Opened in June 2016, Little Giant Roasters is owned and run by husband and wife duo, Michael and Vivian Chen.
Previously, they had owned a café in Melbourne for five years and spent time living in Hobart. Ready for a new challenge, they made the decision to move to Sydney and came across their next business venture, taking over Little Giant Roasters in December 2017.
“We were after a community focussed café, so when the opportunity came up for Little Giant Roasters, it was too good to pass up,” says Michael.
The café’s brew bar features a La Marzocco coffee machine, Mahlkonig EK grinder, and Anfim grinder. It serves Ona Coffee’s The Hitman blend, specially crafted for milk-based coffees with beans sourced predominantly from Brazil, and blended with beans from Indonesia and India.
“It is a full-bodied comfort coffee with flavours of caramel, nut and spice. I like the coffee blend but I also like Ona’s company culture too, which is based on honesty, fairness and building strong relationships. They work directly with coffee farms to support farming communities,” Michael says.
For its espresso-based coffees, Little Giant Roasters uses Ona Coffee’s single origin selection, with the menu offering changing every two weeks.
The café also specialises in filter coffee, made with a single origin variety specially roasted for this type of brew method. Cold brew and batch brew are also available, together with organic teas, and fresh pressed juices.
Along with his passion for coffee, Michael is a qualified chef. Although coffee is still a major focus of the café, he and Vivian have worked together to extend the menu offering.
Serving all day breakfast and lunch, the menu changes with the seasons. “It’s an inspired menu, using fresh and local ingredients,” Michael adds. “It’s a traditional café style menu, but we add a creative twist.”
The Tater Benny has become the café’s signature – a twist on the traditional eggs benedict. It features house-made rosti, poached eggs, homemade hollandaise, fresh spinach, pomegranate, mixed herbs and apple cider vinaigrette droplets; served with a choice of smoked salmon, bacon or grilled haloumi.
“Little Giant Roasters is centred around good food, good coffee and good people. We try to be welcoming, warm and humble,” says Michael. “It’s all about building strong relationships and serving communities through quality coffee and food.”
Little Giant Roasters
525 Willoughby Rd,
Willoughby, New South Wales, 2068
Open Monday to Friday 6.30am to 4.30pm, Saturday and Sunday 7.30am to 4.30pm
(02) 9958 7406
