In Short: A gem of a cafe in Merewether and hard to go past for outstanding coffee. There’s a meticulous approach to coffee making, and the food menu focuses on quality ingredients. Our tip is to have a toastie, with the world-famous double smoked ham, with your favourite coffee.
When did Newcastle go and get so cool with funky cafes delivering coffee that would hold its own, 170km down the Pacific Highway from Sydney? I ducked into Suspension Coffee, and fell in love with the warmth and rustic appeal of the cafe, and for lunch we lingered longer at Frothers Espresso in Merewether.
The cafe doesn’t draw on a beach-side location, but rather makes do, really well, with a small collection of shops on Glebe Road. The space is intimate, with seating for about a dozen, and a couple seats out the front of the cafe. There’s a retro feel to the space and red cushioned chairs takes me back to the early 80’s growing up in Essendon.
Frothers Espresso shines a spotlight on coffee with espressos, milk coffee, batch brews, and pour overs. To complement the coffee are toasties, muesli, avocado on toast, and quesadilla.
While the toastie is in the sandwich press, I sample a flat white. Frothers keeps it local for their house blend using Glitch Coffee Roasters. It’s a delightful coffee with floral notes and a jaffa-like chocolate finish. It’s so silky and easy drinking, that I am done with a cup quick smart.
Mavis kept a keen eye on my photo taking as the toastie was placed in front her. I obliged by quickly snapping away so that she could be comforted by the crisped up bread, melted cheese, and star-of-the-show, double smoked ham. Tomatoes and aioli complete the toastie. It’s hard to pry it away from Mavis, but I did sneak in a couple of nibbles and loved it.
My curiosity was piqued by the house avocado. First off, the presentation is beautiful. I love the butterfly style presentation with the hues of green from the avo, highlights of the feta, and drizzle of the yellow garlic oil. Biting into it reveals the creamy texture of the avocado and the real flavour comes from the garlic oil and the saltiness of the feta. This is avocado done right, with the addition of the three extra ingredients that takes it to the next level.
Now, I usually don’t talk about toast and jam but this time I have to, because it was a landmark occasion as we celebrated little Sammi actually finishing her breakfast. An 8 year old, in any other household, finishing a meal would be ho-hum, but for our picky Miss, it’s quite the challenge, and yet also a testament to how good the bread and jam was at Frothers Espresso. It was crisp and light, but the star of the show was the berry jam. Fruity, sweet with an acidic touch. Perhaps we should visit Newcastle more often!
Mavis was tempted by the novel sounding Cascara by Floozy. Cute name, yet a delight to drink. It’s derived from sun-dried coffee cherry. The flavour is mild and fruity with subtle raspberry notes and a delicate smokiness. Is it a tea wanting to be a coffee, or a coffee wanting to be a tea? Whatever it is, Mavis loved it and left Frothers Espresso with a bag of the Cascara. It gets her through the work day, and sits on her desk.
We loved our visit to Frothers Espresso and the service was super friendly. While we were the out-of-towners, almost every other customer dropping in for coffee was on a first name basis with the owners. We came to Newcastle without much expectation and left totally impressed. I will now run off and check the calendar and see when we can next head back up to spend a weekend in Newcastle and drop in at Frothers Espresso to sample more of their coffee and food.
Essentials
Name: Frothers Espresso
Address: 140 Glebe Road, Merewether, NSW, 2291
Google Maps : Map
Hours: Mon-Sun: 7:00am-2:00pm
Website: www.instagram.com/frothersespresso/
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