Rising Sun Workshop

1C Whatley St
Newtown, NSW 2042
https://www.risingsunworkshop.com/

Rising Sun Workshop is the OG cool kid on the block. Part warehouse café, part motorcycle workshop, it epitomises everything popular in the early 2010s. To its credit, the vibe comes off more laid-back than pointedly grungy, and with the ample natural light, is actually a rather comfortable place to grab a post-gym acai bowl. Not that there’s anything of the sort here; the streamlined menu has a heavy Asian influence with a Japanese slant, and they are especially well-known for their ramens. Unfortunately most things on the menu, with the exception of perhaps the ramen, seem to over-price and under-deliver. I made the mistake of veering from the noodle menu; my recommendation would be to copy the locals and order ramen exclusively. After all, they do have a breakfast version with bacon in it, so there’s really no excuse no matter the time of day. 

Rating: 12/20 – over-promise and under-deliver
Hot tip: stick with the noodles.

There were a few more traditional options on the menu, but I couldn’t resist the Breakfast Ramen ($25). The noodles were pleasantly springy, and bacon is good any time of day. However the rest of the bowl was pretty mediocre. Although the broth was rich and porky, it lacked the depth provided by a good tare, and the ultimately the whole getup erred on the bland side. Even a bit of salt would’ve taken this a long way.

I was initially super keen on the Rising Sun Breakfast, aka the traditional Japanese breakfast, but after seeing how underwhelming the photos looked, pivoted to the Avocado and Egg ($22). Unfortunately this was no better. I quite liked the inclusion of Japanese pickle, as well as the unorthodox but effective addition of shredded shiso leaf, but there was nothing about it that justified the price tag.

To their credit, my Iced Latte ($5) was the best I’ve ever had. Smooth and sweet with distinct toffee notes, this was reminiscent of Cadbury Caramilk.