Review Cafe Verona On Darling - Balmain

A must if your in the balmain area! We have been here several times for lunch and it's always been spot on! We also tried the new Chinese menu on Friday night (the braised beef starter and the pork dumplings are to die for!!) The staff are friendly and the cafe has a very relaxed atmosphere!

If you are in Balmain and fancy Chinese food there is m the only place to visit! Went on Sunday night to try dumplings. The best Xiao Long Bao! Also had chicken fried rice I was surprised with the big size that I couldn't finish.. On top of that waitress brought complimentary Peking duck spring rolls. One word yum!

Great coffee. Fantastic brunch menu. Were very helpful in changing something to make it dairy free

Went there for an early Sunday dinner with family. Very friendly, great food and and generous portions.

Great coffee, barista is awesome and really friendly. Good atmosphere and good fusion of Asian and Australian

Had pork boa and was the best lunch I've had in a while. Highly recommend 👌🏻

Owners changed recently, definitely not as good anymore...

Average coffee

As well as standard cafe fare including breakfast dishes, burgers and salads, there is also Asian inspired food including yum cha and baos. Also probably the best value egg and bacon bun in Balmain; for $6.50, there's a decent serve of crispy bacon topped with a fried egg. No bells and whistles but food is good and reasonably priced, although service can be a little on the slow side.

TL;DR Edition: 1.5 hour wait; extremely bad service; extremely bad food; extremely bad coffee<br/>--<br/>Cafe Verona is a cute little thing. Clad in timber with an assortment of fine tea related paraphernalia, you could be forgiven for thinking the place were organised.<br/><br/>Oh, but you'd be wrong. Dead wrong.<br/><br/>My first time at Verona I ordered two coffees. The girl behind the register, stricken with panic, jotted down my order on paper then repeated it under her breath and stared back at me, silent. I smiled, confirmed and repeated my order again for clarity, after which she nodded and continued to stare. <br/><br/>Inside, she was collapsing into a tiny puddle of bubbling, terrified customer service. Obviously unaware of how to use the register, she asked of the barista beside her in a defeated tone for assistance. She was met with absolute ghosting, as though she didn't exist and certainly didn't need any help.<br/><br/>I happened to go back once more on New Year's Day, since to their credit they were the only place open.<br/><br/>Busier than usual, almost all of their tables were full and lots of takeaway orders were popping in. Even so, so this can't really account for the figuratively unspeakable nightmares that took shape within the innocuous walls of Cafe Verona, Torture Dungeon Extraordinaire.<br/><br/>I could copy and paste the entire last incident here. The ordering was exactly the same. The deer in the headlights cashier, the ghosting from the barista, the order being repeated about 3 times. But it got worse. So, so much worse.<br/><br/>My friends and I retired to a comfy corner lounge to wait. And wait. And wait. After perhaps 35 minutes, we got up to check on the order. Unfortunately, we were unaware at this stage that the corner lounge was actually a rift in time and space, and we had already been transported into another universe in which we had, in fact, never ordered. You can imagine our surprise when our queries about our order were met with "What order?"<br/><br/>We repeated our order (4th time) as they scrambled to tear up bits of paper to write it down on. We confirmed two more times (6) as certain details were confused, and then stupidly sat right back in the multiverse's spin cycle washing machine of rapid but rather slight dimensional alterations.<br/><br/>About another 25 minutes on, one food item appeared. Still no drinks. We repeated our order to the confused waiter (7) who apologised, double-checked with the kitchen and then re-lodged the order, and then we waited some more. 10 minutes and food item #2 appeared. 10 more and two drinks appeared. <br/><br/>But drink number three? My own drink? After another 10 minutes--which, by the way, brings us to about an hour and a half waiting--I tore myself from the shackles of temporal stasis, crawled back out from the crypt in which I'd slept for centuries, and asked at the counter once more.<br/><br/>In this particular dimension, I *had* ordered a mocha and I'd already collected it. But there was another one eerily similar to mine sitting cold on top of the coffee machine. Laughing. Gurgling and laughing at me so loud my head pounded.<br/><br/>"WHERE THE HELL IS MY COFFEE!?" I didn't shout because I'm way too polite in these situations. Instead I quietly accepted a replacement which came out a few minutes later, and we finally left.<br/><br/>The air outside was fresh. It was summer. The light met my face and I smiled, my first in many years. <br/><br/>The food? Well, my grilled ham & cheese toastie--cold by now--consisted of a single slice of Kraft cheese on dry toast, thin & cheap quality deli ham slices, missing pickles and a spread of mustard. I found a half teaspoon of unstirred chocolate powder at the bottom of my mocha, which tasted suspiciously like a cup of hot milk (????? shouldn't there have been coffee in it???)<br/><br/>I'll let that all speak for itself, eh? ;)

This is a little cafe on Darling Street, Balmain. I was walking down the street and was instantly attracted to the all day Yum Cha sign, however, noting that it was only 8:30 in the morning I came to the laboured decision that a coffee and breakfast would have to do. The coffee here is good, could be a little hotter but that's probably me just being picky. I had the salmon swapped for bacon, broccoli and 2 x poached eggs on sourdough. It was very nice and ok priced. This place has a unique and funky interior and also hold crafts sessions and stuff on the weekend which is cool. A nice place to stroll down on a sat/sun and read the paper and grab some breakkie grub. If walking around like a zombie from the night before or just a general morning struggler then grab one of their massive oversized large coffees to go! I am hoping that I can now wait long enough that it is socially acceptable (or I can self justify) hooking into the Yum Cha menu. If I can’t, I will be back!

Another place that does a good morning coffee where it also offers combo deals with yum cha!!!! Such an interesting combination where east and west meet in Balmain

had a morning coffee here, quite average. little place has some interesting decor, seems to be an Asian fusion cafe, friendly and helpful staff.

DISCLAIMER:Thank you Zomato for the dinner voucher <br/>Surprised that they serve Chinese food here. <br/>We ordered with the help of the friendly waitress and ended up with......<br/><br/>Lemongrass and basil chicken noodles. You can really taste the lemongrass,not bad <br/><br/>Duck spring rolls,for once you can actually taste the duck in the spring roll <br/><br/>The pork and Veges dumpling,the skin is actually quite thick compared to other dumplings,maybe too thick but I still enjoyed it<br/><br/>Shallot pancake is pretty standard <br/><br/>Grandma's tofu is my fiancé favourite. It was salty and the sweet chilli sauce didn't go with it well. Maybe sweet and sour sauce would be better. Lightly fried and soft to eat,yum! <br/><br/><br/>My guess is this may not be cafe Verona staff but rather someone else using there premises at night.<br/><br/>Also thanks to The Next Rush for suggesting to visit this place

Thank Zomato for the dinner invite to this cafe in Balmain. From previous reviews I learned they only started dinner service on Fridays and Saturdays recently. The menu consists of dumplings, fried rice, noodles and a few entrees. The shallot pancakes were impressive - crispy outside, soft inside, and smelt so good too! It was the highlight. We also received complimentary marinated chicken wings, it was finger licking good! Out of the two dumplings, I preferred the pork dumplings in chili dipping sauce. There is room for improvement in Xiao Long Bao as the skin was too thick and could be juicer. Good Xiao Long Bao skin should be paper thin, almost translucent and deliciously juicy. The beef noodle soup was hearty but could use a bit more seasoning. Would love to try San choy bao and Grandma's secret fried tofu next time. The service was very friendly. There is no corkage charge which is a bonus to keep the cost down. <br/><br/>If you are in the hood and look for a quite bite at low cost, check out this place.

Such a great cafe! I had dinner here a few weeks ago, and the dumplings were absolutely delicious. What a good idea to open up for dinner.  I just tried breakfast here for the first time, and it did not disappoint! The new breakfast menu is very impressive, and I had a hard time deciding what to get.  Ended up going with the eggs benedict, and it was definitely a good call! Coffee was great, too. Altogether, a perfect meal.

Given the Italian name, I wasn't expecting an Asian fusion cafe menu but the dishes were really interesting and enjoyable. We ordered the double burger slider with kimchi and the pumpkin scotch egg. I've had scotch eggs a few times before and the pumpkin in this one was a great twist. The double burger slider was well presented but difficult to eat due to its huge height. This cafe is definitely worth trying if you're after something different and in the area.

Cute little cafe with wonderful food :). Lots of healthy options packed with nutrients to keep your mind and body healthy and happy!!!! Yum!!

Delicious food; had the big breakfast which had the essential perfect combination , friendly staff, though poor taste in music for the calming atmosphere. Overall a lovely place.

Went there last weekend and had an enjoyable dining experience. I got the Iron Mans breakfast and it was as big as it sounds! The staff were lovely and the service was prompt.

Had brunch here on Sunday and the staff are fantastic - they are all very dedicated, hardworking and efficient! I ordered the haloumi salad and was pleasantly surprised by the proportion of all ingredients! The beetroot contrasts nicely with the balsamic dressing and they do not skimp on the haloumi! The coffee could be a little hotter but the dairy free smoothies are the highlight!

Love this cafe! It has great coffee and food, served by friendly and helpful staff. I've just eaten the double slider burgers with a side of sweet potato crisps. Both the chicken and slow cooked lamb burgers were delicious!

Friendly staff, and a nice relaxed atmosphere. Good place to catch up with friends or pull out the laptop.  Good location within the middle of Balmain strip.

Stopped to have a late lunch. The owner was so friendly, the service was great and the food amazing. We had a mixed vegetable sandwich which was delicious, it also came with chips which were cooked to perfection. We had a great coffee and he also brought some cucumber infused water to the table without being asked. I would be a frequent visitor to this café if I lived locally but we were here on holiday. It is a wonderful little place in the heart of Balmain.

Simple delicious menu. Friendly helpful staff. I had the eggs Benedict. The hollandaise was perfect. The lychee, lime and coconut smoothie was perfectly balanced. Service speed was good. Table of eight wasn't quite able to be served meals at once.

Been there a few times coz everything i went, there is always something new for special. I love the dessert they have there, the barista said their pastry chef used to work in 3 hat restaurant, you can see the effort they put into making the dessert, every piece is like an art. Will definitely recommend to friends.

Came on a Sat to have lunch. The cafe was quite busy, and the staff are very nice to take us to our table. We ordered the Pork Bao and Garden Bowl, they taste as good as they look. Pork Bao was quite juicy with amazing chilli plum sauce to balance. The salad was colourful with the perfect dressing. The barista was also very friendly and humourous. We had a very good experience, and will definitely go back again.