Flood Street Carousel
>> Location: 1 Lords Rd, Leichhardt
>> Website
>> Best toasties ever!
>> Dined as guests
Flood Street Carousel is a long-standing corner cafe that offers fantastic ambience and a family-friendly dining atmosphere. Located in Leichhardt, this cafe is conveniently close to the Marketplace. There’s plenty of parking about, the closest being the Flood Street Leichhardt Car Park.
The interior is spacious and haphazardly decorated in a chic way, with an eclectic mix of lounges and chairs. The tables had a checkerboard that could probably double up as an area for playing chess!
One of the prominent features is a large almost psychedelic but oddly calming image on the back wall, designed and done by a famous graffiti artist from the UK, Nicholas Goodden.
There are a variety of breakfast items available at the counter, including muffins and tarts, and takeaway coffee for the hasty diner. There are also a couple of bar stools if you want to have a seat while waiting.
The interior is incredibly family-friendly, with heaps of dolls and high backed chairs for all members of the family. It’s great because it promotes important family interaction time, with strategically positioned chairs.
Michael Jackson statue approves of the fresh bread on offer!
The symbolic carousel house right in the middle of the establishment! Great for kids to sit on.
Watermelon and Ginger Juice
Watermelon and ginger are contrasting flavours that blend sharp and sweet together. It was refreshing and healthy - perfect start for the day.
Latte
Excellent blend of coffee, with an even distribution of flavour throughout. In particular, I think the milk consisted of a good proportion, and actually didn’t require the addition of sugar for extra flavour - delightful!
Turkish Breakfast Panini with Rocket
Chorizo, egg and tomato relish
This was a really great dish for breakfast. The Turkish bread was super soft, unlike its normal stiffer texture. I think it worked with this type of ingredient because it helped in the absorption of the flavours of the tomato relish, which were plentiful. The egg and chorizo, a classic combination, was fused into a “patty” to be the main star of the dish. The bitterness of the rocket was hence offset by the flavoursome chorizo, rounding it out beautifully. The interior shot below shows how well the egg and chorizo was mixed in together: the yolk in the middle was still runny, which made it resemble a typical baked eggs dish sandwiched in bread.
Toasted Sandwich
Hectic shredded chicken sandwich with sliced apple, chorizo aioli and provolone
The chicken sandwich was truly hectic: a mishmash of several ingredients together to form a very concise yet flavoursome dish that packed bags of tastiness with every bite. The toasted sandwich, in contrast to the panini above, was firmer. The reason why it worked better was because it acted as a vice to contain all of the ingredients within, since the chicken is a much softer meat when done like this in comparison to chorizo. The use of sliced fresh green apple was very interesting, and worked wonderfully, introducing some much needed sweetness and balance to the dish. The chorizo aioli was a much subtler flavour, so this is good for people who would like a much lighter breakfast.
Overall:
Flood Street Carousel is a family-friendly, ambient and relaxing place to dine. It’s situated conveniently, with plenty of parking about, and the interior is very spacious, making for a very comfortable dining experience. The menu items are simple and represented incredible value for money, for its large but healthy portion sizes.
The food was fantastic and fresh. Using tried-and-true combinations of breakfast ingredients, but with subtle care taken with the type of elements used made the day for us. I think that for those who prefer a bigger hit of flavour, go for the panini, as the relish really introduces bags of flavour with every bite. For someone who prefers a subtler sandwich, you can’t go wrong with the chicken toastie. While it is also tasty and delicious, it is subtler in expression, with greater balance of sweetness.