The Shortlist

The Shortlist is at 258 Abercrombie Street, Darlington (not far from Café Ella). I'd tried their coffee before, but had never eaten there, having been slightly discouraged by how busy it always is; but today was a little bit rainy, and there were seats out the back (although we rapidly had to move when it started to pour), and the staff were extremely friendly and the breakfast very, very good, not least the coffee. Shown below: juicy egg and bacon in a soft bap with onion jam (I'm feling hungry again just looking at the picture) and a BLT with avocado.

Café Ella

Café Ella, at 274 Abercrombie Street, Darlington, is a bright, friendly place playing funky music and serving huge portions: a "big brekkie" with huge juicy chorizo sausages, perfectly poached eggs, good quality bacon and plump mushrooms and a "double bacon roll" with bacon, soft fried egg and loads of ketchup in a substantial white roll, both served with a proper, substantial salad (and shown below). Upstairs there's a quieter area, decorated and furnished as comfortably as your own livingroom, with inviting-looking armchairs, a couple of massive wooden tables and room to play boardgames.

A Little on the Side

A Little on the Side café is tucked away round the back of Cleveland Street (74 Ivy Street, Darlington) and annexed to an undistinguished serviced apartment complex. The owner, Brett (who, I realised on closer inspection of the photo, was sporting a Deus cap) is pictured below. Inside, it's bright and airy with friendly service; with only 30 minutes to go till public holiday closing time on a Monday lunchtime, they served up a steak sandwich on Turkish bread with onion jam and a Moroccan lamb burger (below), both dramatically improved by, in the case of the former, the onion jam, and the latter, the spicy sauce.

Carriageworks

The CarriageWorks is housed in the old Eveleigh Rail Yards at Wilson Street, Darlington, which comprise a vast complex of former railway carriage and blacksmith workshops. The Rail Yards were built between 1880 and 1889; carriages built there include the first electric carriage and the first air-conditioned train in Australia. The CarriageWorks is now used as a theatre and exhibition space. The vast hangar-like buildings are relatively unadulterated and everywhere there are reminders of the buildings' industrial past.