Remy and Lee's

How many truly great Sydney cafes are there when you boil it down? Not as many as you first might think. Anyone can scramble an egg or put salmon on a bagel, but how many places actually prize great service, repeat clientele and exceptional coffee over banging out banana pancakes with maple-flavoured syrup?

More and more venues around town are adopting a less-is-more attitude: serve a few things, do them well, and everybody's happy. Especially Black Star Pastry's Chris Thé, who now supplies baked goods to some of Sydney's coolest venues including the Little Marionette, Shady Pines, not to mention Remy and Lee's - the little café on everyone's lips.

Ever been to Aquadisiac, that amazing aquarium store that sells outrageously expensive exotic fish (it's like going to the zoo for free in Surry Hills)? Remy and Lee's is across the road. The display cabinets are still in place from the retail store that was in the space before the café. They hold a mash-up of stuff: stone buddhas, bicycle parts, a massive pile of coffee keep cups and Black Star ginger ninjas (like a gingerbread man, only deadlier) under a glass cloche.

A communal table takes up most of the middle of the room, and there aren't any menus, just a wall painted orange listing pastries, pies and toast du jour. We could talk about the amazing sweet treats (including a pear frangipane tart and a persimmon turnover) and go on about the outrageously good lamb shank pie, but there's no point, really - not when you can just go there and eat them yourself. Anyway, Remy and Lee's isn't about how good the Black Star pastries are, it's about personable service, excellently made coffee and a great vibe.

Got a spare $890? You could buy the very attractive bike in the front window - a reconditioned metallic green lady's cruiser. A little too rich for your blood? They sell bike seats seperately - you could work your way up one piece at a time.