It's me, Eloise.

Stepping Back In Time

Housewife
Blouse: Zeitgeist
Skirt: Karla Spetic
Shoes: Aldo

Without even realising it today I chose to wear the most perfect outfit for hosting an afternoon tea at my house. I have quite the fifties housewife vibe going on (baking cakes and all). I was reading about the upcoming fifties fair in Sydney the other day and I think I subconsciously channeled the look this morning! 

It has been a while since PB and I had a lunch date. We have both been quite busy lately. Today we went to "The Fern" in Redfern. It is currently in Time Out's "top five cafes to visit in August" list so I was excited to check it out. When we arrived I realised that I knew the place well (from a distance). I always drive past it but I never see anybody in it as it always looks like it is under renovation. We were unsure if it was actually open today as some of the tables and chairs in the front courtyard were stacked on top of one another and we couldn't see any other diners. It was however, open and there were a couple of people sitting in the inside dining area and the booths out the back. 

I quite enjoy the name "The Fern" (being in Redfern) and really wished that the cafe lived up to its hip name. Inside the walls were lined with interesting (almost religious) wallpaper and everything was a bit mismatched. It has several silver and red vinyl booths out the back giving it an 80s American diner vibe. To add to the 80s theme the menus were in old record cases, which I thought was cute. However, it felt like you were trapped in the 80s under a layer of dust. 

The menu also has quite an American vibe. Lots of burgers, big sandwiches, nachos, all day breakfasts and one salad. PB opted for the "BLAT sandwich" which turned out to be a "BLAT burger" on brioche bread. He wasn't disappointed about that and really quite enjoyed it! I had "The Fern" salad, the only salad option. It was a great combination of rocket, pear, walnuts, goat's cheese and tomato with a light oil drizzled over it. The serving was quite large, which was good! It was too hot for me to have a coffee with my lunch but PB had a mocha. They use "six degrees" coffee beans from Gravity. PB enjoyed his mocha although it was extremely chocolatey. 

Top Right: Regular Mocha $3
Bottom Left: The Fern Salad $13
Bottom Right: BLAT sandwich $9.5

Overall, I probably wouldn't return to "The Fern". The food was good but not great. It lacked in ambiance and felt like it needed a bit of lovin'! 

The Fern
4 Pitt Street
Redfern NSW 2016

Overall: 5.5/10
Ambiance: 4.5/10
Food: 7/10
Coffee: 6/10