Cafeography
Sydney · Annandale & Leichhardt

Cafés in Annandale & Leichhardt

Leichhardt's first Italian coffee lounge on Norton Street, the original Little Marionette roastery and warehouse roasters on Flood Street.

Photo: Parth Patel, Pexels License

Annandale is named after Annan in Scotland, the birthplace of Major George Johnston, who was granted 600 acres here; his name survives on Johnston Street, where John Young built the 1880s "witches houses", their towers shaped like hats.1 Leichhardt, to the west, is Sydney's Little Italy.

That history still shapes the cup. Norton Street's Italian bars set the old standard for espresso and gelato, and Bar Sport still opens at 06:00 on weekdays. Annandale's corner stores and Leichhardt's warehouses hold the newer roasters and brunch rooms, with Trafalgar St Espresso and its secret room among them.

Local tip: Bring cash to Bar Italia: Time Out's 2025 review found it took no cards, though there is an ATM inside.3

At a glance

51Cafés listed
22With opening hours
05:30Earliest opening
23:30Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Fez & Co., from 05:30 (Daily 05:30–17:00).
  • Closes latest: Bar Italia, until 23:30 (Mon–Wed 08:00–22:30 · Thu 08:00–23:00 · Fri–Sat 08:00–23:30 · Sun 08:00–22:30).
  • Most listed streets: Norton St (6), Norton Street (5), Booth Street (5).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (27%), air-con (14%), smoke-free indoors (14%).

Bar Italia

  • 169-171 Norton Street
  • Mon–Wed 08:00–22:30 · Thu 08:00–23:00 · Fri–Sat 08:00–23:30 · Sun 08:00–22:30
  • +61 2 9560 9981
  • Air-con
  • Partial wheelchair access
  • Smoke-free indoors
  • Open late
Map Website FacebookIs this you?Report

Meli Annandale

  • 88 View Street
  • Daily 07:00–14:30
  • Air-con
  • Wheelchair access
  • Smoke-free indoors
MapIs this you?Report

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Sydney.

Coffee chains in Annandale & Leichhardt

Norton Street: where the espresso came in

Raffaello "Ralph" Raffaelli, who emigrated from northern Italy in 1951, opened Bar Sport in 1956 as the first Italian coffee lounge in Leichhardt, with one of the first imported two-handled La Pavoni machines.2 It became a meeting place for young single migrant workers and later a home for World Cup matches; the Napoliello family, the current owners, refurbished it for its 50th anniversary, keeping its original character.2

Bar Italia at 169-171 Norton Street has served Leichhardt since 1952. As of 2025 you still paid in cash, with an ATM inside, and the gelato counter sits near the front for the way out.3

Cakes and cannoli

Locantro Bakery at 9-11 Catherine Street dates from 1994, the work of brothers Pino and Adriano, who keep to traditional Italian family recipes.4 Its pastry chefs and bakers supply a café as well as a cake counter, and it opens at 06:30, Monday to Saturday.

Back on Norton Street, Mezzapica keeps shorter weekend hours, closing at 14:00 on Saturdays and 13:00 on Sundays, so go early for pastries.

Annandale's corner stores

Trafalgar St Espresso calls itself the original roastery of Little Marionette coffee, and its best-known feature is a secret room concealed behind a bookcase.5 It keeps to breakfast and lunch hours, closing by 15:00.

Revolver Cafe, up in North Annandale, fills a former corner store that Rodney Jones bought in 2006 and renovated largely by hand.6 Time Out's 2012 review praised the big breakfast in a cast-iron pan and warned that weekend tables are hard to get; the same review noted a mini grinder kept for decaf.6 It opens daily at 08:00.

Warehouses: Booth Street and Flood Street

Black Toast Cafe occupies a converted 19th-century furniture factory on Booth Street, with exposed joists and a sunlit atrium, and pours a blend selected by Campos from 07:00 daily.7 Its split-level floor also hosts exhibitions and functions.7 Humm Coffee Roasters has a café further along the same street.

The Carpenter, in an industrial pocket of Leichhardt on Flood Street, is an independent roaster and warehouse café that micro-roasts on site, serving its 76 Blend alongside weekly single origins.8 Its range stays deliberately short, at five coffees.8 Brew Ha Ha, on Catherine Street, opens daily at 06:30.

Sources

  1. Annandale, New South Wales, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
  2. Bar Sport (formerly Caffe Sport), Norton Street History Walk, Inner West Council Library and History, accessed November 2026
  3. Bar Italia, Time Out Sydney (April 23, 2025), accessed November 2026
  4. Our Story, Locantro Bakery, accessed November 2026
  5. Trafalgar Street Espresso, Trafalgar Street Espresso, accessed November 2026
  6. Revolver, Time Out Sydney (March 29, 2012), accessed November 2026
  7. Black Toast Cafe, Black Toast Cafe, accessed November 2026
  8. The Carpenter, The Carpenter, accessed November 2026
Keep exploring

More of Sydney

CBD & The Rocks

366 cafés

Pyrmont & Ultimo

92 cafés

Surry Hills

103 cafés

Darlinghurst & Potts Point

127 cafés

Paddington & Woollahra

79 cafés

Glebe & Chippendale

66 cafés

Redfern & Waterloo

94 cafés

Newtown & Erskineville

91 cafés

Alexandria & Green Square

80 cafés

Kensington & Randwick

58 cafés

Marrickville & Petersham

112 cafés

Balmain & Rozelle

62 cafés

Kirribilli & North Sydney

126 cafés

Bondi & Bronte

78 cafés

In Annandale & Leichhardt, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Open by 6am Bakery cafés

FAQ

Annandale & Leichhardt cafés: questions

What was the first Italian coffee lounge in Leichhardt, Sydney?

Bar Sport opened in 1956 as the first Italian coffee lounge in Leichhardt. Raffaello Raffaelli, who emigrated from northern Italy in 1951, installed one of the first imported two-handled La Pavoni machines. Bar Italia on Norton Street has served Leichhardt since 1952, and as of 2025 it was cash only.

Where is the café with a secret room in Annandale, Sydney?

Trafalgar St Espresso on Trafalgar Street in Annandale, the original roastery of Little Marionette coffee, has a secret room concealed behind a bookcase. It keeps breakfast and lunch hours and closes by 15:00.

Which cafés roast their own coffee in Leichhardt and Annandale, Sydney?

The Carpenter on Flood Street in Leichhardt micro-roasts on site, with its 76 Blend and weekly single origins. Trafalgar St Espresso in Annandale calls itself the original roastery of Little Marionette coffee.

For café owners

Own a café in Annandale & Leichhardt?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design