Charlie Lovett coffee (roasted on-site). George St, near Quay St. I’ve been waiting a while to let them iron out some of the opening-week jitters in their service. Overall, it’s a place that has a *lot* of staff working there, but it is selling a few different things: freshly baked bread, sandwiches and single pieces of bread with gourmet spreads, a range of deli-styled items, and freshly roasted coffee.
It’s pretty courageous to open a cafe next door to an established Gloria Jeans, but I imagine they consider their offering to be distinct from GJ’s, even if their store decor is a similar colour, and their approach to lighting is similar.
The experiment appears to be working: both places tend to be relatively crowded, even with their proximity to each other.
Decaf is good – it’s smooth and drinkable, with a hint of complexity. And yes, they have a decaf grinder.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Good afternoon – what an amazing experience we had this afternoon when we visited your shop near Central Stationl; The service was exceptional & we were so surprised at the offer to bake bread specially for us if we were prepared to wait 25 minutes.
We will definitely be returning to try out some of your other specials.
Again what a lovely change to receive such friendly service.
Hi Dave, Do you know this cafe’s phone number? (not available on you tube or white pages..)
Thx.
Nathan
Had to go and ask! It’s 9281 1444.
Is this cafe part of a chain?
It looks like that’s the plan, but as far as I know it’s the only one open in Australia so far.
Barista was delightful girl, nice decaf and freindl service look forward to another visit in the near future
quality coffee and quality service too, love it there
I simply love it! I have my take away morning coffees every wednesdays and thursdays and it just take me to a better place when Im in the train with my favourite music. the great taste of their unique coffee beans are amazing!. And the weekends I can be there for 1 or 2 hours just studying or reading. I simply love Charlie^^!
This place is a gem. The food is fantastic, the staff are cheery, fun, polite and you can have a bit of banter with them. It comes across that they love what they do. This place seems thriving and should be – I never fail to be impressed. Try the chicken/avocado ciabatta – to die for!
Coffee may be good, but $4.95 for a thin slice of pumkin bread is way too expensive! What a mark up, how much would this cost to bake?
Pleasant experience overall! Great service with a smile, superb coffee and the best raisin toast I’ve tasted in a long time. Ill definitely be back!
I go quite often, and the staff are generally always very nice and helpful.
One morning I was waiting 14 minutes for the smoothie and noticed no-one had started to even make it, so asked for a refund as I had to go to work. They were very apologetic and had just simply forgot. I got a full refund and the next time I was in, we had a wee giggle about it and gave me a free coffee. Friendly, nice, good service, keen to keep a local coming back.
However today, I went to order a bun with filling as I have done before, but this time he charged me $14.40. I asked how it could be so much, and he went off on a tangent about something like a salad on the side etc. I only wanted simple bun with some meat and salad inside to takeaway as they make everyday, and as I have had before. After some discussion about what I was actually after, and he suggesting he talk to his chef (yep somehow needed to see if the chef was still there to make it, got me confused), I suggested I didn’t understand him, he didn’t understand me, so lets not worry and I will just grab my small coffee. Sure, he gave me a refund, but only $8.90, meaning my small coffee has now cost me $4.50.
Sorry, but with all the choice around, and esp a good one just up the road and round the corner who has yet to make a mistake, I can not go back to this place. I tried and tried, and talked them up to all in our office, but too many errors, so they have lost this faithful.
I come here a few times every week. Their chai is the best in Sydney, they brew it instead of using syrup and the staff are so friendly!!
Discovered Charlie Lovett while visiting Sydney last month. After a week of flat whites and their fresh brewed chai tea (the BEST I’ve ever had) I became a fan. Too bad they’re thousands of miles away from me. Had I realized Charlie’s wasn’t a chain, I’d bought on of their t-shirts.
hi,
i am about to try this cafe during weekend…
just want to know any suggestion what specialty they have there?
since i want experiencing a really nice first impression…
thank you…