Sasa's Cafe & Fine Food

Basic Info:

Name: Sasa's Cafe & Fine Food
Address: 173 Riversdale Rd, Hawthorn
Phone: 9815 3885
Website: NA

Opening Hours:

Open 7 days

Little Eats ‘soundbite review’:

A casual and relaxed cafe catering to local families with all the kid-friendly ticks. The yummy kid’s menu, generous babycino’s, crayons, chalk and mini blackboards will please the little ones, and it’s BYO too, which I am sure will please the parents.

Highchair: Yes
Change table: Yes
Pram access: Yes
Separate kids menu: Yes
Normal menu suitable for kids: Yes
Friendly staff: Yes
Play area for kids: No
Activities provided for kids (eg: crayons): Yes
Vibe/atmosphere: Relaxed, simple, casual, warm, local

Prices: Very good

Little Eats detailed review:

When we arrived at Sasa’s, hand’s full with our two little ones and laden down with bags, a capsule and other baby paraphernalia, the door was opened for us and we were greeted with a smile. Immediately we were seated and a highchair set-up, and then water was brought to the table with glasses for the grown ups and a coloured plastic tumbler for the little one. Very kid-friendly already.

Just looking around the place you can tell that it is popular with families and that it caters especially for them. There are plenty of highchairs, a kid’s menu, colourful kid’s drawings stuck proudly on the wall, Cafe Kidz activity packs for sale at the counter, stacks of newspapers and mags for the parents, cupcakes and plenty of other little sweet treats, and a box of crayons, pencils and stamps as well as chalk and mini blackboards for the budding artistes.

We sat at the big square communal table at the back, which I have heard is also popular with local Mother’s Groups, so we had plenty of room to move and spread out.

We ordered a babycino and pancakes for our little one, which very thoughtfully came out first. The babycino was a generous size and was served in a cute coloured plastic tumbler, which is a much more sensible option than the usual china espresso cup. The plate of warm mini buttermilk pancakes drenched with maple syrup, dusted with icing sugar and a sprinkling of 100’s and 1000’s also scored a big thumbs up. Yum. She enjoyed eating them with her “big girl cutlery” also brightly coloured and plastic to match her wee cup.

The kid’s menu also offers a special little breakkie of one egg, one hash brown, bacon and toast, as well as toasties and pasta of the day for lunch. And to sip there are also mini milkshakes, hot choccies and smoothies.

There is a change table in the toilets, which to me looked a little bit well-used (read: grotty) so just make sure you lay down your own change mat first.

The staff were very friendly and warm, and chit chatted with us and our little ones. My teeny tiny one (newborn) of course decided that she wanted to be fed right when my veggie breakfast arrived and I was eyeing off the home-made hash brown. The friendly, motherly owner jokingly and sympathetically asked if she could feed me. How sweet. Luckily I am used to feeding and eating (and typing, and talking on the phone, and reading, and folding washing etc etc) at the same time.

Fitting in with the relaxed, casual vibe, breakfast is served all day, and not only is there a breakfast and lunch menu, but also one for that deliciously decadent meal in between - “brunch”. You can BYO too, and for a corkage fee of only $3 it is well worth it.