The Reformatory Caffeine Lab

Best coffee in Surry Hills! Close to my work, so it’s a twice a day visit. Great coffee at a great price.

Would I travel across the harbour bridge to the city, and make my way across to Surry Hills, purely for the coffee here? Yes, and I have, time and time again.
Thank you Unilocalers for your reviews and bookmarks! Had it not been for seeing this on my Unilocal news feed, I would have never known about this café.
Best coffee I’ve ever had!!! I’m in love. Super strong, rich flavours, bitter but in the way that shows off the true taste of the bean. The froth is just as perfect — creamy, rich and generous. The coffee as a whole was smooth.
Didn’t know if the café would be overhyped by Unilocal but the Unilocalers were true to their word!
This is not for those who like their coffees weak. Also there’s no seating area, it’s just a coffee bar that has a small entrance and is a little hard to find.

Recommended by one of the biggest coffee geeks in Melbourne, I was here within an hour of her recommendation and I came here 3 times while I was in Sydney.
Their presentation for filter coffee is good, they give you a small amount of the ground coffee to smell which is great to give you perspective on the coffee. Custom made serving boards, milk based coffee cups were an ‘interesting’ choice. No seating which I wasn’t too bothered by.
The fit out is very interesting. I kind of like it but not somewhere I find too comfortable.
My issue with this place was all the coffee i had was just alright, not good or bad, just alright. My last visit i opted for the high end filter coffee which i have had before and knew what i was in for but it was let down by the barista. It was a bit sour and not as complex as it has been before, and at $ 15, i expected better.

Excellent coffee and delightful cinnamon scrolls and cronuts. The staff are friendly and clearly know what they’re doing. Favourite place for a quick coffee in Surry Hills.

Such great coffee place! No seating, but will definitely love the coffee culture here. Oh, and I love how they present the coffee! an artist with passion!

It is unfair to compare the Reformatory against other Sydney cafes. This it the only café I’ve ever been to that at times has a filter coffee board filled with 90+ coffee. On average days it’s filled with geshas, naturals, honeys, and everything else under the sun. You truly are spoilt for choice here, and as Simon would say, «Because we can».
You can also have the coffee made in any fashion you like. The only coffee I haven’t had here is a Turkish coffee, but I can live with that. I’d recommend that when you come here you have a couple of espressos, a couple of filters and a cold drip (for starters).
This is a café that is passionate about coffee, so be sure to ask what the staff think you should be drinking. They won’t lead you astray. And when you come, don’t be surprised that it is standing room only. This is a place to drink coffee, not lounge around in.
Passion: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Crema: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Coffee: Reformatory Caffeine LAB

I really didn’t like the coffee here. It could be just me, as these guys have really good reviews and are known to be pretty good. But I just personally did not like the taste. Only went the once, so perhaps I need to give them another go. Interior is very cool (though it’s very much just a coffee place — I don’t think they have tables and chairs).

So I’ve heard a lot about this place, so decided to go there for my afternoon coffee. The coffee here is fantastic. It is a much more darker bean then surrounding cafés. If you want a more lighter bean don’t come here. But if you love a dark roasted coffee experience come running!
The staff truly love their coffee and you can taste it.
Just a warning, there isn’t really a place to sit so this is more of a grab and go kind of place.