Pandoro

The cake is good. The coffee rather average. The service was atrocious. Taking our order was quite a burden on the staff who were very busy talking amongst each other in between bouts of terrible singing. Cake was served on a paper plate straight from the display and without forks — no time as they needed to return to their conversation.

Good option for weekend lunches, ham & cheese corda is our fav. There are a range of freshly baked sandwiches, breads and pies to choose from. Pandoro is also a saviour for those ‘bring a plate’ morning teas at work. There are slabs of brownies that you can cut up and pass off as your own. The lemon pistachio shortbread are also very tasty. This is my favourite, being close to home, but Queen St and Parnell are also good.

I was on a work trip around the unfamiliar Kepa Road area when a wave of tiredness hit and I decided that I needed a coffee, lest I unceremoniously pass out while driving. I saw a sign for the always-​average Sierra Café so I pulled into the Eastridge parking lot, but thankfully saw Pandoro’s sign right next door and slipped in without a second thought. I ended up hungry as well as thirsty as I waited for my flat white, and decided to upgrade my order to include a savoury muffin. I know it’s a small thing and I shouldn’t quibble too much, but I wasn’t offered for the muffin to be heated up or served with butter, so I ended up with a very dry accompaniment to my coffee, which had to be washed down with said caffeine-​infused drink at times. I should have just stuck to the drink — the coffee was lovely!

Pandoro is a familiar sight around the Eastern Suburbs.
The Eastridge shop I think is the only one to have space seating both inside and outside. It is a popular spot for locals to meet at the Eastridge Shopping Centre and has some competition in the area with another café opposite. Pandoro prides itself on the quality of its food and its pies are particularly nice, with lamb and rosemary and steak and cheese both delicious. The Italian sausage roll is my favourite though, which is your normal sausage roll except longer and thinner, with cheese cooked on top of the pastry.
There are many other sweet treats, with the fruit and neenish tarts both good respectively. The Mediterranean Lamb sandwiches are also great for lunch, and can be really filling if coupled with a pie.