Missing Piece Cafe

With the new renovations at Macquarie Centre has brought a chic look and with it has come The Missing Piece.

The very first ‘Brew Bar’ in the area offers coffee lovers an enhanced experience to their daily grind by serving Aeropress, Batch Brew and Chemex.

The kiosk style cafe is embedded deep in the new fashion precinct amidst H&M, Zara and UniQlo. With optimum location, The Missing Piece draws in a lot of curious passers-by like myself.

The smaller cafe, little sister of Vogue Cafe (a long-standing café of Macquarie Centre, one floor down) occupies a pretty awkward space outside Uniqlo, City Beach and Move. We squeezed in on the leather bound benches which seemed like enough space at first but once both tables adjacent became occupied, it became evident that the space was truly quite small. It was difficult to fit in a pram and it felt like you were sharing the conversation with your neighbours, sitting so close. It was an uncomfortable atmosphere. Considering the cafe served food the tables struggled to accommodate even two plates.

Upon browsing through the drinks there was a pleasant arrangement of different coffees and specialty drinks. The menu was quite sparse at first - which isn’t a bad thing, but it was difficult to read. Rather than descriptive and simple titles such as 'Bacon and Egg Roll' that are easily recognised, quirky names and zealous descriptions required full attention on each item. However getting past that, the menu items were quite cheap with good quality ingredients involved

Organic Mocha

We started with drinks. The blend of coffee was smooth and deep – a comforting cup is a great start to the morning. The organic mocha did lack that strong coffee flavour that was so prominent and well known but the melted chocolate was delicious!

'Smashin and Smokin' - Smashed avocado on soy and linseed ciabatta topped with smoked salmon, drizzled with olive oil and lime. 

I was initially tossing up between the ‘Smashin and Smokin’ and the Lamb Sliders, I ended up choosing the smoked salmon choice, allured by its home-smoked technique.

I was sadly disappointed with the dish. Although the salmon was nicely smoked and generous, the ratio between the avocado and salmon wasn't quite right. The olive oil was a nice addition but the dish overall lacked a ‘wow-factor’ and was quite bland even with added salt and drizzled lime.

I really wished I got those sliders.

'Missing in Mexico' - Pulled Pork and beans in the house special mexican sauce topped with jalapeno's. Served with corn chips, guacamole and sour cream

The requested an amendment to Missing in Mexico – this week’s special. Instead of corn chips, we asked for toasted sourdough. The pulled pork and Mexican sauce was very flavoursome, textural and had a great consistency to it. The sour cream, guacamole and jalapeno's gave the dish a real kick.

If you manage to pass by while its still on offer, it's a must have!

The waitstaff were efficient but seemingly stressed throughout our service which, combined with the tight space and the passing crowds, made you feel sort of rushed out. Although they did seem to be quite understaffed for the café’s high turn-over rate. They weren't exactly the friendliest of cafe staff and were a little rude when I was taking photos of the space, it wouldn't kill them to crack a smile occasionally.

Overall the space isn't entirely accommodating however the quality of food and coffee is fantastic for the price. Definitely come by for a pitt stop but it's not exactly atmospheric or comforting to have a long lunch or conversation. I'm keen to try out more of the menu perhaps on a quieter day with some friendlier waitstaff. Let's hope their older brother Vogue Cafe can lead by example.