Bare Witness, Rhodes

Set within the suburb of Rhodes, Bare Witness stands by the tranquil foreshore of Homebush Bay. The area has been redeveloped in recent years and various cafes and eateries have popped up to feed the hungry masses living in the multitudes of high-rises.

Outside of Cafe

Inside Cafe

Bare Witness serves as one such cafe, offering prime waterfront views with its floor-to-ceiling windows.

To start off our meal, we began with some drinks to quench our thirst on this warm and sunny autumn day:

Tim Tam Milkshake ($7.80); Iced Mango Strawberry ($7.50)

I personally ordered the iced mango strawberry, which proved to be an iced mango frappe topped with a strawberry layer - visually inspiring but it's still a fruit frappe.

For brunch/lunch, DrL ordered their black soft shell crab (open) burger, which looked like a cross between a Jackson Pollock artwork and a crime scene:

Black Soft Shell Crab ($24) - with Soft Shell Crab,
Fried Egg, Roe, Charred Sweet Corn, Lettuce, Cauliflower
on a Charcoal Brioche Bun served with Famous
Black Hollandaise & Soft Herbs

Whilst I stuck with their relatively healthy mushroom dish:

Miso Mushrooms ($21) - Mixed Asian Mushrooms
in Miso, Asparagus, Soft Boiled Egg, Cheese
Filled Zucchini Flowers, Peas, Hazelnut Crumbs,
Parmesan, Prosciutto with Brioche Bun

The Miso Mushrooms came with a variety of mushrooms (including portobello, enoki, button, shimeji, shiitake) but lacked any prominent miso flavour. The stuffed zucchini flowers were a highlight with its lightly battered, crispy exterior and soft ricotta filling.

Overall, the food was good but the service was a bit of a let-down - it took some time to flag down staff to take an order and surprisingly they didn't seem to care/notice when we spent over two hours chatting. Due to the location of our table (in the far corner of the cafe), it felt like I was eating in a fish tank because I was literally surrounded by glass on basically three sides and it gradually became too warm for comfort due to the sunlight.

The cafe also offers a large range of mouth-watering, heart-clogging baked goods - a well-earned reward with that pick-me-up coffee after an early morning run:

Pastries and Croissants

Butter (Toast) Cubes and Pastries

Food: ✰✰✰ 1/2
Service: ✰✰✰
Atmosphere: ✰✰✰ 1/2
Overall: ✰✰✰ 1/2
Summary: Coffee hotspot along Homebush Bay