Artie & Mai

Artie and Mai is a fab foodie’s café bar in the quaint heritage listed Albion terrace which in the past has housed Swedish and Italian restaurants.

Artie and Mai (named after the owners’ children) is a popular neighbourhood drinking and dining hub thanks to its eclectic all-day menu, boutique drinks list and homey ambient surrounds. Not to mention that almost everything here is chef-made, in-house - from the sauces to the pizza base to the pate.

Starting with breakfast, expect to find traditional favourites with a twist: house made banana bread with butterscotch cream, green pea and ricotta bruschetta with poached eggs or French toast with prosciutto, goats cheese, cinnamon and honey. Also hard to beat is the Eggs Benedict on sourdough with ham off the bone or smoked salmon.

Lunch choices range from classic beef burger, a deli style lunch plate, house salad or salmon baked pie to the house sandwiches, which come with rustic cut chips and salad and boast fillings such as Batlow Cider roasted pork with apple sauce or Lebanese eggplant, blue cheese and cherry tomato chutney.

On weekends gourmet rustic pizzas are available from midday, otherwise through the week they are part of the evening menu which kicks in at 3 pm. Again, the toppings are anything but traditional (think butter chicken, pineapple, red apple, baby spinach salad and yoghurt) but they work.

The rest of the evening menu largely revolves around sharing, with charcuterie or chef’s cheese plates, small plates (also available from 12 on weekends) like lamb cutlet with curry dipping sauce, mini burrito or grilled haloumi with honey mustard glaze. Otherwise large (dinner) plates including Chateaubriand, barramundi, slow cooked lamb with vegies and vegetable baked pasta are available.

On the dessert front, things are kept short and sweet, with Mars Bar cheesecake, spiced apple tart and smashed slab chocolate brownie on offer.

Artie and Mai is also a fully licensed bar, making it a great neighbourhood drop-in for a small bite with a craft beer or cider or glass of wine or champagne. The beer here hails from three brewing companies: Holgate, Burleigh Brewing and Murrays and the wine from Oz, NZ and Spain. And a small but perfectly formed cocktail list is having the finishing touches put on to it.

Good to know - Out back is a rustic brick walled dining room with large pine table and cushioned wall seat that can be a private dining room or perfect for mother’s group gathering.

The menu may have changed since our visit.

Check out the best places to eat, drink and visit in Albion HERE