Ampersand On Crown Cafe, Bar & BookStore

I had a dream. A dream where all cafes can freely express their coffee art and brunch mastery without the constraints of taste (wait what??). A dream that one day trying will actually make a difference when it comes to serving hot coffee.
But it was only a dream.
Since I’m guessing that I am being a bit obscure, let me develop.
Ampersand Café works on the same model than a million … thousand? … ok a hundred of places in Sydney suffer from: a classic menu, good but not remarkable food, decent coffee but nothing crazy.
It’s convenient and consistent, and that is a good thing. But it takes you on a different track than great places.
I feel that in such a location with two stories, being licensed, with a very nice staff and a dedicated owner — I live above the place and he spends a LOT of time working for his venue — so much more unexpected and great things could happen here.
I recommend it because it is nice, comfortable with a competent polite staff. I am also waiting for the moment it becomes great.

Staff are usually rude, the food is overpriced and the coffee is pretty bland. There are some great cafés along Crown St! This is not one of them.
The Crown St Grocer does great coffee, and the cafés a few doors down offer amazing food. The ONLY benefit of this place is the outdoor seating, but you can sit on the grass for free.
Find somewhere else to go. You’re worth it.

Came with a group of 4 on Friday for brunch. The waiter who served us was very nice and thoughtful (a friend showed up later and without asking he brought over another chair to the table and took her order too). The time it took for the food to arrive was rather long. Perhaps the kitchen was understaffed? It wasn’t particularly busy either since there were a couple of empty tables (not sure about upstairs).

They make a damn good chai latte… some of the wait staff act a little too cool for school though… I get it, your really trendy and cool and you work in a Surry Hills café… :I pricey but hey look where it is… all in all i’ll probably go back because 1 good chai and coffee and 2 you can sit on the wall outside in the sun… good location!

Great Paddington café and bookstore on busy Oxford street. Solid breakfast and pastry options with helpful service and free wi-​fi.

Worst brunch experience I’ve ever had in Sydney. Brunch is one of the things I most look forward to during the week, and that was completely shot to shit at Ampersand this morning. I have walked by this place hundreds of times — it always appeared crowded, and yet I never stopped in. For the record: I would have saved three painstaking hours of my life if I never gave it a go. Waited an hour just to get a juice after being told twice that there were «a lot of juices in the queue, and they are all made-​to-​order.» For the record, most juices at Sydney cafés are made fresh, and have never taken more than 15 – 20 minutes max. Meanwhile everyone around me (who arrived after I did) magically appeared to have a juice in hand. Waited about an hour and a half for a sandwich, which was good, but not worth the time it took. Now I know why I never bothered to try this place out, and why I sure as hell will never step foot in Ampersand again.

Great place for weekend brunch. A bit pricey however I found the food faultless. Love the option of sitting outside.

Trying a new place for Brunch, all our usual places closed, some until next week.
Service so far has been crap, asked the waitress to take our coffee order, she took off and said I’ll just go and get it for you.
Hadn’t ordered it yet, when we did order she came back and asked if it was a flat white I wanted, large skinny latte doesn’t sound like flat white to me.
Let’s see what the food is like .
COLD COFFEE, NO EXCUSE, I even ordered a HOT COFFEE.
COLD FOOD to go with the COLD COFFEE, I suppose they could claim consistency.
Served on my PET HATE, dirty looking/​old boards, not trendy any more and should never have bee, they are reservoirs for Salmonella as well as other food bacteria.
Only good point was the Corn Fritters were tasty, full of corn, the avocado fresh and tasty as well.
They get the 2 stars for the fritters, 0 stars for service and coffee.
Not likely to come back or recommend.

Good coffee but just not the same as the original Ampersand on Oxford Street. If you are in the area, definately worth a look in!

If right next door was not some of the best cafes in Sydney, this place would probably get at least 4 stars, however, compared to the places in the area, it is ok.
The coffee was alright, but extremely weak for my liking. But if you like milky coffee, then you might prefer it here over 4 ate 5 or Robocog.
The food is good, but again you have such good food in this area like Book Kitchen, Bourke St Bakery, that I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.

The concept is cool, as it’s a book store and you can read while waiting for your food, but the service left a lot to be desired, they took ages to bring our food and when it did come, the orders were wrong. The food was okay, but there is much better food at other cafes in Surry Hills to be honest, so I probably wouldn’t go back.

Serving sizes are good. The service is lacking.
Something happened with the recent change of management. You can wait a very long time for your order to be taken and for the food to come out. I was there recently with a group of people. I was embarrassed that my choice of café made them late to their next appointment.
This café is spacious and the location is excellent. The upstairs tables are great for meeting. The breakfast menu is also excellent. The coffee and the service could be better.

Great location! Love the food here!
And the proportions are huge so the price of the meals are worth it!
This place does get busy due to its popular status and seeing as it’s known for its bookstore concept, getting a seat upstairs amongst the books can get a little difficult during lunch times. Otherwise, theres an option of outdoor or indoor seatings downstairs, which is quite nice too :)

Hmm headed up for brunch on a Sunday… I know this place is busy as I’ve cycled past a few times but didn’t think much of it. Everywhere on Crown St seems to busy. The food is so so, prices on par with all the rest of the cafes in Surry Hills but must say I’ve had better but the service wasn’t very good. The staff I think weren’t really that customer friendly probably because they were run off their feet but no excuse. I won’t be back anytime soon.

As a book shop, amazing. The selection is incredible. Sadly, the quality off the $ 1 Book Bin out the front has crashed and burnt. Once, a good selection of wide-​interest books. Now, the dregs of how-​to and non-​fiction manuals from the 60s.
Inside, there are bookshelves and books everywhere — there is one big table on the top floor that would be good for groups, but I don’t know if they take bookings for it. I’d avoid taking kids unless they are avid readers.
The selection of cold drinks is awesome.
The food… not so much. On two seperate ocassions, the bagels were stale — even toasting didn’t save those dry old things. The omelette I had was bland and greasy, though the side of mushrooms were delicious. The milkshake was okay, nothing to write home about.
One of our latest visits, my mother’s coffee was totally forgotten. The staff take ages with take away orders.
I miss the amazing custom iced teas Ampersand used to serve, but I feel that a change of management has occured since I first started coming here.
For a cold drink and a second hand book from inside the store (though, not that much cheaper than a brand new copy), its a lovely place to sit and read, or check your email. But don’t bother with the food.
ETA: on a recent morning, I desperately needed a bottle of water. Only to find that the 12 people inside weren’t waiting for their orders, they were waiting to order. With 4 – 5 staff behind the counter, the line should not have been that bad. I won’t go back in — it’s gotten way too disorganised.

If you’re in need of a quiet place of solitude and respite from the world, the upstairs lounge area of Ampersand is the best place around Crown St to do it. Grab your beverage of choice, head up the stairs and bang a left and you’ll be ensconced in a warm leather chair, surrounded by a treasure trove of tomes whilst you recover from the mornings trials and tribulations. If that’s not your thing, then just grab a seat at one of the tables outside and watch to crowds roll by, either way, Ampersand has you covered. I’ve been back a few times, and this place always brings a smile to my face. Perfect coffee shop…

Best café spot in Surry Hills with breezy open space between them and the library neighbour.
Grab a seat upstairs in the cozy library on a chilly day and snug into a good book, chai, or freshly squeezed juices. There’s a chess set there too, and service was great.
All the books you see here are for sale, and there’s an impressive selection. No wi-​fi in store but if you promise not to report me, you can get within the library’s wi fi range ;)
Food is average café fare, nothing outstanding but it doesn’t really matter when you have a great concept and set up. I’m a fan :)

History tells us that there was once a land bridge connecting North America and Europe. Well, Ampersand does to working and reading and coffee what that land bridge once did for those continents.
I know that’s a really clumsy example, I know, but my ham-​fisted parallels aside, grab your lappie and set up shop upstairs in the Surry Hills Ampersand, sister of the Paddington stalwart, where you get a fresh breeze, a cracking view of Crown St and coffees and sweet treats brought to you by young, chat-​friendly wait staff who won’t give you the ol’ stink-​eye for kicking back for a few hours and enjoying the ambience.
If you want to feel important adjourn to their library room, a classy dim-​lit affair which smacks of a prestigious London gentleman’s club.
Absurdly good.

Our first visit here was very pleasant, great spring sunshine coming through the large open area upstairs. A communal table was available for us while we waited for friends. The ambience was initially very pleasant with the music at a great level to enjoy a conversation without having to yell.
The food was great we enjoyed the Croque Monsieur wonderfully served on a bread board with the knife was protruding upwards from the breadboard. The steak Sandwich with caramelised onions hit the spot.
My only criticism was that when a few more customers arrived the already hard of hearing young waiter felt it was important to turn the music level up.

Ampersand, I heart you. There really needs to be more places where you can study or sit down and read a book or use your laptop. I just don’t understand why there’s not more of these places (bookstores/​cafes) around Sydney. There’s no shortage of cafes but there definitely should be more loungey spaces like this!
Music was good at the time I was there and definitely gave me some flashbacks from years ago (Rooney! Shhhooo shooo shaaaaaaking!). Banana muffin was fluffy and soft, like a pillow with a light sweetness. Wish they were opened later!