Sydney Eat Street: Redfern Street food scene city’s best kept secret
From traditional Italian pizza to a craft beer brewery making waves, Redfern’s emerging foodie scene is worth a visit before the secret gets out.
Eat Street
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Take a stroll down the central Sydney Ave of Redfern Street and you’ll be amazed by the diverse and ever-growing food scene that’ll have you coming back for more.
Take a tour of Sydney’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram. #SydneyEatStreet
MISFITS
At the top of the stairs, an image of ’60s legend Twiggy welcomes you to a trip down the retro rabbit hole that is Misfits. Cosy up to the copper-topped bar surrounded by turquoise-coloured stools and watch the mixologists whip up some specialty cocktails or head to the secluded outdoor tables and enjoy craft beers.
The menu veers away from bar snacks, though they’re also available, heading instead to more refined dishes such as pan-fried salmon fillet, tuna tartare, chicken liver pate and burrata with peaches. There’s also a nice burger selection that includes the classic with American cheddar cheese, a chicken burger with Southern-fried chicken or the Misfit Burger with Angus beef, streaky bacon, fried egg and avocado.
— 106 George St, (corner of Redfern St)
LA COPPOLA
After years of owning successful pizza places around Greater Sydney, Stefano Scopelliti decided to hand over the keys, put his feat up and enjoy retirement. Well, that was the plan. His kids had other thoughts and not long later convinced him to open up a place closer to them near the city where they could still get his pizza. So, along with his daughter Cassie, he opened La Coppola.
“It was supposed to be a really small place,” says Stefano.
“Now here it is with outdoor seating and a big indoor table.”
It’s not just any table though, but rather a sturdy wooden communal one, the type you’d find in a large family kitchen, and in this case, it’s one inspired by his sister’s kitchen. Stefano says his son designed the table and interior to feel like a home, a place where people would share food as well as stories.
Now, four years on, in addition to offering authentic woodfire pizza made with traditional Italian san marzano tomatoes and fior di latte (a specific mozzarella cheese), Stefano says there are customers who have been coming in since day one, as well as people who enjoyed his previous places.
He’s seen babies grow into toddlers, first dates grow into marriage and Redfern St grow into a community.
— 152 Redfern St; lacoppola.com.au
THE NOBLE HOPS
It’s not rocket science, though a lot of thought did go into opening a taphouse in Redfern. “It kind of made sense,” says owner and former engineer Joe Wee.
“I was already brewing at home.” He explains how he’d bring batches into work, and with positive feedback from colleagues got the courage to brew more, ultimately creating his own label Kerbside.
At first it was sold at other breweries but Joe was convinced that with Redfern’s proximity to the city and the emerging foodie scene along the main street that it was time to create a home for Kerbside, as well as 200 other beers from around the world.
— 125 Redfern St
BAFFI & MO
“I didn’t know you were here.” After 10 years in the same location, co-owner Regina Barkmeyer has become used to that statement but it’s the next thing that customers say, “your coffee is a beautiful and your food totally amazing” that makes her smile.
While people in Redfern have long considered Baffi & Co a local for breakfast and lunch, particularly for the baked eggs with sobrasada and homemade tomato relish as well as their big serving of pancakes, it’s Redfern’s emerging foodie scene that is bringing people to eateries in the city-fringe.
“We make everything in-house, including our beautiful jams and marmalade,” Regina says.
As a pet-friendly place, Regina says she talks to dogs first and their owners second.
“I love to bake all our cakes in-house, something new every day,” she says.
“They are homely and welcoming, baked with love. Whether it is a simple carrot cake or our sweet humming bird cake … we’ve something for everyone.”
— 94 Redfern St
WHAT’S FRESH
VEGETARIAN GARDEN TABLE
SUMMER’S bounty plucked straight from Chiswick’s kitchen garden is front and centre for the month of February with an exclusive Vegetarian Garden Table Experience. Head chef Francois Poulard has created a specially curated feast showcasing seasonal vegetables along with matching natural wines.
— Chiswick Woollahra, 65 Ocean St