Ambar

Ambar is at 19 Martin Place in the Sydney CBD. A lunchtime venue for people in suits (including me), it's situated in a bright, spacious, 1960s-influenced location with other restaurants and bars: swooping lines and curves are everywhere, seating is in the open air, early afternoon sunshine brightens the tables, and the food is fast and tasty. Below: linguini with tuna and peas, and my choice, king prawns with garlic pasta. I stirred in some bright red chilli sauce as an optional extra; thus enlivened, with fresh prawns curled up just begging to be eaten, it really was a very nice dish.

Sydney Mint Café

The Sydney Mint Café is at 10 Macquarie Street in the CBD - right opposite my office, as it happens, so it's pretty handy for lunch, although unfortunately the service is somewhat slow. I met a paddling friend there, Geoff, on Friday at lunchtime. There was no time to take pictures of the place, so this post is all about the food, with the best part first: wonderful crème brulée, with just the right amount of sharpness in the topping to contrast with the rich, creamy filling; chicken with lentils, which was apparently very good; and a slightly odd combination of orecchiette ("little ears") with chunks of raw tuna (a kind of marriage of pasta and sushi), which worked, just. My question about the provenance of the tuna (ie whether it was sustainably caught) was met with bafflement, but someone in the kitchen answered in the affirmative. If the service had been faster (and comments on Urbanspoon suggest that this was not a one-off experience), I would have been able to take some photos of the beautiful old Mint building and its gracefully redecorated café.

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.

Bar Mattino

Bar Mattino is situated on the corner of Abercrombie Street and Meagher Street (opposite Café Giulia). It's a small, neat, unassuming place with friendly service and excellent food: below, spaghettini with chilli chicken and olives, and pan-fried fish on a bed of lentils, roasted tomato and spinach, accompanied by (on the left) a fruit frappé and an apple and ginger juice postively bursting with ginger. Bar Mattino may be overshadowed by its trendy neighbour, but every time I've been there the food has been wonderful.