The Goodsline – the new cafe from Jack Hanna, who co-created paragon Sydney weekend destination The Grounds of Alexandria, as well as The Grounds of Sydney – is a magnet for weekday crowds, a place where workers from the surrounding agencies, design firms and commercial businesses can connect over great coffee, food and – if it’s a long lunch – booze, in a remarkable industrial-style space. The name is a throwback to Pyrmont’s industrial roots. (Hanna left The Grounds two years ago to start a family and swore never to return to hospitality.)
“The inner-west light rail used to be [part of] the Metropolitan Goods Line,” says Hanna. “And what that used to do was transport goods from the Darling Harbour and Pyrmont wharves to the west. It would go all the way to Dulwich Hill, then from there [the goods] would be taken out to Parramatta and beyond. So the idea for this place was to be a station or a stop.”
Built for back-to-back meetings, Jason Roberson (ex-Applejack) and Chris Evanges’s (ex-Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel) sprawling, pun-filled menu is stacked with modern Australian fare.
For breakfast, it’s straight-up staples such as eggs and sides, fruit-laden granola and French toast. The Avo’ Smashing Day is exactly what you think it is. For a left-of-field option, bet on the High Steaks Brekkie. It’s a grilled hunk of flank steak served with an egg, crispy onion rings, verde sauce and a kicking ’nduja butter.
Nourishing bowls and salads, or main dishes such as the crab linguine and the grilled barramundi with zucchini-flower salad sit alongside heavier options such as the spicily named GFC Burger (“Goodsline Fried Chicken”).
Beyond coffee (The Grounds’ Beanstalker milk blend and rotating single origins) there’s fresh juices, shakes and house-made sodas. The list dubbed “R18+” includes signature cocktails featuring Ecospirits (a closed-loop spirits distribution service). Try the Morning Glory Spritz, with bitter orange aperitif, prosecco and passionfruit, or a selection of wines.
It’s Monday morning when Broadsheet visits, and sure enough, most of the booths are full. The cafe’s centrepiece, a 360-degree marble-topped bar, acts like a central nervous system, sending out coffee and pastries to sharply dressed patrons. Light streams in from the huge hopper windows, which open out onto a philodendron-planted courtyard.
Tempting as it is to peg the fit-out as “train-station-chic”, it’s far less kitsch-y than that. Design firm Luchetti Krelle’s handsome blend of art deco and industrial elements, Persian runners and moody pendant lighting creates an effect that’s both timeless and transporting.
“The amazing thing about The Grounds is that you can walk in, in the middle of an industrial area and think, ‘Where the hell am I?’ It’s the same concept,” says Hanna. “To make something amazing, you have to transport people to somewhere else.”
The Goodsline
19A Harris Street, Pyrmont
(02)8488 1557
Hours:
Daily 7.30am–3pm
goodsgroup.com.au
@the_goodsline
19 Jul 2023
19 Jul 2023
19 Jul 2023
19 Jul 2023