The Dining & Co., North Ryde

When dining out, I tend to prefer visiting places with good reviews but every once in a while I do come across some surprisingly good eateries which are well hidden from the internet. Such was the case when I visited The Dining & Co, a little cafe hidden away in the quieter suburban streets of North Ryde (a stone throw away from my karate classes infact!).

Opened in June last year by Justin Park (former head chef at Peter Doyle’s at The Quay), it boasts a very impressive menu with fresh, delicious and very Instagrammable dishes. I'm really surprised it doesn't have a larger social media presence!

Baked Chorizo and Eggs

The menu offers your typical selection of breakfast/brunch options, like this shakshuka, which is one of our go-to menu items, a simple combination of tomato and chorizo which works charmingly. We love both the taste and the consistency, which is perfect for dipping the Turkish bread into, but the highlight was really the perfectly slow cooked egg which had the most incredible texture!

Breakfast Bruschetta

It's very rare that you'll see me ordering bruschetta at a restaurant (I tend to go for things I haven't tried or can't make at home), but I couldn't go past their beautifully plated breakfast bruschetta- essentially, two slabs of toast topped with an assortment of heirloom tomatoes and avocado. The avocado gives it more of a breakfast-y feel to it but I'd probably add a poached egg on top to make it a complete brekkie meal.

Eggs Benedict with Crabmeat

The menu also offers eggs benedict, either in the typical ham or smoked salmon varieties, as well as a unique option of crab meat. Being fans of both eggs benedict and crabmeat, we're quite excited to try the latter option. There's no surprises here, with two fluffy toasted muffins holding a light sprinkle of greens, a generous serving of delicate crabmeat, perfectly poached eggs and topped with a rich yellow hollandaise.

It's delicious but we're not completely sold on the crabmeat, as we're used to our eggs benedict with smoked salmon. We find the stronger flavour of the smoked salmon seems to work better with the heaviness of the hollandaise, whereas the light, sweet flavour of the crabmeat is slightly overpowered. Nevertheless, it still makes for a refreshing and unique taste which we do enjoy.

We're quite impressed by our latest cafe find and especially love that we are able to relax and enjoy good food without the crowds of people that tend to flock the more popular cafes on the weekends. Let's see how long it stays quiet for before the internet finds out about this place hey?