2/577 Military Road, Mosman, New South Wales 2088
berkelo.com.au

I did a sweep of Internet searches looking for interesting bakeries I hadn’t been to yet, and found Berkelo, which has four locations in Sydney. I headed over to the one at Mosman to check it out.

It’s not a big place, and they specialise in bread loaves and sandwiches ready to eat, but they also have croissants and a few sweets and savouries. The savouries included, when I visited, a choice of chicken or pumpkin pies, various quiches, a kale and feta roll, and a sausage roll.

Of course I tried the sausage roll (and a chicken pie). The sausage roll is a little on the small side, and perhaps a little understuffed with filling, though not too small. The pastry wraps around generously, pinched together on one side rather than rolled around with the seam on the bottom as is more common. It looks a nice shade of golden brown and promisingly flaky. It is served on a tin plate with a knife and fork and a small bowl of what looks like home-made tomato sauce. I never ask for sauce and was a little surprised to see it, because normally they ask before just giving it to you. And a knife and fork is just overly posh, but this is Mosman.

Ignoring the knife and fork, I pick up the roll in my hands and take a bite. The meat filling is nicely spiced pork mince, with obvious shreds of carrot and fennels seeds. It tastes great, with a nice hit of fennel, and has good texture. The pastry is okay on top but unfortunately rather squashed and soggy underneath. I don’t normally go for tomato sauce but this home-made sauce is zesty and a touch spicy and very nice, not overly sweet like commercial sauces. I add some to the roll and it goes together very nicely.

Verdict: Delicious flavours, but let down by soggy pastry.

Sausage roll: 8/10