Sydney Eat Street: Top 10 milk bars and diners
PLENTY has changed since the 1960s but one thing remains the same — diners and milk bars remain a go-to for comfort food, towering burgers and decadent desserts. Here are some of the best ones around Sydney.
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PLENTY has changed since the 1960s but one thing remains the same — diners and milk bars remain a go-to for comfort food, towering burgers and decadent desserts. Here are some of the best ones around Sydney.
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THE SODA FACTORY
NOBODY puts The Soda Factory in the corner. Fans of the cult classic Dirty Dancing will see the wonderful similarities — and vibe — between the Surry Hills venue and the gritty yet pulsing dance halls in the Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey coming of age love story. The “honky-tonk” nightclub is secreted away behind a seemingly benign hot dog shop, Bobby’s Boss Dogs, which you enter by lifting a faux Coke bottle of the equally fake retro soda machine.
It’s an industrial space with large booths, lounges, cafe tables and a stage. A place you can imagine early pop rock bands, such as The Four Seasons, cutting loose after a live show, sitting around a table full of burgers, fried chicken, milkshake and cocktails and maybe even hitting the small stage, which The Soda Factory uses throughout the week for its own gigs, for an impromptu jam session.
In addition to the music, there are plenty of reasons to swing by throughout the week such as Mondays, when the space is filled with lounges and bean bags before a lowered projector screen where classic films are played.
Opt for the Date Night package which fro $35 includes a burger or hot dog, including Bobby’s Boss Dog — beef sausage, jack cheese, onions, ketchup and fried onion rings) with fries, a cocktail Soda Floats, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and unlimited popcorn.
For the cheap and cheery, come Tuesday, it’s $1 hot dogs and Wednesday with $1 wings. With so much to offer, you can see why those in the know may try to keep in on the lowdown, but once you know the secret passage, a whole world of good times awaits on the other side.
— 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills
DAISY’S MILKBAR
THE cheery pastel coloured interior could easily be considered fresh as daisy, however that’s a bit cliche for a place that is anything but predictable.
“I love the history and concept of the classic milk bar,” says co-owner Jessica Barnes, who opened Daisy’s with her husband four years ago.
“We wanted to do our own version. I’ve always wanted to own a venue that is not just for food but also a community space”.
The cafe menu with favourites such as mac-n-cheese, burgers and avocado on toast are great for daily dining. But for something truly memorable and wonderfully nostalgic, book in for the Low Tea.
“I wanted to do something in a high tea format but not in the fussy way high tea is usually done,” Jessica says.
“I wanted it to be fun and delicious.”
There’s a savoury and sweet options and the whole concept is nothing short of delightful.
“The food on the plates is all things you might easily see in an old Women’s Weekly cookbook,” Jessica says.
“It’s all classic Aussie treats like lamingtons, lemon bars and fairy bread, or comfort food like mini burgers and mac-n-cheese, plus one each of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.”
The joviality continues in the evening with Daisy’s After Dark where you can paint some plaster figures alongside dinner and drinks and like old times, get to know your neighbour.
— 340 Stanmore Rd, Petersham
THE MILK BAR BY CAFE ISH
THE bright pop-up murals may be what catch your eye, but co-owners Chandar Sodha and Decima Sam know it’s the smell of freshly baked buns that will lure you closer, and then hook you in with a sample of their cinnamon sugar donut holes.
Whether you’ve popped by for coffee or staying for a delicious lunch, it’d be a sin to leave without trying one of their famous freshly baked donuts but be prepared, as with just one bite you’ll be jaded towards any other sweets.
The difference, explains Chandar, is in the quality of their ingredients, which include a premium flour to make the dough, but also the toppings, such as the rich coating made with Lindt chocolate.
They’re a favourite for kids young and old, particularly on the weekends when families stop in to pick up a treat.
“It becomes nostalgic for the parents,” says Decima as she explains how they’ll reminisce about the excitement they once felt with a splurge on lollies at the corner ship.
“They want their children to experience that same good feeling.”
— Shop 1, 105 Regent St, Redfern
FONZARELLI’S BAR
AAAAAAYYYYY. There is nothing more quintessentially America than television’s Happy Days with the idyllic Cunningham family and the famous Arthur ‘Fonzie’ Fonzarelli.
But when you’re after “Happy Nights” it’s his namesake two-level Surry Hills venue that’s the spot.
It’s a place that hospitality veteran Dimitris Hadji has modelled after his love for the 60s and 70s club era of New York that depicted Italian eateries and burger joints.
Determining which option to emulate, Dimitris says: “Together with a few friends, we decided to open something a little different that paid homage to the early 70s shows I used to watch like Happy Days.”
He says they wanted a place that had comfortable booths and clever cocktails, such as the Fonzie Fizz with caramel tequila and lime juice; or the Ritchie Valens with apple, lime ad Hendricks gin.
Food of course had to be worthy of the man, myth and legend, thus the Fonzie wagyu Burger and Cunningham wings, but like any good neighbour they invite in friends for dinner, mostly to cook though such as with the recent kitchen takeover by the infamous Mister Gee Burgers.
When you’re done with dining, hang around for some tunes, often live music plus classic American Discotheque on Saturday Nights.
— 65-67 Foveaux St, Surry Hills
BERNIE’S DINER
STEP through the doors of Bernie’s Diner and you’re transported back to the 1950s — not quite how Marty McFly did in Back to the Future alas — however owner Ioannis Benardos passion for the genre with the pristine white tiles, polished chrome, vintage photos on the wall sure makes it appear feasible.
Of course there are burgers, hot dogs and fries but another menu item, his pulled pork sandwich, is revered enough to be featured in the Southern Highlands Cookbook.
Ioannis’ pastrami is famous in these parts as well being as it is brined for two months, rubbed with spices, smoked for four hours, slow cooked in a Budweiser Beer base ultimately being served on rye bread with a crunchy housemade pickle.
His staff dress the part too — and even better, have that charming customer service where you almost expect your waitress to pull open from her hair, whip open a notepad and ask, “So what can I get ya’ll?”
— 402-404 Argyle St, Moss Vale
MUST TRY
CHEESESTEAKS AND DOGS
THE polished red and white decor of this takeaway outlet and food truck is a nod to the mid-century era that saw the Philly Cheesesteak, a humble bread roll with thin slices of beef, grilled onions and melted cheese, go from hot dog stand alternate in US city, Philadelphia to cult favourite.
Here you’ll find a straightforward menu that stays true to its heritage but allows for some modern amendments … and hot dogs.
— Frank’s Original Philly Cheesesteak & Dogs; 1003-1009 Canley Vale Rd, Wetherill Park
MISS AMERICA’S POP-UP DINER
BY day, it’s a bustling cafe pumping out coffee, but come Friday and Sunday nights, The Spot Caffe gets a temporary makeover with star-and-stripes bunting and a slew of 50s memorabilia, remerging as Miss America’s Pop-Up Diner.
The menu is minimal but the food is anything but with behemoths such as the Marilyn burgher with three beef patties, cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato or the Fat Elvis Dawg with sweet onion and melted cheese.
— The Spot Caffe; 210 Belmore Rd South, Riverwood
BIG BOPPER SUNDAE
YOU’LL be singing a sweet song just looking at this parfait bowl brimming with dessert decadence.
Starting with a rich chocolate brownie square this gets built on with toffee, vanilla & chocolate ice cream, caramel fudge, peanut butter sauce, toasted almond flakes, Snickers chunks, whipped cream and, of a course, a cherry on top.
— Doughbox Diner, 137 Enmore Rd, Enmore
CURLY FRIES
YOU’VE grown up knowing not to play with your food but when that red basket pilled high with curly fries comes out from the kitchen, all manners are forgotten as the kid in you can’t wait to grab one of those golden-brown ringlets.
Whether you pull them apart, dangle them from above or wear them as rings, these twisted chips can always get a smile.
— Split Diner; Shop 102 Argyle St, Camden
BURGERS AND BAJA TACOS
THE happy dance. It’s what you do when the sleek silver Nighthawk Diner caravan, one of Sydney’s first “food trucks”, much less one selling diner-style burgers, grabs a spot right outside your office.
Since launching five years ago, they have expanded the fleet to include Sweethawk, a trailer for desserts and another inspired by the SoCal surf scene, Tacohawk.
The big addition though is a brick and mortar location. It has aesthetic elements reminiscent of a diner but with a more mature menu of past and present diner classics prepared with a skilled and contemporary flair.
— The Nighthawk Diner; 69 Abercrombie St, Chippendale