Cafés

How to choose a café to write in?

 It can’t have a line of people waiting for a table.

 If its primary purpose is photo opportunities for Instagram, it is best avoided. There’s a particular type of distraction from taking twenty photos of the same coffee. Then again, it may be good material.

 The coffee should be good. Whatever your beverage, it should be good.

 You shouldn’t be hurried on. If you’re conscious of the desperate need for your table, maybe choose another café.

 The chair should be comfortable.

 If you can stare into the distance, that helps.

 A good weekday café may not be so good for the weekends. Circa is good Monday to Friday but busy on the weekends. Paper Planes is good, maybe even on the weekends, but choose your time. Homage is sensory overload but the dim interior allows for the stimulated mind to unfurl. Mr Phillips: good coffee but nowhere to sit. Badmanner has space and the coffee is good. Lil Miss Collins is beautiful but I find it hard to write in, and the same goes for Social Hideout. Chambers Espresso has a perfect spot to look out onto the square but only does takeaway cups after 3pm. The kiosk in the park has a great view of the trees. MISC in Parramatta Park: good food, good for photos and the ambience, but not one to write in. Lucien has tables beneath a tree. Coco Cubano is loud but nice to write in on a summer’s afternoon. Daico has good coffee and three small tables. Some afternoons, there’s Nadia’s Cafe in the Westfield. I recommend a small booth if you’re alone. Iconic has good coffee but it feels exposed, and the same goes for Three Beans on level 3. Oriana Eatery on level 4 has a good view of Marsden Street. The Shed has space, and one can look out at the street. Meraki has great coffee but the stools can make for uncomfortable writing. Little Duck has excellent coffee but it’s only takeaway. Admittedly, there’s always a bench in a nearby park. I did that so many times during lockdown that perhaps it’s a trigger and I’d prefer to not remember being confined.