Coffee loving bookworm? Five Sydney bookshops with stellar cafes

Ampersand Cafe and Bookstore is a longstanding institution on Oxford Street, an area well known for great pubs, boutique shopping, food, and bookshops.

The Ampersand shopfront can be easy to miss – I nearly walked straight past it. But you don’t want to miss this gem of a bookshop cafe.

Inside you’ll find bench seating at the front, al fresco seating to the side, and tables and chairs in almost every corner of the bookshop (upstairs, downstairs and on the main floor).

I snagged a table at the back of the shop near the vintage books section and close to the kitchen (which is, appropriately, behind the cookbook section). At my table I could literally pull books off the shelf to read while sipping my coffee.

The menu has great breakfast options, including some enticing vegetarian dishes, like the breakfast bowl or bircher muesli. The lunch menu leans towards burgers, seafood and salads. And the coffee of choice? The Little Marionette blend – which I enjoy as a smooth flat white.

This place has everything you would expect in a bookstore cafe. I’ll be back.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Ampersand breakfast bowl ($19)

What’s even better than a bookshop and cafe combined? Answer: a bookshop cafe that doubles as a bar at night. Sappho does all three. Well, actually make that “all four” because it’s also the venue for live entertainment: poetry nights, open mic and regular performances by local musicians.

There are many reasons to like this place. The coffee is great (blend: Toby’s Estate), the menu is varied with good vegan options, the food is mostly sourced locally (the crunchy brown rice and veggie fritters are worthy of a special mention) and there is an interesting range of books. But what I like most is the atmosphere and layout: a relaxed indoor/outdoor feel, with a linear cafe alley, covered balcony and rear courtyard.

And on a cool winter night or warm summer evening the place transforms into a relaxed and unpretentious al fresco bar with an impressive cocktail list. A winner for sure!

Dish Cult’s top pick: “Robbie Burns” iced cold brew and15ml Scotch whiskey with espresso shot and coconut ice cream ($13)

I can’t visit Bondi Beach without visiting Gertrude & Alice. That’s a ritual that began in the early 2000s and happily continues. Originally it was mainly for the chocolate cake but now I’ve branched out and the books also get a look in, as do the crumpets, brekkie rolls and wraps. And the wines (the wine list is small but tempting).

While visitors to Bondi mostly head to the beach, the pavilion and the shops fronting Campbell Parade, there are some good reasons to wander through the back streets, and Gertrude & Alice is one of those reasons.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Crumpets from heaven – homemade, wholefood, fermented crumpets served with butter and drizzled with honey ($6)

The name Berkelouw is synonymous with the book trade, Berkelouw Paddington being one of nine “Berkelouws” in New South Wales and Queensland.

And it’s hard to imagine Oxford Street without Berkelouw Paddington.

How to describe it? It’s basically book heaven on three levels with a great cafe on the mezzanine. The street level entrance is devoted to new books, stationery and accessories and the upper levels to second hand books. The cafe sits at the front of the store facing Oxford Street: a welcoming, light-filled and relaxed place to go for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Ricotta buttermilk hotcake with fresh fruits and compote ($15)

The Dymocks store is located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, near the Queen Victoria Building on busy George Street.

Like the QVB and the Strand Arcade it is hard to imagine the city without Dymocks and without the mezzanine level cafe: a haven for city shoppers, particularly book shoppers in the cavernous interior of the flagship Dymocks store.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Lamb kofta open sandwich – tabouli, cucumber, hummus, harissa & mixed salad with eggplant & tzatziki dip ($19)