Fix Cafe

Scores:
Coffee: 13/20
Whole experience (cafe + coffee): 25/40
Bean: Double Roasters

Wednesday: Working in strange locations can force even the nerdiest of us to make concessions in what we drink. A location that seems desolate and shit can make even the most average of establishments look like fantastic havens for good caffeine. The nice thing about this is that it can lead to some wonderful discoveries. However, it can also lead to some earth-shatteringly bad tasting sensations.

Happily, today, this is the tale of the former. In my mind, having grown up around the Lower North Shore, perhaps unlike many other North Shore kids, I think that this side of the harbour is full of all things out to kill culture (ironically I work in a creative field on this side of the harbour), coffee is no exception here. You may remember my joy of finding Bean Drinking in Crows Nest. And I am happy to write about discovery number 2 of Crows Nest - Fix.

Fix is in an odd location for a coffee shop, not quite sitting on the main street of Crows Nest, not quite sitting in the pedestrian strip, yet, it does seem to capture some traffic. So as the saying goes, build it and they will come.

I walk in on a reasonably wet Wednesday arvo between rainstorms and go up the counter; the barista asks me what I’m looking for - I go latte with no reasoning and take a seat.

Fix as a cafe, does not have the best ascetics, but does ok with the space, white walls and the mirrors help.  It somewhat resembles Wedge in Glebe (not reviewed yet, sorry!) but without those cool huge windows or the space - it feels a little cramped (especially when the windows are close because of the rain), but hey it’s warm and most of us are here for the coffee right? Maybe the words I should be using are cosy and bright.

The coffee fits this feeling, while well looked after in the presentation (came with a chocolate and the barista ensured the coffee cup looked neat and clean), it simply lacked the coffee art to give it that extra appeal.

Luckily, the aroma came through. I found it rich, yet quite fresh.  It had a bit of a nutty smell to it, with hints of the roaster coming through. A wonderful fix for a wet arvo - (I made a funny).

The real winning thing here is the taste, nutty (hazelnut perhaps), earthy and a little on the caramel side, with a heavy roasted flavour. It is overall a wonderful drink.

I had to find out at this point what the roast was, and behold it’s a Double Roasters blend, my top rated café down in Marrickville. It was interesting to see it’s blend being done here as my experience of the few times I’ve been down to Double Roasters I found their coffee far lighter on the roasted aroma and flavour.

Overall, while not the best space it’s definitely easy enough to chill here for a while. The baristas are reasonably chatty, the coffee both tastes and smells super appealing and it’s amazing to find that they have some of Sydney’s coolest coffee on the grind.  Fix is a second lower north shore winner for those looking for a quality coffee.

Scores:
1. Coffee score
Style (look and feel): 5/10 (so neat)
Experience (taste and smell): 8/10
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Coffee total: 13/20
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2. Cafe score 
Style (what’s it feel like): an oddly shaped white box
Cool?: 5/10
Service: 7/10
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Cafe: 12/20
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Whole experience (coffee + cafe): 25/40

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