Sonoma Bakery Cafe - Waterloo NSW

Sonoma breads use simple ingredients like sea salt, sourdough starters and organic flour.  Their signature creations are the Sonoma Miche, with a stand out caramelised crust and the Sonoma Mission, with a contrasting inside of custard feel covered by a golden chewy crust outside.   There is also the pervasive and unique smoky flavour.....

The inspiration for Sonoma bread came from the delights of wood fired ovens and naturally fermented ingredients.   A hundred year old mixer from Bellata NSW came into the picture, together with some California influence in the form of American Allan Scott.  Bellata lies in north central NSW between Narribri and Moree -  and was the home base of the Sonoma founder's grandparents.

Standards like soy and linseed plus walnut fig and raisin are available along side an eleven seed loaf and a Kalamata olive and herbs combo.   The bite and look of the various breads here do stand out as being different.

Muesli cookies are lovely to me but you can also have other options like raw natural, spelt, maple and almond plus honey and spice combinations.

Coffee blends are divided into body and spirit labels.  The former, which I prefer, is stronger, taste more nutty and earthy, suitable for milk based orders and has a buttery and velvety body.  The latter has more complex sensations, with more of cocoa and fruity after taste, so they tend to be more acidic and body smooth.   The Single Origins are from Ethiopia, Kenya and Guatemala.

Sonoma has come a long way since 1997, when founder Kerry Connole began his operations with sons Christian and Andrew.   Along the way was a stall at Paddington markets in inner suburban Sydney.  Perhaps a key development in the Sonoma story was son Andrew's sojourn to and stay in California with Chad Robertson, an icon in sourdough.

Their emphasis on organic sourcing and a then rather unconventional way of baking have remained their trademarks and reputation.   Retail outlets are not large and remain true to village and neighbourhood embracing roots.   Such an ambiance do go well with the inner city and beach locations in which they are currently located.   They contrast with other commercial players in this space - oh no, I would not want to pick a loaf from Coles or Woolworths again...

The Petit Bretton butter cake or more correctly, the Kouign Amann, is more for sugar loving devotees, with creme patisserie loaded between layers of sugar,  butter and flaky pastry.   I like the cherry cheesecake strudel, although there are other favourites like the almond croissant,  Pain Au Chocolat, hazelnut brownies, banana loaf slice, quiche and the fruit Danish.

There are seven outlets in the greater Sydney area, but mainly clustered in the city centre and on the sea board side, including Balmain, Bondi, Woolhara, Paddington, Glebe and Rose Bay.


Sonoma Bakery Cafe Waterloo is located at 2/9 Danks Street in a suburb not far from Oxford Street in Darlinghurst and Moore Park.
Telephone: +612 9699 1920
Opening Hours are from 630am to 3pm every day.