Little River Surry Hills

Little River Surry Hills — a proper neighbourhood bakery from the 40Res team

Every good street needs a bakery, and Reservoir Street now has one worth crossing Surry Hills for. Little River comes from Josh and Keliann, the pair behind neighbouring wine bar 40Res, and takes its name from their young son. The space next door was once pencilled in as a private dining room, but the couple followed a long-held dream instead: somewhere for the small daily rituals, like a loaf on the morning walk, a flat white after school drop-off, or something good to take home for dinner.

The ovens belong to Hannah and Joe Gray, old Tetsuya's colleagues of Josh who went home to England and built Little Sugar into an award-winning bakery before being lured back to Sydney. Joe brings a fine dining CV that runs through two Michelin-starred Midsummer House, while Hannah is a trained sourdough specialist who moved into pastry under Josh's watch. Everything is baked on site daily and the menu follows the seasons, with wattleseed as the house signature, lending its toasty, coffee-ish warmth to breads and pastries. Savoury bakes carry the 40Res kitchen's fingerprints, from a 48-hour wagyu steak bake in Pepe Saya butter puff to a baguette packed with Petersham jamón sliced to order.

Toby's Estate is in the grinder, the shelves hold 40Res pantry favourites to take home, and there's catering and florals on offer too. The best trick, though, is the link between the two venues: dinner guests at 40Res can add a fresh loaf or a cinnamon queenie to their order and collect it on the way out, so tomorrow's breakfast is already sorted.