I’ve recently moved to Potts Point so Room 10 is now one of my new locals, and I’m feeling pretty damn happy about that! A tiny hole-in-the-wall place that is big on charm, I would say that Room 10’s appeal doesn’t necessarily lie in the coffee or food it produces per se, but in the overall experience – particularly the warmth and friendliness of the staff.

To be honest, the coffees (Mecca beans) aren’t their strong point. I found my skinny flat white rather weak, and a poor comparison to the Allpress takeaway I’d had from Elizabeth Bay Café earlier that morning. EF#2 is a bit more scientific in his analysis, labelling his long black as over-extracted, sitting on the darker side with ashy notes coming through. Hmph. Having said that, we have had coffees at Room 10 previously, which were much more agreeable… so perhaps inconsistent barista work or a darker roast.

But I definitely don’t want to bag the staff!! As mentioned, they are extremely friendly and attentive, so our water glasses were never left empty. Surprisingly though given the space, there are a lot of them (six in a space of about 6 x 4 metres!).

Room 10 Kitchen (well, probably 3/4 of it!)

The menu is casually presented on a piece of off-white crinkled A4…the options are somewhat limited (no eggs bene, omelettes, pancakes etc), which is forgiveable given the limited size of the Room 10 kitchen. However, there are ample enough delectable sandwich options to have me deliberating for a good 5-10 minutes.

Said Menu

I finally went with the double smoked ham concoction. Dericious! This was exactly what I felt like (I love it when you have this kind of satisfaction success at meal time!). The egg was perfectly soft boiled so that when the sandwich was toasted, you don’t get crumbly hard egg yolks. The sarnie was oozing cheese, the taste of ham was subtle but you still knew it was there, and it was toasted ‘just right’. The chilli jam was a nice touch to spice things up a bit.

double smoked ham with cheddar, tomato, smashed egg, chilli jam & rocket ($10)

EF# 2 went with the slow cooked salted beef sandwich. Really just a glorified name for corned beef. He was pretty satisfied with his option, and declared it a twist on the classic that is the reuben sandwich whereby they have swapped the rye for soy and linseed. Originally we were going to go 50/50 on our sammies, but after a few bites of his, I personally found that the sandwich was a bit too heavy on the slaw which had a strong mayo that overpowered the beef. EF#2 had no problem with it however.

slow cooked salted beef on toasted soy & linseed with fresh cabbage slaw, rocket & mustard ($11)

Return Factor? No doubt as to put it simply, we really like Room 10. It provides reasonable value (our total bill was $26 and we felt well satisfied), a casual and friendly experience, and decent grub. There is a real mixture of clientele and is great for people watching as the world wanders by down Llankelly Place – and they even provide small blankets when it’s cold. Sweet!

 Eat Freaks dined here in August 2012