FAVED CAFE

FAVED is a Thai-inspired brunch cafe and bar that took over the ground floor of the Kirketon Hotel at 229 Darlinghurst Road, opening from 6:30am on weekdays and 7:30am on weekends and running the kitchen through to mid-afternoon, seven days. The pitch is unusual and it works: the drinks list runs from proper espresso to strawberry matcha, while the kitchen folds Thai flavours into brunch formats. It is also one of the few spots in the Kings Cross end of Darlinghurst that makes a point of welcoming dogs.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the footpath tables out front on Darlinghurst Road, straight off the pavement, which keeps the whole operation simple: walk up, tie the lead to the chair, order. Staff are accommodating and will bring out a water bowl on request. Indoors is people territory, so this is fair-weather territory, though the footpath gets morning shade and the street life gives a settled dog something to watch. Weekday mornings are quieter than the weekend brunch push.

The menu

The all-day menu is the reason people talk about this place: chashu eggs benedict, the katsu sando, a tamago sando, tom yum risotto and a matcha Basque-style cheesecake, with the strawberry matcha as the photogenic order. The bar side runs a daytime happy hour from late morning to mid-afternoon with discounted cocktails, which is a generous way to extend a brunch. Portions and presentation get consistent praise from reviewers, and the kitchen handles the early breakfast crowd as competently as the late-lunch table.

Getting there and parking

Metered street parking on Darlinghurst Road and the side streets is tight, with paid lots nearby, so Kings Cross Station, a short walk away, is the easy arrival. Buses along Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street stop within a block. If you are driving with a dog, the Victoria Street side tends to be the calmer kerb.

Close by with the dogs

The location is better for dogs than the address suggests. Green Park, at the corner of Victoria and Burton Streets beside St Vincent's, is a City of Sydney park where dogs are allowed off lead at all times, though the monuments in the park are out of bounds and voice control is required. That makes the classic loop easy: off-lead time at Green Park, then a footpath table at FAVED. For more green space, Embarkation Park sits up the hill toward Potts Point, and Cafe NAS offers a courtyard alternative a few streets away, with Desert Rose Cafe also dog-friendly nearby.

Seven-day opening, an off-lead park on the same block and a menu nobody else in the postcode is doing. Go mid-morning on a weekday for the quietest version of it.

Max: Katsu sando for her, pats from every second passer-by for me, and Green Park for a run afterwards. Deal.