‘Heart-thumpingly good food’: This corner spot puts creativity back into cafe fare

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In recent times, when a new cafe opens in Sydney, the great drawcard of its vaunted loveliness is heralded by long queues snaking down the footpath. There’s a viral this and a sold-out that and tables are snared like front-row views at the Trevi Fountain. Not so Cafe Baby Finger and it’s all the better for that.

You’ll find it on a corner spot in Camperdown two blocks from Parramatta Road. Three months after opening, the mood is serene and spacious with simple decor, a fine cooling through-breeze and a chef, John Jeong, whose background includes eight years working in French fine-dining restaurants (La Grande Bouffe and Le Bouchon), plus time at Circa Espresso in Parramatta and Two Chaps in Marrickville.

He welcomes every customer with a lilting “Helloo” and a menu that – from glazed French toast ladled with plump strawberry coulis, citrus mascarpone and macerated balsamic berries to fried eggplant and charred bush tomato curry topped with a poached egg – is not usual cafe fare.

There’s a salmon potato cake, crunchy, fresh and soft with crispy fennel ribbons and sweet caramelised onion; a fat and tangy prawn focaccia with coriander and aioli; and a chicken, leek and mushroom pot pie that conjures a French countryside bistro with chequered tablecloths.

But we’re in inner-west Sydney, where a man in a pork pie-hat is farewelling Jeong with great praise. “I wouldn’t normally order scrambled eggs, you can just make them at home,” he says. “But here … ”

His voice trails off in admiration.

I get his drift. This is heart-thumpingly good food, simple or fancy. Jeong will make scrambled eggs, if you ask for it. But also excellent sides such as roasted garlic labne, aromatic lemongrass tofu, citrusy celeriac fennel remoulade and some of the best potato skin chips around – salty, dark golden curls you can’t stop eating.

The two most popular dishes are that creamy chicken pot pie (rich, but not too heavy, and topped with a golden pastry lid) and herbed potato with egg, which sounds simple but arrives like a painting. Crunchy, gleamingly dark curry leaves speckled with pale sesame seeds lie atop a swirl of fried egg, which covers roasted potato in black mustard sauce and garlic labne.

Cafe Baby Finger (named after Jeong’s habit of taking photos accidentally featuring his little finger) is also a top destination for anyone with a pram, leashed dog, or just an innate desire for space. There’s more room between tables than most places.

Big band jazz plays through the speakers and Jeong, who bakes his own focaccia, sourdough and brioche, has dotted the room with his favourite cookbooks to leaf through.“People keep asking, where is the bacon and egg roll?” he says. “Where is something like a big breakfast?

“But I don’t want that. I want to keep our own identity. After working in so many places, I have time to experiment with my food. I want to surprise my customers.”

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.