Mad Spuds Cafe, Surry Hills

Hands up if you love potatoes. Baked, deep-fried, skins, skin-less, seasoned, with sauce... The list goes on! I don't think that I could possibly hate potatoes being cooked in any possible way. They really are a wonderful carb! And the question is, who doesn't love potatoes?

This is what lead us to our decision to meet up at Mad Spuds Cafe in Surry Hills to drill our friend about her exchange in Europe! What an exciting trip - living overseas for almost half a year! We all definitely missed her and it was so nice seeing her back in Sydney again.

We arrived just before noon and there were lines everywhere coming out of almost every surrounding cafe! Though the line moved quickly enough and we were seated in about 10 minutes. Perfect.

It was such a hot day so we were glad to be seated outside in the shade where there was a nice breeze and juices were a definite order to cool us down after the walk from Central station.

Juices, $4.00 each

I was really hoping for the juices to be freshly squeezed but they came already pre-packaged. The pick of the three was the pineapple and mint. The mango and peach just tasted like mango, and the blood orange just tasted like orange juice, which was a shame because I absolutely love blood orange and I was looking forward to that big blood orange kick!

Chorizo brioche sanger, $16.00

Mm, chorizo is always a winner. The hallouimi cheese, blanched spinach and chorizo paired perfectly with the drunken apple relish on the side which provided the slider with a sweet note. I loved the sweet potato crisps that were garnished in all of our dishes - they were wonderfully crunchy!

Egg in a spud, $14.00

Twice cooked potato skins are amazing! This one was served with two varieties. One had a soft yolk boiled egg encased within the crunchy potato skin and was topped with melted gruyere cheese - look at how melty it is! The other had a tomato relish and quinoa sitting within the potato skin. On their own it was nice, but eaten together really completes the dish.

Corn crusted chicken salad, $15.00

This salad was refreshing on this hot day. I loved the sweet potato puree which worked surprising well with every other element on the dish. There was beetroot, roasted onion, avocado, potatoes topped with a sweet chilli and lemon dressing. If the chicken had more flavour, this would've been a mad salad.

Ginger brulee tart, $5.00

For dessert, we swung by Bourke Street Bakery where I grabbed a ginger brulee tart to share with T. I wasn't sure whether I would like it because I'm not particularly always a fan of ginger flavoured desserts and am quite picky about when I actually like the flavour of ginger but this tart was a definite surprise! I found that I really enjoyed the ginger within the smooth, cool custard filling hidden underneath a wonderfully sugary brulee top. The crust was very short, crumbly and oh so buttery. Delicious.

Of course, for the rest of the day, we hid inside shopping centres to talk and avoid the heat that was outside. Gotta love the strong air-conditioning they use!

So how do you all like your potatoes cooked?

Mad Spuds Cafe
479 Crown St
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

Opening Hours
Tuesday - Sunday: 8:00am - 5:00pm



Bourke St Bakery
633 Bourke St
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 7:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday - Sunday: 8:00am - 5:00pm