CAFE > Tropicana, Sydney

Back in 1980 there were very few places in Sydney that served espresso coffee and cappuccino, but one of those was the Tropicana Cafe, know to most as simply ‘the trop’. It is a super casual, laid back place where Sydney learned to fall in love with its number one coffee drink the Cafe Latte.

Back in those early days you would sit on an upturned plastic milk crate on the pavement (sidewalk for my American friends). Food was simple but delicious, Turkish flat bread toasted with jam, focaccia toasted with ham, cheese, tomato and salad and of course the coffee.

In those early days there were a couple of other classic cafe’s across the street and by the 1990’s it was a regular place for Eastern Suburbs road cyclists (MAMILs) to get their caffeine fix after a long ride.

The other big thing that happened in the 1990’s was the launch of the small film festival ‘Trop Fest’ which was initially hosted at the Tropicana Cafe but later expanded to be held in the Sydney Domain with tens of thousands of people turning up.

At the trop the person at the next table could be a firefighter (the Darlinghurst Fire Station is just around the corner), a celebrity (I shared a table with Keanu Reeves once while he was filming the Matrix), a cyclist or a bikie this place is a great leveller. The coffee is still great.

It is still open from 5.30am every morning to 10.00pm every evening seven days a week and no matter if you want a coffee, focaccia, a pasta or something more substantial there will be a seat and tasty food.