East Gosford (7 & 14 October)

A suburb that I got to know quite well in my 16.5 years of residency there. The unit I once lived in faces Russell Drysdale Street and every school morning and afternoon it was the noisiest and most congested street in the area, with buses retrieving and dropping off students to four schools within two blocks of my front door, as well as helicopter parents adding to the ruckus with visits to the day-care centre across the road. I either tried to block out the noise with my own (or ear plugs) or tried not to be there at those times.
The suburb does have its advantages. Regular bus services from two providers so that you could travel to all the compass points, eight coffee shops, a pub with a very popular dining area, a variety of restaurants, an art gallery and a waterfront walk where I've taken several of my best photographs, including a trio of award-winning shots. For a birder such as myself, it was delightful wandering around there at different times of the day because something unexpected might flutter in to get your camera whirring. One of the best things though was that I could walk to Central Coast Stadium to watch the Mariners play, which I did repeatedly through the spring and summer months.
Again, it is quite possible that this suburb will get multiple posts due to the amount of dining venues there. The five places which I frequented the most were (not in any order) the Elanora Pub, Cafe Jam, the Golden Lantern Chinese Restaurant, the Top Point Cafe and Crust, a take-away gourmet pizza place. The Chinese restaurant was a particular favourite, seeing I used to regularly order take-away when returning home from playing soccer in Sydney between 2011-2019. It was a nice treat after a match, conveniently located near a bus stop and a short walk back home.

For this post however I'll talk about the Top Point Cafe which is based inside the Gosford Regional Art Gallery on Webb Street. The gallery itself is partially enclosed by a small rainforest on two sides and a large dog park on another, whilst inside the gallery grounds is a delightful Japanese garden, complete with a large pond containing a multitude of colourful koi and resident ducks. The gallery has regular exhibitions in the main room as well as an auxiliary gallery for smaller displays, including the annual Art Works! Mental Health Exhibition which I've participated in over the last ten years. Every year the MH support group that I'm part of has an October excursion to the event to view the entries and have a spot of afternoon tea. It would be a busy day for some – it was the same day for the recent national referendum and the opening match for the Central Coast Mariners' women's team in Gosford for the 2023-24 season, which I was attending later on. I had taken the option to undertake a pre-poll vote a week before and got that out of the way.
The cafe itself is quite popular with visitors and often caters for functions at the gallery, such as the opening ceremony for this year's MH exhibition on October 7. On the second instance, the cafe was closed to the public at 3pm due to a wedding that they were catering for – the gardens being a very popular spot for this.
For the casual morning or afternoon tea visitors there is a wide selection of pastries and cakes. Hot, cold and alcoholic beverages are available, and I was pleased on this occasion with a hot chocolate that was made correctly – with milk rather than hot water. Despite the cafe being busy when my group (of eight) visited on the 14th to view the entries in the MH display, and somewhat understaffed as well, the order was filled within a few minutes. I went for something simple on this occasion – fresh scones with jam and cream. In previous visits to the eatery, I have enjoyed a chicken burger and their bacon and egg roll and have been satisfied with both of them. As for the opening ceremony there was a variety of muffins, fresh sliced fruit, juice, tea, coffee, etc. There was so much to eat I'm sure plenty of guests, including myself, took a few muffins for the road. If you so desire, you can walk it all off with a stroll through the gardens (inside or out), stroll around the shore of Caroline Bay or let the kids run around in the neighbouring park. The venue itself is less than a five-minute drive from Gosford, and for those on public transport, any number of buses can drop you off within easy walking distance. The best spots on the highway being the pub on the way to Erina Fair, or the beauty salon when heading back into Gosford.

Links correct at time of posting.

Picture by Geoff G Turner (c) 2023.