out, cute but quirky heels... blah blah blah). Going on a weekday was definitely a good idea, but walking around the shop, I still felt uninspired. Lots of bright colors and seemingly cool cuts, but don't let that hood-wink you, on closer inspection it was all pretty boring. And I don't know if I am just being picky, but I felt the quality just wasn't as good as other ZARAs I have been in??

One day pretty bag...

I tried on a few pairs of pants but they were all put back and Kia tried on nothing! So there had to be something wrong... I must say though that the accessories were a highlight and I found many a pair of shoes that I would like to have owned (finally some different styles to the carbon copies found in every shoe store chain in Australia), and this absolutely beautiful clutch that I just fell in love with, but because of my bad mood after not finding any clothes I just couldn't be bothered getting it (plus it was 200 bucks).

I don't know what it was this time, whether I had just hyped it up too much in my head, or wasn't in the shopping frame of mind, but I will give it one more go in the next few months, maybe the summer stock. Then, if it still isn't any good, I am going to have to let go of my Australian Zara obsession and just wait till I go back to London again....