You can’t miss Goldie’s. It’s like a Palm Springs diner was dropped in the middle of Dulwich Hill, complete with a pastel pink and mint interior. Named after Goldie Hawn, the sunny neighbourhood cafe has the same kind of easygoing effervescence as the actor.

Dreamed up by old friends Sarah McWilliam (ex-head chef of Bloodwood) and Nicole Matak, Goldie’s has an all-day menu that takes inspiration from the Mexican fusion cuisine of southern California, with classic Aussie-cafe fare too.

“The Cali bowl is our most popular dish,” McWilliam tells Broadsheet. “It’s a fun version of a brekkie bowl, with corn chips, a fried egg, avocado and Mexican beans.”

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There’s a chilli scrambled eggs with goat’s curd and salsa rojo, and a trio of tacos – pork and pineapple, Baja fish or cauliflower – for lunch.
Before Goldie’s, McWilliam owned Alexandria cafe Meet Gerard. Now working with head chef Indy Hocking (Clove Lane, Bloodwood), the cafe dishes have a slight cheffy flair. There’s decadent banana bread with whipped brown butter and sea salt; French toast topped with miso caramel, peach and ricotta; and a textural vegan granola with coconut, fresh fruit and coconut-yoghurt foam. Made-to-order sandwiches are served on fresh miche from Sonoma.

For an inner-west joint, the venue is vast, with space deliberately left between tables so families can wheel in prams straight off the street. Even though Goldie’s isn’t billing itself as a parent-focused stop, it’s certainly kid-friendly.

“There are so many families in this area, and I wanted to make sure we had a good kids’ menu and enough space for mums to come,” says McWilliam.

The dishes for littlies – without a nuggets-and-chips in sight ¬– arrive to the table on sectioned melamine plates, looking a lot like what many parents might serve at home. Take the $12 lunch plate, where a cheese quesadilla is joined by guacamole, corn chips and sliced fruit.

“I tried to use ingredients we already had in the kitchen, and created dishes for kids that would take them a while to eat, because that means more time for parents to eat their own food.”

Goldie’s is relaxed – the kind of place where you want to settle in for a while. Ferns and hanging plants trail from a beam running across the centre of the room. Colour-blocked walls, tables and banquet seating are in shades of oak, peach and terracotta, and the coffee bar is tiled in dusty pinks.

The cafe is only three weeks old, but McWilliam has already applied for a liquor licence and is thinking about trading at night.

“Indy and I are excited to try doing some pop-up nights. It would be Fridays and Saturdays, family-style, just like in the day.”

Goldie’s
429/494 Marrickville Road, Dulwich Hill

Hours:
Tue to Sun 7am–3pm

goldiesdulwichhill.com.au
@goldiesdulwich_hill