Japanese-inspired homewares purveyor Provider Store and Artificer Coffee have just teamed up with cult bakery Tokyo Lamington at their collab cafe, Maido. The Surry Hills former pop-up is earning its permanence, having added a range of baked goods on daily rotation. Newtown-born bakery Tokyo Lamington is now supplying a Japanese chicken curry pie, pork katsu sausage rolls and a cauliflower cheese and wasabi pie, to be served alongside Artificer brews and ceremonial-grade matcha in the calming space. 

Tara Bennett started homewares boutique Provider Store in 2014 after developing an obsession with Japan on her first visit. In the decade since, she’s filled its shelves with a meticulously curated collection of finds sourced from Japan, or local creations inspired by its design principles. A few blocks from her Riley Street store, Artificer Coffee is another Surry Hills fixture, with respected baristas Dan Yee and Tokyo-born Shoji Sasa opening the doors to their Bourke Street cafe in the same year as Bennett opened Provider. Coffee is the only thing on offer at this austere temple to caffeine, and it has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most serious roasters and coffee bars in Sydney. 

It seemed like the perfect match, then, when Bennett, Yee and Sasa teamed up earlier this year to open Maido, towards the Darlinghurst border on Flinders Street. Coffee is served in the stackable mugs by Gifu ceramicist Chips (the collectable cups are also occasionally on sale, but are snapped up quick). Select homewares from the Provider range are arranged around the rooms, from Kyogi pine boxes (made for aesthetically storing your mochi balls) to Emi Ceramics teapots and ceramic candles (which can be filled up in the candle-pouring workshop glassed off in the corner). Bennett’s beloved shiba inu Pocari even has a place, yowling at visitors from the staircase. 

When it first opened, Maido kept its trade to coffee, matcha and brownies, but as of now it’s started serving savoury snacks from Tokyo Lamington, including a flaky pastry filled with cauliflower and broccoli in a rich bechamel as well as the stand-out chicken pie studded curry-don style with hunks of potato and carrot – all served on the most beautiful greaseproof paper we’ve ever laid eyes on. 

Maido is open at 7-9 Flinders St, Surry Hills from Tue-Fri 7.30am-2pm, and Sat-Sun 8am-2pm; @maidocoffee