In Short: The Tiny Giant Petersham is a cosy corner cafe in Sydney’s inner west with a earthy tones, country-style cosy ambience, serving big food that is both a feast for the eye and tummy.
Located at Audley Street in inner west Petersham, The Tiny Giant is a corner café that used to house a pub and another well-loved local, Grumpy Barista. When the new owners took over, they gave the place a make-over with white ceilings, pendant lights and lots of greenery overflowing from pots. They have also cleverly utilised the space in the small area by creating seating areas on the outside of the café, as well as providing indoor countertop styled seating alongside the walls and glass windows with sanded back wooden tables. This all gives the café an efficient, simple and minimalist look with a comfortable country feel.
The Tiny Giant’s food menu is creative with lots of sweet and savory items. One of their most popular items (aka instagram sensation) on their menu is their Belgium waffles. Topped with sliced bananas, mixed berries, Canadian maple syrup and salted caramel sauce, what makes this dish a standout is the whimsical addition of pink Persian Pashmak, which is a type of Persian fairy floss, that melts in your mouth. When the dish arrives, you feel like you instantly recognise it because it has literally been photographed and mentioned hundreds of times in Instagram due to the fantastic arrangement and vivid display of colours on the plate. This dish not only looks good but tastes good as well! Our initial reaction was that it would be way too sweet, but all the flavours and ingredients balanced out nicely, creating a fun delicious dish that both grown-ups and kids would be able to enjoy.
Another popular dish on the menu is the Croque Madame. The Tiny giant has jazzed up this classic French-style sandwich of ham and cheese, by adding a fried egg. But this is not some overcooked, rubbery fried egg. Au contraire, the fried egg here is infused with truffle for 72 hours and cooked to just right, so that when you cut into it, the yolk gently oozes while the heady perfume from the truffle gradually drifts up to your nose. Together, the egg, truffle, sweet Jamon ham and cheese makes for a beautiful mouthful of flavours with each bite. It’s rich and indulgent, and truly a standout among the plethora of egg dishes across Sydney; one I won’t be forgetting for a while.
If it’s a burger you are craving for, you should definitely try The Tiny Giant’s pulled pork buns. Sandwiched between two fluffy, soft brioche buns from Legend Bakehouse, is a mount of melt-in-your-mouth tender pulled pork, smothered in mouth-watering, sticky barbeque sauce and fresh crispy house-made slaw to cut through the richness. This burger also comes with a side pile of kumara crisp curls. This is a dish not for the faint-hearted, but oh-so-delicious and worth every calorie that comes with it!
From the coffee menu, we had a piccolo made with Campos coffee beans. I needed something stronger than my regular cap, so a piccolo by the The Tiny Giant’s barista truly filled the brief. It’s elegantly presented with a rich chocolate colour. The ristretto is extracted to perfection with a nice acidic punch and the milk is smooth and creamy.
Overall, we were impressed with the menu and the quality of food from The Tiny Giant and can see why there is frequently a line to get in. It is a great place for a brunch catch up in a lovely environment, where both its décor and the menu stand out and is definitely worth the wait to get in on the action.
Bianca@forfoodssake says
I visited for the first time yesterday and was a little underwhelmed. Service was pretty patchy. And the waffles were tooth achingly sweet and needed way more sauce. It was all just a bit meh! 🙁
Your photo’s are gorgeous 🙂
Sacha says
Hi Bianca
Thanks for your comment. When we visited a couple weeks ago, we found that the service quite attentive. We were lucky that it wasn’t super busy. The waffles were sweet but I thought the raspberries and strawberries balanced the dish. Personally, I thought the Croque Madame with 72 hour truffle infused egg was super delicious!