The Two Minute Review: Sister

5 hours ago

2 min read

What should we know about Sister?

It’s All Saints’ Day on Lennox Street – and not a sinner in sight. On this leafy strip of suburbia you’d never know that Halloween has come and gone just hours before. The Celts celebrated Samhain as the start of winter, but looking at the coloured canopies above we beg to differ. So, it seems, does Sister, the new Portobello café from one of the sisters from the Saucy Cow team, whose walk-in only setup and reputation for crowds have warranted our 9am arrival – Autumn menus sit on every empty table.

So, they’re not that busy?

Not first thing on this sleepy Sunday morning, at least. By the time we leave though things are more tightly packed, with turned tables both inside and (unseasonably warm) out filling fast with faces looking a little worse for wear. They perked up after the first sip. Drinks here are a real draw, with lovingly labelled house syrups showcasing the seasonal creativity that’s had us planning to pop by.

You’d nearly wish for winter with the warming effect of the ancho and tangerine hot chocolate (€6), a fruity-feisty start that could only be improved with a little Cointreau (sadly too early). A coconut caramel iced latte (€5.70) has more balanced sweetness than a hot banana bread latte (€6), whose mounting finish you’d want a serious sweet tooth to savour. That’s often the case here – generous pours to justify the (up to) €1.50 premium per cup, which tended to lean too sweet for our tastes.

There’s generous and then there’s gigantic. Nobody here looks hard-up enough to need a feed like the smoky maple TLT (€14.50). We manage half the thick toasted sammidge between us. Not for want of trying – we’ve rarely had tofu with texture this good, so soft and juicy you’d nearly believe it’s bacon. Much of this menu is vegan, all of it veggie, but they don’t shout about it. When food’s good, it’s good enough for everyone.

If we’d known just how good the tofu was we might have swapped the breakfast wrap (€15) for even more of it in the Asian rice paper wrap. Rolled tight and seared sealed, this does well to contain the refried beans and soft scramble that could just use crispier roasties inside – Honest to Goodness’ hash browns have the better idea. Chipotle mayo could stand to be stronger too, but a tabletop bottle helps with that.

Mesoamerican influence is all over these dishes, very literally in the hand-glazed finish of the plates brought back from Mexican markets. A smoky-sweet cashew and cranberry salsa macha makes the mushroom miso toast (€15.50) the best of the bunch. Chewy chilli crunch punctuates smooth slicks of miso hummus and meaty morsels of seared chestnut mushrooms and avocado. A premium way to start the day.

What’s the verdict on Sister?

As we bring takeaway coffees out into a gradually less sleepy Sunday, just about resisting the pastries bought in from Naked Bakes, the growing crowd along the leaf-speckled street starts to look more like what we’d expected. Plenty of cafés are worth queuing for. For this one, we’d even wake up early.