Bare Witness

30 Shoreline Drive
Rhodes, NSW 2138
https://www.barewitness.com.au/

Today, I continue on my journey to try out every single café within a 10km radius of my house, and today my adventures take me to Bare Witness.

Sitting right at the edge of the Rhodes waterfront, I first noticed Bare Witness when I was lining up for Left of Field, and was rather taken by its expansive glass walls and waterside location.

Pleasingly, the interior of the café was just as pretty as the outside suggested, the glass walls making the most of the daylight, whilst the high ceilings and concrete walls were softened by greenery and strings of Edison bulbs.

Despite the beautiful-looking weather, it was actually a revoltingly hot day (40 degrees for 2 days in a row, and gusty to boot), and every single person seemed to be taking advantage of Bare Witness’ extensive menu of cold drinks. My Iced Latte ($6.5) was as good as they come, the smooth, chocolatey aroma of the beans shining clearly through all the milk and ice. Meanwhile, Chris’ Iced Taro ($7.5) tasted as lovely as its purple ombre gradient, the milk gently augmented by the fragrant nutty sweetness of taro. It’s basically the more elegant cousin of bubble tea, and my only regret about ordering it is not being able to get the iced red velvet, or the iced mango strawberry.

The Strawberry Rose French Toast ($21) read like a dream on the menu, and I couldn’t wait to try it. And it really was quite good, the toppings of fresh summer fruits and berries, augmented with shards of sugary rosewater meringue and a double whammy of vanilla Chantilly and hazelnut cream, tasted like a fancy fruit salad dessert. The only disappointment weas the French toast itself, which both looked and tasted like a slight of buttered toast, and got soggy just as quickly. This could’ve been great, but was unfortunately let down by the dish’s namesake.

Charcuterie for breakfast? Maybe adulthood isn’t so bad. The Burrata Prosciutto ($21) was just the right balance of luxe and freshness to make you feel pampered without the guilt. The combination of creamy burrata and waxy-soft slices of salty ham was served with a timeless combination of heirloom tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, and a handful of microgreens for a peppery freshness. And to get you through to dinner, it also comes with a couple slices of quality olive sourdough.

All up, Bare Witness is a lovely place to spend your Sunday morning. The location is wonderfully pretty, and the menu is refined enough to feel just that little bit special, with plenty of options available for all tastes. Admittedly it’s not quite as good as it seems on paper, with the execution falling just slightly short of their tempting descriptions, but it’s plenty good enough for me to want to make a return visit.

Rating: 13/20 – spent 10 minutes trying to think of a bear/bear pun. no dice. couldn’t bear to try any longer.
This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.