Blacktown servo becomes surprise foodie paradise

Forget competitive fuel prices – this Western Sydney servo has become popular for its restaurant quality food.

Forget competitive petrol prices, a service station in Blacktown has become popular for its restaurant quality Indian food.

The Metro Petroleum Blacktown on Richmond Rd has become a foodie destination thanks to its homemade Indian food and snacks, many of which are hard to find outside of India.

“About 20 per cent of our business is from customers who come here for the food, not the petrol,” said owner Pranav Patel.

Pranav stocks a wide array of Indian food favourites along with traditional beverages. Picture: Richard Dobson

Forget stale sandwiches, this servo stocks a range of freshly made samosas, chicken puffs, biryani, paneer puffs and veggie cutlets as well as spicy lemonade.

Patel has owned the outlet for three years. He was motivated to stock restaurant quality food to help him stand out. “I wanted to do something different,” he said.

The Metro Petroleum servo’s snack offering includes samosas, chicken puffs, paneer puffs and veggie cutlets. Picture: Richard Dobson

He also serves masala tea. Picture: Richard Dobson

“I looked at the customers and the ethnicity in the area and wanted to offer food to match their tastes but also a good price point,” he said.

Woolcroft local Shraddha Pandey said she loves to visit her local servo for a snack and chai. “We love going there in the evening to pick up some vegetarian puffs and masala chai,” she said.

“As a vegetarian, usually options at the petrol station are really limited. But we get to try lots of things here and they also change up their offerings every few weeks.”

A customer favourite is the samosas, of which he’s often sold out by lunch, and Indian masala tea.

“We are open 24 hours, so it’s my goal to be able to serve good quality food here no matter what time.”