Seasalt Cafe & Kiosk - Clovelly

Pre kidlets, I lived around the Clovelly area for a while and it was such a beautiful lifestyle.There was the perfect little beach, the pub and all the yummy cafes. Seasalt Cafe was my go to place when I wanted to take visitors to Sydney out somewhere a bit spesh, because of its stellar location. I also remember the food and service being top notch, so when we were in the area again recently I decided to pop in to give it the Little Munch once over.

When we arrived we easily found a car spot in the car park next to the surf life saving club (in summer this can be tricky as the beach is very popular) and we walked up to the cafe. If you have a pram with you, make sure you enter the cafe from the top pathway as their is ramp access for you to use. On the way you will pass the loos and in here your will find a baby change table. There is room for your pram next to your table, however it may be wise to ring ahead and book a table and advise them that you will have a pram with you or that you may need a high chair - just in case you turn up and the cafe is full.

As soon as we walked into Seasalt, we were warmly greeted and basically given the best table in the house!  (This was probably because we were the first diners of the day). We had views right up to the beach on one side and right out to the ocean on the other. Luckily the sun was shining as this kept us warm. On bleak wintry days I suggest you rug up as the eating area is quite exposed and there seemed to be very little in the way of heating available. In the 6 years or so since I was last at Seasalt not much has changed with the cafe except for the staff. The interior actually looks a wee bit tired and weather worn which is not surprising considering its location.

According to Seasalt's website there is a drawer of toys available for kids - I couldn't spy that drawer anywhere, however the boys had lots of fun just wandering around in front of the cafe. The only problem with this is that they are water babies and the sight of the pool and beach was very tempting for them, so I was out of my seat more often than not, making sure that they didn't climb through the fence and attempt to dive in to the pool. So if you have young kids make sure you keep an eye on them as it is easy, very easy to get through that fence.

Kids have their very own menu at Seasalt. At breakfast time the menu item dedicated to them is 1 egg, a slice of bacon and toast for $8.50. If this doesn't take their fancy, there are options of the main menu such as toast ($7), banana bread ($6), french toast ($9.50) etc. I ordered the boys toast and chubbycinos ($2) as opposed to babycinos ($1.30). We kind of thought the chubbycino would be something impressive, but boy, were the boys disappointed! It was just a babycino on 'roids - there wasn't even a marshmallow. Lesson learnt - always ask what a menu item is before you waste money on it.

I was impressed with the kids lunch time menu that you can have a choice of chips or salad with each kids meal and also that you can just order a salad for you kids - haven't seen this before on a kids menu - so that receives a big tick from me.

The adults breakfast menu at Seasalt is surprisingly reasonable considering its location. The most expensive item is $17.90 and for that you receive eggs benedict with smoked salmon. I chose the mushrooms on sourdough toast with rocket and ricotta salata ($14.90) which was a very tasty, the other diners in our group weren't very adventurous and had poached eggs on toast ($10.50). Coffee is on the expensive side - $3.90 for a regular and it just an OK brew.  At lunch time the standard cafe fare menu does get a wee bit more expensive (eg. $22.50 for fish and chips!) and you can also have a vino to wash lunch down with, as the cafe is fully licensed.

After our initial warm welcome, the service became less warm as more diners arrived at Seasalt - the staff didn't really seem to be trained that well in handling a full house - perhaps a manager on the floor would solve this? Anyway our dining experience didn't end up being as spesh as I remembered it being.

After the boys kept disappearing on me a few too many times, I left breakfast behind and took the boys for an explore. There is a small playground right at the top of Clovelly Beach, so a smart idea would be to grab a takeaway and head up there. Seasalt does have a kiosk so you can purchase snacks (toasties, muffins etc) and have a picnic in the park as well.

If you are after a cafe in a perfect beach side location, Seasalt Cafe in Clovelly is definitely one to add to your list. During the warmer months when you can make use of the pool and beach, you could very easily spend a whole day between them and the cafe. 

Little Munchers, what is your favourite cafe to take visitors to Sydney to?

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10 Donnellan Circuit, Cnr victory St & Clovelly Rd
Clovelly NSW 2031
02 96645344
Open 7 days