During my birthday long weekend in Sydney, one of the places on my to eat list was only a 15 minute walk from a friend’s place who we were staying with. I’ve seen droolworthy cronut photos and read reviews about Devon on Danks in Waterloo, a second branch of the original Devon Cafe in Surry Hills. I headed into Devon on Danks early, around 8.00am, to beat other Sydney brunchers that Saturday morning and because I’d read that the cronuts sell out fast.
I got a seat on one of the high communal tables and was provided with the breakfast menu and tap water. The blackboard menu behind the front counter caught my eye. Mmm soft serve pandan ice cream with hot chips in it? I was so tempted to try this but I already knew I was having a very sweet breakfast.
Staff were still in the process of making the cronuts (‘cronnies’ as advertised in the cafe) and I managed to capture all four flavours on display. Flavours that day were pork floss with sweet mayo, raspberry sugar and vanilla cream, matcha with red bean, and milo. Cronuts are $6.50 each. My plan was to buy one of each and take these back to my friend’s house to share. I did just that and was provided with two long cardboard boxes and a brown paper bag to take these away.
Another shot of the cronuts…
And another…
While waiting for the cronuts to be made, I got to see how they were made. Look away now if you don’t want to know the calories you are devouring! Yes that is a huge vat of oil that the cronuts are cooked in.
For a lighter option, go for the doughnut balls instead. Same flavours and it costs $7 for three doughnut balls.
For my breakfast, I chose a soy flat white ($4). It was a few minutes later that I noticed the specialties section on the drinks menu. The sparkling iced cascara tea ($5.50) sounded different so I ordered that as well. The menu states that cascara is a tea made from the dried coffee cherry. The tea is cold brewed and carbonated. A stronger tea flavour than I’m used to but I did enjoy sipping it slowly. Great for a really hot day.
I already knew what I was having for breakfast. The Little lost bread ($17) seems to be the favourite breakfast dish at Devon on Danks and it sounded delicious. Brioche French toast with fresh and freeze dried strawberries and raspberries, balsamic and strawberry gastrique, strawberry cheesecake ice cream and Arnott’s biscuit crumble. Served on a wooden board, this was everything I thought it would be and more. The brioche is extra thick yet heavenly soft and moist. Almost like a cloud. The fresh strawberries were sweet and I’m grateful for them as it really provides the only healthy item on the board. The balsamic is cleverly used adding tart contrast to the sweetness of everything else. I do love the crunch of the crushed up biscuits. Just yum. Very filling.
I walked back to my friend’s place for everyone to gorge on the cronuts purchase. Happy to say that the cronuts were fantastic. Flakey with several layers to it. The milo (pictured below) had milo cream as one of the layers which oozed out when cutting through it.
My mum would love the matcha and red bean cronut. Similar to the milo, a layer of red bean cream oozed out as I cut through the cronut. This was sooo good! But you have to be a matcha and red bean lover to like this. The others did not appreciate it the way most Asians would 😉 Similarly, the pork floss and sweet mayo cronut was not a favourite amongst the others. They all said it was weird. The best way to describe it is a savoury cronut with pork floss, while being a sweet cronut with the added sweet mayo and sugar. Probably not a flavour I’d order again, but I would definitely order the matcha and red bean again.
I like the understated building and entrances to Devon on Danks. You could easily walk by without knowing it was a cafe if were not for the brightly coloured outdoor tables and chairs.
Service is casual and low key. There are various wait staff on hand to take orders and bring out the food and drinks to you. I don’t think I had the same person waiting on me the entire time. The vibe at 8am is relaxed with people still waking up and enjoying a coffee.
Devon on Danks is located on Danks Street in Waterloo, Sydney.
Foodgasm 8/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 6.5/10
FPJ score 22.5/30
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