If you ever have a chance to go to Sydney, please could you try to eat at this place. Cafe Sopra is absolutely the cutest cafe you can find - only reserved for those in the know.

The girlfriend and I went there earlier sometime in June this year, and it was an unforgettable experience. Only for the discerning, here's the secret (it's unfindable if you are not local), it's actually in a warehouse and on the second floor. The girlfriend and I trekked like 20 mins to get to Danks Street and another 30 minutes to find it. We must have walked passed it three times as we hiked up and down the stretch in vain. It's in a artist alley, where there are many art gallerys and a few cafes (which all look good). Believe there's a Hillsongs nearby too. We had nearly given up and gone to Burke Street Bakery, our next destination, but we gamely pressed on to find this gem.

Ambience

The facade is a warehouse/factory. When you enter into it, you can see a forklift and some cars. Then irrelevant italian marble/plaster statues decorate the place. If you venture even further in, you will see that there are actually a lot of people there buying italian grocceries, (and the ingredients look really fresh and good!!). If you look carefully, there's a staircase which brings you upstairs and when you climb up, you will see that it is an extension of the grocceries where you can buy premium coffee, pasta, etc etc. And all the way inside is, this amazing place called Sopra. In terms of ambience, it scores in terms of originality and homeliness.

It's slightly noisy though because of the number of people who want to eat there and are eating there. =P


Service

The wait can be long. Be prepared to wait 20 minutes at least. I don't think reservations are possible. You can take get drinks/wine from a bar counter whilst waiting or just wander around the interesting variety of italian ingredients on offer. But rest assured, the food will be worth it.

Service of food is warm and friendly, as waiters skip from table to table and they are an affiable bunch. Very obliging and professional.

Value

It's extremely good italian food at very decent prices. Food in Sydney generally is not cheap, but in terms of value for money, this would be pretty high up there in my opinion.

Fooooooood

The food is simply amazing. There were soooo many things we wanted to try but just didn't have the opportunity to. Watch out especially for what's on the special's board or ask the chef.

We had a lamb ragout which was simply amazing. Coupled with the fact that we were famished from our adventure, we devoured it with gusto. We couldn't help but savour the smoothness of the sauce and the tenderness of the meat with eat bite. The potatoes and tomatoes were delightful and it was just one of the great culinary highlights of our trip. It was so hearty and satisfying, I drool trying to recall the sensational taste.

We had a ricotta cheese on a fruit bread which was yummy (but there is a better one which I will write about in due course). The ricotta and honey was a perfect blend on top of the freshly baked bread.

We had poached salmon which was ever so fresh and well done. The natural flavour of the fish was enhanced by the way the chef cooked it, locking in that amazing taste. Some times you have to taste it for yourself to understand, and this is definitely one of those places.

For dessert, we had affogato. Italian coffee with italian ice cream. If heaven doesn't have this, I'll have to reconsider. It was , and I exaggerate not, breath-taking. The smoothness of the coffee coupled with the sweetness of the vanilla ice cream (freshly made!) was just perfect.

This place, I would highly recommend. Please do try this and I hope you have as wonderful an experience as I did!