Detour Espresso Bar

Nicest people and best coffee around! Been going here daily for a while now and I’ve never been disappointed.

Really good coffee, great staff and the best bagels this displaced American has yet to find in Sydney. Cool vibe and a nice place to settle out.

Its easy to miss this coffee bar on busy (car traffic) William St but if you do happen to be in the area it is a good visit. Coffee is good but the variety of breakfast options is high quality. The service is extremely friendly, i was even offered a glass of water while waiting on line.

To make you understand how friendly the staff is here — when I walked in the first time, it was a hot day, as I sat and waited for my take away order, one of the workers here came up to me with a glass of water. Further, the person making my sandwich gave me extra napkins, as I mentioned I was going to be eating in Hyde Park. So this place makes you feel at home. If Cheers the TV show was a café instead of a bar, this place would be it.
Saying the food and coffee here is good. In all honesty the food is better than the coffee. Yes, you can get get a better cup of coffee in Room 10, but that is just a marginally better cup. But the food here is fantastic. I got a vegetarian sandwich — now you think there isn’t much you can do with that. But it was great.
Now this place is small — hence why I went and ate in the Park. But if you can get a seat I think the atmosphere here would be interesting. So yes this is a winner.

Finally, a shining beacon of truth and laughter shines its light upon the godforsaken windswept concrete corridor of hell that is William St (which, ironically enough, was once planned to be Sydney’s answer to the Champs Elysee. .. cue a Nelson Munce «Ha ha!»)
Detour Bar really is. People cross the road and come from streets away to get a hot injection of happy humanity on a shitty cold morning on their way to work. The staff here are the greatest. Laid back and funny in way that cuts through even the gruffest morning fug, they’ll send you on your way with strong, bold coffees and a smile like a freaking unicorn.
Big, thick, banana bread will run you $ 4.50, and a regular latte $ 3.50. Sit on the little cube chairs outside and watch the world go by and grin and gloat because you’re in like a little coffee-​themed house party with a bunch of friends you just met and they’re not.

The tuna wrap (mine was without the pesto) is also awesome — the best I’ve tasted in Sydney, heck, maybe anywhere …

This place is awesome, if you love expresso then this is the best place in Sydney. The vibe is great, the place looks cool and the baristas are the best!!!
I wish this café was in California!

Detour Espresso Bar is such a good find. The staff are fantastic and the food is CHEAP.
The guys that work here are super friendly and accommodating. Genuinely greeting us at the door, as we perused the menu, mentioning that it could be tricky on a gluten free diet, they offered up changes to the menu without us even asking. «We can do whatever you want!» they offered, a surprise alternative to the many begrudging responses I’ve encountered. These guys bend over backwards to help you, maintaining a smile all the while (and I can’t even do a handstand).
Whilst the super busy William St strip of the Cross doesn’t seem like the nicest place to sit for lunch, Detour has a great vibe both inside and out on their butt-​hugging street-​side seats. There’s no barrier between customer and crew here, with the skinny bench that lines the left of the café directly facing the kitchen/​long-​skinny cooking bench that lines the opposite wall. This means that customers are less than four metres away from where the action happens.
This closeness between crew and customers is not just spacial, but also applies to the relationships that Detour has with its clientèle. The day we dined here, hoards of school girls filled the inside and outside tables. When we asked the barista which school they were from, she informed us that SCEGGS high school was directly behind the café (whilst handing a drink to one of them, calling them by name). «These girls have just finished their HSC English exam!» she told us, looking over them like a proud mum. «We’re so happy for them — but still nervous!» The staff joked around with the girls and you could tell that they had earned their loyalty.
The guys at Detour have their own blend of coffee which isn’t too bad. The food is simple but good and their menu is cheap cheap cheap too, with sizeable salads and paninis for $ 8.50. And, with Belgian Waffles on the menu for $ 3 (with optional vanilla gelato and nutella for $ 1 each) I can see how they’ve lured in the school kids, locking it in with old-​school Coke Spiders.
Detour is basic but great — and whilst it’s not rocket science, the prep-​time sticker system (Fast, Faster, Fastest) is a good idea and makes the café worth the detour if you’re on the run.

Located conveniently on the Darlinghurst side of William Street (convenient because it’s on my walk to work), this small café takes pride in its coffee and it shows! Owner Stephen Dyer has done away with the coffee snobbery that seems to have gripped Sydney over the last few years and created a caffeine-​haven, where you can get your morning hit and engage in a bit of conversation to start your day. The friendly staff will also offer you a glass of water while you wait for your take-​away order. And if you’re hungry, they have a selection of café favourites, rated by the speed at which you’ll receive them.
We all know Sydney isn’t short of places to get your caffeine fix, but if you think this is just another bog-​standard supplier, think again!