{Sydney cafes} If you like Cornersmith, The Grounds and Sideways….

+ If you like Cornersmith (Marrickville), try Fleetwood Macchiato (Erskineville) – another small space with serious coffee, delicious, seasonal food and an emphasis on fresh, homemade and locally sourced ingredients. Like Cornersmith, the menu is quirkier than most, so instead of say, a bacon and egg roll, you can order a smashed egg roll with seasonal ingredients (on the new Summer/Autumn menu, it’s soffrito, tomato, basil and mustard aoili, and you can add their good quality ham or chorizo). The vibe is cool and laidback, with rustic/industrial decor like old metal school chairs. And despite being ‘cool’ the service is really friendly and unpretentious which is so refreshing.

+ If you like Sideways (Dulwich Hill) try Excelsior Jones (Ashfield). On the inner west’s outer reaches, Excelsior Jones straddles the Ashfield/Ashbury border, and is also a stone’s throw from Dulwich Hill, Summer Hill and Hurlstone Park. It’s in a very residential pocket with no cafes or shops in sight – it must be such a welcome relief to those in the neighbourhood (and a boon for the owners!). Just like Sideways, it’s in a converted corner convenience store and all light and bright with lots of glass. It serves delicious Five Senses coffee and top-notch cafe fare – see this week’s review in Good Food for more.

+ If you like The Grounds of Alexandria, try Bread and Circus (also in Alexandria). Tucked away in a post-industrial building housing a very busy Campos cafe (across the road from Alexandria’s Dan Murphy’s), Bread and Circus is all about seasonal, organic, quality ingredients, much like The Grounds. It’s a little on the ex-y side (think $9 for a smoothie) yet the quality of every little ingredient and detail is evident. It’s gorgeous. At the moment you have to get a takeaway coffee from the adjoining Campos cafe to bring to your table, but on the weekend we were informed they will be serving their own coffee very soon – which if it’s anything like their great food will be worth going back for.