5Loaves 2Fish, Chatswood

5Loaves 2Fish is a Christian cafe located along the main shopping strip between Chatswood Interchange and Victoria Street. I've walked by this place many times over the years but have never really had the opportunity to visit. Hence, as I was in Chatswood for a free makeover session at Myer, I decided to drop by and check it out.

Outside Cafe

The cafe has a strong industrial feel - dark wood decor with splashes of bright yellow - and was surprisingly full by mid-morning.

Inside Cafe

Like many Korean cafes, you'll need to queue at the cashier and place your order, which is rather inconvenient if you're here alone and have to keep an eye out to ensure that no one steals your table. Table water is available from the large water tanks off to the side of the cafe - I opted for the red-coloured water, which I thought was an iced tea but the liquid was flavourless 😕.

To start off the morning, I ordered a sticky chai latte, which came in an individual glass pot - it was rather frothy though and I ended up with about two teacups worth of spiced chai. I wasn't quite sure why the spoon was provided since no sugar or honey was served on the side.

Sticky Chai Latte ($5.50)

Also, to appease my growling belly, I ordered their popular giant buttermilk ricotta hotcake, which was laden with seasonal fruit, nuts and mascapone cheese:

Ricotta Buttermilk Hotcake ($18) - with Seasonal Fruit, Mixed Berry
Compote, Shaved Almonds, Pepita & Maple Mascapone Cheese

The dish certainly looked pretty and fortunately it delivered on taste as well. I did find traces of ricotta within the light & fluffy hotcake and the addition of fresh fruit (sliced banana, strawberries, blackberries, poached pear) helped give some much needed flavour hit to cut through the sweet hotcake.

5Loaves 2Fish offers some healthy, and hearty, menu options so I might come back for a second visit at a later date. There is limited seating (will probably fit ~20 people) inside the cafe so I would recommend coming early early or you'll miss out on a table.

Aerial Shot of Sticky Chai Latte and Hotcake

Food: ✰✰✰✰
Service: ✰✰✰
Atmosphere: ✰✰✰✰
Overall: ✰✰✰ 1/2
One-Line Summary: Christian brunch central