The Little Marionette On The Dale

Not sure what the hype is all about, walked in with my wife, we were basically ignored and did not feel welcomed at all. After about 10mins of just sanding there I asked if we were allowed to order. The guy at the counter barely wanted to talk to me, I thought there was something wrong with what I was wearing? Anyway we had a coffee, it was OK nothing special and left.

Great music chilling in the background as you enjoy the sun on your back… What more can you ask for.

Love, love this place. It is small corner café in the Dale. But the coffee here is amazing. Whenever I find myself in this area, I make sure that I come here for my daily coffee (s). But I have never found it empty — always busy, and it’s not hard to see why. Because even if everything in this place was bad, it is completely worth coming here for the coffee. It is good — trust me.
Food here is between toast, muesli or pies/​sausage rolls. As everyone who has reviewed this café have already said, they do lamb shank pies. But personally I love the quiches here more than anything else. Not saying that the pies aren’t good, they are amazing, but I prefer the quiches. And if you are feeling good — the Avocado toast is done well.
One of the best parts about this place is the ‘local’ and ‘homey’ atmosphere. As there is only about 4 tables and chairs, a lot of the patrons sit outside on the street, leaning against the outer walls of the café. It is extremely relaxed, and always a good start to a weekend.

I just had a skim latte and it was delicious, quite strong in flavour. It’s a little hole in the wall with a faux secret door into a library sit down area. Great service and nice and cool on a hot day.

If you’re looking for great coffee, tea or lamb shank pie this is the place for you! Yes I said lamb shank pie!!! I’ve never tasted anything remotely as good as this pie!
I was in the area do thought I’ll try it out, it’s on a quiet street, all the locals drop in and out and the staff are friendly. It’s a stylish place, great for alone time or if you’re like me and need of some catching up on work, bring your laptop and feel inspired.

I’ve been here a few times, mostly for coffee but sometimes for meals. Needless to say, their coffee is fantastic! You are greeted by the the familiar scent of roasted coffee as you walk in the door.
They’ve got a good food menu too. Try the quiches and brownies. They’re my favourite!
There’s a movable bookshelf (like in the spy movies!) that leads to a hidden room on the right. Great selection of books to browse through as you wait for the meal.

There’s few places that I look forward to visiting as much as this little join
I love it’s hidden location, the fact that you don’t need to wait 30mins for a table, that you see a mis mash of hipsters, students and young mums all frequenting this joint. Oh by the way, the coffee is awesome

Love love love this place. I would come here everyday if I lived a little closer.
Coffee is always at least ⁹⁄₁₀ — usually ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Really friendly, chilled out and highly skilled baristas. And the Black Star pastries are always divine!

Awesome spot for a coffee and a pastry! The interior décor is amazing, like an old book shop with hidden doors and high backed leather chairs, and if you’re lucky, you can snag a seat looking out of the huge picture window…
The coffee is their own Little Marrionette roast, so you know it’s good. The provisions are Black Star, I recommend the lamb shank pie, it’s amazing.
The people running the shop are awesome and there are a lot of them, so the wait is never long which isn’t always true here in Sydney.
Best place in Annandale for a coffee!

I’m really glad to see that this place has received the plaudits it deserves.
My one ever-​so-​slight gripe would be that the regular coffees are pretty small — but I would counter this with that they are very cheap for the area. And you can always upgrade.
So, basically, it’s my bad.
The Marionette has a pretty simple recipe for success — great staff, great coffee and great surroundings.
A little gem, just off Parramatta Road — check it out!

One of the best coffee experience In some time. I put these guys up there with the likes of Mecca, White horse & alchemy. Passion for coffee is obvious. What’s more impressive is the unpretentious manner with which they execute.
They lose a star for the lack of food offering, NOT the coffee

I’m lucky that this is a local! Fantastic coffee and the best avocado on toast in Sydney. If you can score a seat, happy days.

Since my return to Sydney I’ve been compiling a list of good cafes — and a number of boxes need to be ticked to make it to the list. Good coffee is an obvious one, but location is important, atmosphere and friendly service all factor in. This place hits every nail on the head.
Coffee? Check — I can be a bit of a critic at times, but this place passed with flying colours.
Location — Annandale is a great area of Sydney, and the tree lined street makes a great, quiet setting to enjoy a coffee with friends.
Atmosphere — large windows and a speakeasy style hidden room make for an interesting atmosphere. Small tables in the sun are great whilst the summer weather is here.
Service — the guys behind the counter are passionate about what they do, and friendly as well.
I will definitely return
Coffee: Double macchiato
Bean: Little Marionette
Crema: Very good ⁹⁄₁₀
Overall Taste: Very good ⁹⁄₁₀
Served in: Small glass (+1)
Preparation: Well made, not too much milk, well frothed, well poured.

Seems we have a contender. On a rainy day such as today, in search for an awesome café, serving well made coffee, and maybe even a nice pastry or such, you’d think was asking too much? And then I found the Little Marionette on the Dale. Such an awesome laid back café with brilliant service ticked all of the boxes.
In fact as I drove by this café, nearly missing it thanks to the lack of obvious signage, I was lucky that I saw someone walk out of their doorway holding a coffee. Otherwise I may have missed out on a well made dbl mac, a nice crispy pastry, and a clean cold filtered coffee. As it turned out, I missed out on non of the above. :-)
I was also interested to see that they have a roaster in the back, which would explain much of their interest in making great coffee. I certainly look forward to going back again, if for no other reason to find out how consistent their coffee is.
If you are in the area, this is a great café to get yourself to.
Café Summary
— — — — — — — —
Passion for Coffee — ⁹⁄₁₀
Coffee beans — Self roasted
Crema (1=burnt, 10=velvet) — ⁹⁄₁₀
Special coffees avail? — Cold drip filtered
More information —

We’ve tried this café a few times now. Not for foodies — though it does get supplies from Black Star in Newtown — it’s more of a purest coffee spot. Their coffee is good and strong and very worthwhile stopping by just for this. The venue is quaint and cosy, with a painted fake bookcase that leads into a lounging area in a separated part of the café. Recommended for those that enjoy their coffee.

I want to come clean and admit my Nescafe addiction. I’m well aware that this isn’t actually coffee in the truest and strictest sense. I’m also aware that my other accompanying fondness for filter coffee isn’t really coffee. But it’s like fuel to me: the machine doesn’t run properly without it.
That said, I know real coffee when I taste it and I know good coffee when I taste it. This is it. Little Marionette beans are soft and subtle, making a really gentle long black. And you know it’s fresh when you can see the bags of beans in the back room.
Mix in a swinging secret bookcase (I am a House On Haunted Hill /​trap house enthusiast) and the fact that the staff plied us with free pastries when we visited late one afternoon and you have the mix for a great café. And the blueberry danish was unbelievable. I’m glad I ate it at home, lest I scandalise the general public with my reaction.

There’s something a little bit secretive about The Little Marionette.
It would be easy to mistake the Annandale café for an empty shopfront or an abandoned house. In fact, with no signage on the building, you could walk straight past without even registering it was there. That is, if it weren’t for the smell of coffee beans wafting through the windows and the throngs of milling hipsters spilling onto the footpath.
Once you step your way through the dogs and fixie bicycles leaning against signposts, the staff greet you with a laidback «Hey», despite how busy they must be. The sky blue mural on the roof (complete with clouds) gives the impression that this tiny shoe-​box of a café is far more expansive than in reality, and indeed it is when compared to its hole-​in-​the-​wall predecessor in Balmain.
There’s a floor to ceiling bookshelf stacked with Little Golden Books, travel guides and encyclopedias, and if you lift the right book the entire wall revolves revealing a hidden second room packed with giant green leather couches. Whilst moose heads are no longer mounted on the walls, you still get the feeling that you’ve stumbled into a hunter’s trophy room to discuss covert matters over cuban cigars. Local indie artists trickle through the stereo and, it seems, the same indie artists are squatting on the arms of the couches, knocking back one little coffee after another.
In the roasting room out the back stacks of hessian bags are being emptied into the giant copper roaster by a couple of guys in flannelette shirts, rolled up jeans and caps akin to those your grandad wore, and the smell of the roasting beans is just as sweet and warming as the coffee itself.
With beans from Africa, Indonesia and South America, you take your pick between house blends and a daily differing bean (today it’s a Honduras). The coffee is a bit hit and miss depending on who’s pulling the strings, but even at its worst it’s still a good eight out of ten (it’s a ten plus the rest of the time).
So, get in on the secret. Be mysterious and important. Pull the fire stoker and sneak away to the hidden room, order your second coffee and discuss world events (or last night’s Game of Thrones episode) in a hushed voice.