I spotted my first pair of short shorts today. That’s right boys and girls spring is here. Bring on the lazy afternoons in the sun, get your hands on some hayfever tablets and pretty up those legs for shorter hemlines/look forward to those shorter hemlines (depending which category you fall into). There’s nothing like sitting at a cafe sipping a coffee with the golden sunshine warming  burning my hair. Somehow things feel lighter, smoother; all with the help of balmy night drinks on a rooftop somewhere (oh if only my life was so glamorous).

Beatrix is one of the cute cafe’s that suits this type of weather perfectly. Just a few blocks from Errol St, sits a tiny cafe with tiny tables, huge sandwiches and a tempting cake display. The sandwhich changes by the day, so is good for people who are bad at decisions, ie me. They also serve All Press coffee, a mushroom toastie, egg and bacon roll and a few breakfast standards to keep the locals happy. How I wish I was a local! I guess in the meantime I’ll just travel my 1.13 hours to get there and stare at the pretty egg beaters (We beat, you eat) hanging off the ceiling.

Today’s sandwich was the Queen Margot; Warialda belted rare roasted topside with caramelised onion, roquette and gruyere (13.50/15). There was a lot of serious yum factor going on here; just-pink beef, with the sweetness of the onion and slight tang from generous slather of creamy mayo and seeded mayo. I think the best bit was the Lets-a-Loaf ciabatta though, crunchy, chewy and dense without being too hard. It’s a fine line okay! And for a spare $1.50 you get a long roll instead of a round. Its manageable if your really hungry like my dining companion. Or wrap it up, put it in the fridge, eat it later.. go on, up-selling can be good.

The homemade cakes and desserts were another reason I was lured to Beatrix, with a beautiful display of all kinds of blood sugar level increasing goods. Red velet, whoopee pies, tarts of many kinds, carrot cake slathered with cream cheese icing… Because the pregnant lady (they’re always right) on the table next to us advised that the coconut layer cake ($7) was excellent we had to go for it. Soft, buttery coconut insides studded with raspberries that gave it a nice tartness, otherwise it would have been too much. Plus a creamy vanilla buttercream covered in coconut. It was served as a generous slice, more than enough for 2. Judging by the many people who popped in for takeaway cake, it got me thinking that the quality of cakes is no secret.

I’ll definitely be back for some of their other specials I was spying for the rest of the week; stuff along the lines of poached chicken in herbed mayonnaise, dijon dressing, backyard lettuce and chicken crackling; roasted porchetta, tuna, lemon-and-raddiachio slaw. If your intent is on something in particular it may be wise to call ahead. Oh and the brioche doughnuts *vital to note only on Saturdays. Ill be there! Just give me 1.13 hours (+ a bit of dawdle extra time to enjoy the sun on the way).