Sappho

Bookshop & Cafe,
Bar & Live Music

General Secondhand Bookshop
51 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia
Phone (02) 9552 4498

Sappho

Bookshop & Cafe
Bar & Live Music

General Secondhand Bookshop
51 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia. Phone (02) 9552 4498

We will be CLOSED on Monday the 5th of October (King’s Birthday public holiday)

Enter a world of pure imagination…

For opening hours see bookshop, café, and bar

“Though their life was modest, they believed in eating well.”

― James Joyce

At Sappho we take great pride in our coffee. Our Baristas are dedicated and passionate about coffee.

Our food is carefully selected, simple, and fresh. Locally and ethically sourced where possible.

“Though their life was modest, they believed in eating well.”
― James Joyce

At Sappho we take great pride in our coffee. Our Baristas are dedicated and passionate about coffee.

Our food is carefully selected, simple, and fresh. Locally and ethically sourced where possible.

“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.” ― Anthony Bourdain

We buy books

We buy and sell used books!

We have over 30,000 titles available over our three floors in a huge range of categories – art, literature, history, politics, religion, philosophy, science and foreign language, to name a few.

Titles come and go all the time so if you don’t find exactly what you are looking for, keep coming back, it’s likely to turn up, and in the meantime you’re bound to find something else that takes your fancy!

We are always looking for new stock!

More information

Gift certificates

Need a gift for a book lover who already seems to have them all? They’re bound to find something interesting at Sappho with one of our gift certificates in hand!

They are also valid for use in the cafe, bar, and Da Capo Music, so they can browse the bookshop and grab a coffee or a meal!

To purchase one, click here.

Buy Gift Certificate

A courtyard oasis

Sappho is the perfect place for catching up with family, sharing coffee with friends, love trysts … or even just treating yourself to a nice glass of wine.

“Coffee is a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to your older self.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thud!

We like to be noticed…

Sappho Books, Cafe & Bar

4.6

Based on 1170 reviews

See all reviews Write a review

Sappho Books Cafe & Wine Bar

4.8

Based on 186 reviews

See all reviews Write a review

The best frothy hot chocolate I have had for some time the smiley staff checked for chocolate moustache and it was a joy to look at selection of books

Max Preston

Super cute little cafe and bookshop absolutely packed with character. Good food and service, and the fresh blueberry muffins were amazing, as was the hot brekkie. The selection of books was awesome, spanning multiple floors. Cannot wait to come back!

Connor Goddard

Having visited here since the 2010s, I love that so little has changed. It is truly reassuring to see a place stay faithful to its original philosophy and core values. Walking inside always reminds me of the quaint little bookshop from the film Notting Hill. It is a rare, timeless sanctuary where people can connect, slow down, and share meaningful moments over good books. I almost always end up buying at least one book whenever I visit. I always look forward to coming back!

Sean Lim

A spot where you can spend hours browsing! Multiple floors of secondhand books, queer poetry nights, a cafe with big menu (I enjoyed their chai brew), and a whole room music scores on the top floor - a great spot for classical musicians/music lovers to comb through shelves full of printed sheet music.

Karen Eriksen

Quite good. It was a thunderstorm yesterday. There were so many leaks around the edges of the roof. The ambiance is nice, the tea and wine are ok too!Recommended to come in the afternoon instead of evening..

Aria Perdana

A fun place to wonder with a fun cafe/ seating area in the back. They have a great selection of used books and the cutest cat.

Sammie Casas

Endroit très mignon et plein de charme. J'ai adoré l'ambiance et la nourriture y est très bonne ! Je reviendrais 🩷 (et pour voir le petit chat Charlie qui devait faire dodo au chaud ce matin 😂)

Rachel1511

My first visit here, amazing and very cosy inviting. Books, literally floor to ceiling. Packed full. Had lunch, all day breakfast a favourite. I will be back.

Ray Conder

Really well curated collection. In a city where you can pick up free books from most Inner West street corners, it's nice to have a guided hand (and some good coffee).

In the Heart of the Heart

A Glebe icon. A place to go to lose yourself. And the assistants know their books, what's on the shelves, where to find things. A lot to love about Sappho's (including the resident cat of course, xx)

Karen Emmerich

SUCH a cute place to hang out. We only had a coffee but the food in the kitchen smelled really nice and the garden has a wonderful, low-key vibe in the daytime.

Emily Zajac

莎弗二手書店咖啡屋: 人間天堂雪梨大學旁Glebe街道上，夢想般的書店。在網路發達的時代，走入彷彿60年前的一家書店。它似乎象徵著長久以來的一種堅持，一種理念，與深度的文化。即使跌落深谷，它仍會堅持爬起來的一種生命力！進門是書店，走到後面，出現咖啡吧台。你可以坐下喝杯咖啡，感受深深刻畫在歲月裏的書店文化。喜歡書，想找資料，可以上二樓。

Young Wu

One of my favourite places in Sydney. You can browse their wide range of books and have a coffee and a bite to eat in their cozy courtyard. At night it converts to a wine bar where you can listen to live music. Staff are always so friendly and service is great. Would definitely recommend.

Deborah

The place is vintage, full of books which attract your eyes. The rooms are beautiful and you can see many less common books. Sometime you can see some rare books around 100 years in some corners. Those books are broken but have history. I like it very much, I just bought one printed in 1856. Going up wooden stairs you can see different room, really antique.

taylor or

The strongest matcha latte in Sydney. Very impressive. And the atmosphere is quite lovely but it can be a little cold in the winter time

Sora Yang

Hidden away behind a nice little second hand bookshop, a nice cafe with an excellent variety of brunch options. Also a licenced bar.

Koen Ruymaekers

Sappho has a great selection of books of all genres! plus a really cute cat named charlie. always love stopping by to see what’s new.

Tatem Loucks

We recently visited Sappho Books, Cafe & Bar and had a pleasant overall experience. The atmosphere is relaxed and unique, with a great mix of books, greenery, and a quiet courtyard that makes it a nice spot to unwind.The coffee was good and the menu has decent options for a casual bite. Service was friendly, although a bit slow during busy hours, which is understandable given the relaxed vibe.It’s a great place to read, catch up with friends, or just enjoy some quiet time away from the city rush.I would happily come back again.

Amin

Beautiful Bookstore that's more spacious than outside appearances would have you believe.I highly recommend the "Sappho's custom blend chai".friendly staff & great service. Having recently returned to Sydney after 9 years in Newcastle, I'm glad to have found a new Bookstore Cafe to visit.

Leviathan Rofocale

We love Sappho! The bar garden is awesome, the food is delish and the staff are lovely (and great dancers!)can't wait to play again 😉

The Sitch

Beautiful, quaint place. Paradise for book lovers and some great food! Perfect for some alone time or with your kid or other book lovers 😊

Reeti Trivedi Pandharipande

This is my absolute favourite place to get away, drink good coffee and daydream as I browse the day away. I wish I lived closer so that I could visit every week... but then I would probably own an entire library of books 🤔😎

Kirstin Amaryllis Callaghan McPhee

Great place for book fans, enjoy a coffee or some delicious food in the cafe. I dare you to leave without a book!

Louise Van Vuren

Quirky cafe with loads of character and cute little nooks for enjoying amazing food the best coffee around!

Melinda Jane Barton

We had our 25th wedding anniversary party at Sappho. The staff put everything on seamlessly, we didn't have to do anything all night, just kick back and enjoy the food, drinks and company!

Rory Campbell

I would like to thank everyone involved for ensuring that every aspect of our wedding night was exactly as we imagined. Friendly staff, incredible food and the cafe provided the perfect backdrop for photos.

Brook Armstrong

It is on of the best cafe in Glebe & excellent vegetarian food, chai tea, latte - we have been returning to this establishment for past 10 years🎉

Helena Try

LoVe Sappho Bar! Fantastic setting & great staff (say hello to Jeb & Zoe)!Love their live music & especially the "Poetry" & "Open Mic" nights!Best place in Glebe!Highly recommended!

Vito Radice

Haven't gone for breakfast or lunch. Night time in my opinion is the best time to be at Sappho's. Beautiful live music each time I've been. Relaxing, great vibe, great for anything, dates, meeting up with a friend for a drink. Staff are helpful and food and drinks are on point. I love everything about this place. It feels like I'm sitting in my backyard and someone has jazzed it up with fairy lights and a beautiful live band. Have introduced alot of friends to this place and each of them have adored it like I do.

Alexandra Ware

Sappho Books Cafe and Wine Bar, has been Emad's residency for nearly 6years. It's a great place for smokers and nonsmokers. It has a large back yard with tables and chairs, where one can meet people , have a drink or even read a book, have a birthday party or even get married there. I first knew Sappho as a book shop, and was a regular customer there, but in the last few years I have been helping my son Emad, by being his Roadie. We enjoy going there.

Tony Younan

Nice relaxing atmosphere and good service. Looking forward to the poetry evenings this forthcoming 2017!

Stephen Heart

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