Let's do brunch @ Hyde Park Barracks

The month of October is jam packed with Crave Sydney International Food Festival events. The weather has been glorious and I was very excited about my first crave event this year - Let's Do Brunch at Hyde Park Barracks.

Hyde Park Barracks was built in 1819 to house, clothe and feed convict men and boys, expanding after a few decades to hold female immigrants, then destitute women. The Hyde Park Barracks then became a hub of government departments until the late 1970s. Today it's a museum about its history.

To the left of the main building is the cafe. I love the ivy-covered wall! There were quite a few groups waiting at the door, but thankfully we've booked ahead. Although the staff were obviously very busy, they acknowledged me very quickly, and a waitress put down the plates in her hand to check my booking to take us to our table.

The cafe has very high ceilings, and it's a light and airy space with the french doors open.

The offering at HPB was the most impressive out of the bunch on the SIFF website. For $25, we got a 3 course meal, starting with homemade granola, vanilla yoghurt, and poached fruit. I love granola and this was just the right blend of texture and sweetness. However, we could have done with an extra dollop of yoghurt.

eggs three ways - egg, chorizo and roast tomato tart; feta, spinach and mushroom omelette, ciabatta; ham and eggs benedict, on english muffin

Oh my...this was to die for. Well, the eggs benedict and omelette anyway. We found the tart too mild for our taste, as there wasn't much chorizo to give it flavour. The eggs benedict was Manda's favourite; I also love the hollandaise sauce, which had a nice citrusy kick, unlike the many bland sauces I've had. I didn't have high expectations for the omelette, but it turned out to be my favourite; it came with a goat's feta sauce which was a great pairing, and I scraped the plate to get it all...lol

raspberry waffles, white chocolate sauce, vanilla gelato and berries, for two

There were no berries, just a berry coulis, not that I'm complaining. The waffle had a nice crunch, and it was a great ending to a decadent brunch. By this time we were almost comatose from being too full.

The coffee was good too, not to mention the service. Even though the staff were clearly very busy, service was efficient and friendly, and we got regular top ups of water. Would definitely come back here again!