Day 33: Bistro Dom, 24 Waymouth St

On 33 Thursday, MMC goes bistro troppo. Waymouth street straddles work and play - it's the corporate jungle, colonised by chic. Along the Northern side, George's is too imposing for coffee alone. We agree to meet at Bistro Dom, down-the-road darling of almost three years. The Order: two skinny lattes, to go. The Price: a gasp-worthy $3.50, but for compulsory double shots.

With almost negative street presence, there's a good chance you've walked past BD blink free. The Shopspace: on the net as 'a long narrow lap pool', it's introverted in a way that conventional marketing avoids.
MMC has backup waiting stobie-poleside as friend of MMC has a FML* moment, flaking for the first time. Baristaquaintance in tow, MMC busts the blank page frontage with flourish. Alas, it's service negative. The Greeting: nil. The Service: uh, hello?

Named for the restaurateur's esteemed offsider, BD is the incarnation of 'bistro'. The French concept evokes small restaurants with simple, well-priced fare. In France, patrons of leetle beestro don't expect professional service or printed menus. Back in Oz, caffay patrons expect some kind of fair dinkum howdy. At BD, we're stonewalled by, well, a wall - the strange partition between takeaway and dining-type areas. In shiny mirrored sheen beyond, two staff members conspire about more important things than customer service.

Breakfast can be the most delectable of dine-outs, when priced and prepared to perfection. Online, BD projects breakfast venue de jour, but in person, its long tables are empty to a fault. After service sloth, our ultimate baristess assumes we are eating in, and we argue otherwise. Are we judged for taking away? Quite possibly. Coffees ordered, we settle into the takeaway 'area' with the coffee machine an almost awkward metre away.

Owner Ben Johnston has amassed some coffee cred in Adelaide. His are (or have been) Duthy St Deli (Parkside) and the Queen St Cafe (Croydon). The man himself is rumoured to be a high-flying barista, and our expectations soar. The Pour: no flaw. We're offered pre-pour sugar. The Presentation: cups nicely neutral, lids a sipper-style let-down. The Strength:  two-shots au lait is easily a winner. The Flavour: baristaquaintance proves his mettle - naming something musty in the mouth. It's a back of the cupboard, old beans type of palate puzzler: a points loser, given the stakes.

The lesson: someone wrote of BD, 'it says you are stylish simply for being there'. But with outside incognito and interior service veto, we feel silly simply for ordering coffee there. Ultimately, MMC is bitter - no regular friend to appreciate the up-shot, and no little bistro to rave to stylish friends about.

 

The latte word: a paltry penultimate 3.5 beans out of 5. On finale Friday, it's a chain-to-chain coffee marathon - follow us to your favourite for My Morning Coffee.

*Link: Having a bad day? Share it at fmylife.com