We all know that Surry Hills is chock full of quality cafes, but the menu at Rustic Pearl takes it to a whole new level – not only do they do all day breakfast, but their Turkish influenced breakfast offerings feature premium ingredients like lobster and scallops, re-imagined in eggs benedict and other humble breakfast fare.
There’s not a lot of space in this cosy little cafe, but if you manage to snag yourself a seat, you’ll be in for a treat. We started off with their Turkish coffee, which is small but mighty in terms of flavour intensity.
Turkish Coffee, $4
The star dish is undoubtedly the Bosphorus Benedict, which is hands down the best eggs benedict we have ever had. Featured in this rendition are two succulent pieces of grilled Bay lobster accompanied by poached eggs, avocado, coriander, fresh chilli and drizzled with a delicious homemade hollandaise. Breakfast really doesn’t get any better than this. It’s not cheap, but if you have it at brunch time, you can justify the price compared to what you’d generally pay for lobster dishes at lunch.
Bosphorus Benedict, $26.50
On the other end of the menu, you can also build your own breakfast from their extensive menu of ingredients. I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, so I went for their juicy Chargrilled Japanese Scallops with chives, and a side of their sauteed mixed mushrooms. The serving wasn’t huge, but was just right for my peckish appetite – it’s always nice to have the option to pick and choose the elements of your dish so that you don’t end up wasting parts of your dish that you’re not a fan of (mostly toast in my case).
Chargrilled Japanese Scallops, $8.50 and Sauteed Mixed Mushrooms, $4.50
It may not look like much from the outside, but this bustling cafe is definitely a gem and there’s plenty more on the impressive menu to try, including some tasty sounding lunch dishes.
Rustic Pearl
415 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
