Naggy's Cafe & Espresso Bar

Naggy's Cafe & Espresso Bar
333 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW
2037 (02) 9566 486
Friday 28 May 2010


We were looking forward to Naggys which is always full of people having coffee and food during the day. It looks like a cheerful place and its decor is interesting. It is divided into 4 distinct areas, the outdoor area which it being a chilly night we rejected, the front of the restaurant which has the usual square wooden tables, the back left hand side which has a large handsome communal table and the back right which has Florentine brothel style red velour couches and grandma chairs. There are elaborate wrought iron light fittings on the walls and the whole thing is pulled together by crisp white painted walls. We tried all the seating options but for a dinner for 4 people who want to talk to each other the best option was the boring square tables. I imagine that for coffee and a chat the Florentine lounges would be great and for a meal with a propped up book, you couldn't go past the big table. I had thought that the name was Hungarian on the analogy of nogmoma but it is named after the owner who is Nepalese. No Nepali food on the menu but I guess there is no reason why there should be.
The menu
There was a written menu and half a dozen daily specials. When we saw these I at least got quite excited. The specials included wild boar ragout with chestnuts and Tuscan cabbage ravioli (the name of the dish should have sounded a warning too many and too disparate) and bouillabaisse!
The entrees
We ordered two because the meals looked quite substantial. We shouldn't have ordered any or we should have stopped there depending on your point of view. As you can see from the photo they were very large. We could hardly fit 2 on the table. I guess it would have been separate tables if we had ordered 4. We had a selection of four dips and bruschetta with tomato and rocket . The bruschetta was quite good. The dips were extravagantly presented and ok. There was too much bread which I ate and then was unable to finish my main meal.

The mains









Stephen had the ragout which seemed to be a miscellany of stuff!! All the ingredients were there but it was not drawn together into a proper dish, disappointing. I had the bouillabaisse which had plenty of fish but was in a heavy very peppery soup. Now I like pepper (I like chili even better but that's another story) but this was not delicious, I left most of it which being greedy, is something I rarely do. Janet had salmon with citrus and taragon risotto. The salmon was okay but the risotto had a burnt taste. A bit disappointing!
Dave had a lamb dish, the lamb was finely cut, served on a potato base with other trimmings; I hesitate to call it mashed potato but mashed potato does give an accurate word picture. Which he said he enjoyed immensely and that certainly appeared to be the case.
The deserts
Although the meal had been altogether too filling in the interests of science we ordered two deserts to share. The creme brulee which sadly Janet and Dave had, was very good. The best thing on the menu although I wouldn't make a special trip to eat it. Stephen and I shared three balls of Serendipity ice creme which were nicely presented but were well, 3 balls of Serendipity ice cream.
The cost
$140 for four BYO no wine menu so I guess unlicensed.
The verdict
Maybe its better for lunch. I forgot to mention the waiter and waitress who were both charming. The waitress was even good humoured laughing at our dad jokes about ragout and rag-out, but not enough to make me go back.