Blair Street Dairy

James Meek and Cliff Baskin are behind the successful Bennett Street Dairy in Bondi, which they opened in 2015. This second spot landed in 2018, less than two kilometres away – a deliberate choice. You can tell the two kids were raised by the same parents, but they each do things their own way.

Blair Street Dairy does a good job of emulating the simplicity of the past. The venue, located at Bondi’s “seven ways” in a commanding position, is mostly white with big picture windows and wide doors on every outer wall to let in the natural light. The coffee machine takes pride of place at the front and although it’s bigger than Bennett Street’s, it’s intimate enough that you can look up from your book and call out your order to the barista without having to budge from the table. We like that.

For breakfast there are crisp, light corn fritters served on tangy tahini yoghurt with fresh avocado and a tomato-basil salad, plus a pile of sweet caramelised onions that act as a foil to the savoury fritters. Blair Street Dairy’s take on the ubiquitous “bowl” is poached egg, avocado, carrot, quinoa and toasted macadamia nuts served on a bed of kale. The accompanying sourdough is made with butterfly pea flowers, which turns the bread purple. The colour is at once pretty and slightly off-putting, but it is tasty.

Each dish is generous in size. Bennett Street’s best, most substantial feed is the buttermilk-chicken burger (Baskin’s grandma’s recipe) also served at Blair Street. All of the pastries are made in-house.