Sydney Eat Street: 10 places to try in Woollahra
IT’S one of Sydney’s richest suburbs and there’s a wealth of sweet delicacies and scrumptious savouries on offer to prove it.
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IT’S one of Sydney’s richest suburbs and there’s a wealth of sweet delicacies and scrumptious savouries on offer in Woollahra to prove it.
Take a tour of the area’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street.
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WIECZORKOWSKI
YOU’LL need to get there early as the freshly-made plum-jam filled Polish doughnuts (paczki) come in Saturday morning and can be gone by lunchtime.
“They’re a weekend treat,” general manager Adam Wieczorkowski (the W is pronounced like a V thus “Vee-chor-kov-ski”) said, explaining how he buys them from a Polish baker who only makes them once a week.
It’s slightly nostalgic, as is the chic cafe itself with its custom-made copper espresso machine, checkerboard tiled floors and black wooded shelves, so reminiscent of the family’s favourite teahouse in their heritage home of Krakow.
Around the back, with a separate entrance, is a larger dining area with a menu that is a mix of pure Polish and Eastern European foods.
The Krawkowian Breakfast is a selection of meats, cheeses and breads and easily feeds two so you can share it along with the spinach and leek shakshuka, a recipe Adam’s mother Kasia Wieczorkovski has used for decades.
For something truly traditional, try the Polish Tasting Platter made with the classic pierogies (potato dumplings), veal cabbage rolls, croquettes and beetroot soup. Don’t miss the fine gourmet food selection in front, which boasts an impressive selection of imported products ranging from fruit preserves to pickled salads.
— 78 Queen St
HOTEL CENTENNIAL
HOVERING around the family kitchen watching his mum prepare meals, Tom Deadman knew from the age of 13 that cooking was his calling.
“I’ve only ever worked in a kitchen,” Tom said, noting that his first job was washing dishes at the local pub in his hometown outside of London.
This commitment to his craft has taken him around the world, ultimately to the top spot at Hotel Centennial where he sees the food as being “homemade but done to a higher scale than you’d do at home”, such as a Sunday roast but made with slow-cooked flank steak, and glazed mushrooms with a hazelnut emulsion and bone marrow jus or the cured confit ocean trout.
It’s fitting he adds a few “nods to back home” to the menu such as the Welsh rabbit on rye toast and, of course, shepherd’s pie.
— 88 Oxford St
VICTOR CHURCHILL
TO call Victor Churchill a butcher shop is like calling the Sydney Opera House a music store.
Forget visions of whitewashed walls and meat trays in the window, here you’ll find window displays that rival department stores and an interior so posh, you could dine on the marble floors — which they actually do for private events but on beautifully decorated tables that run the length of the entrance.
Often these will include tasting dinners with renowned chefs and Anthony Puharich, chief executive of Vic’s Meats, speaking not just about food but also their producers such Saskia Beer who provides sustainably farmed chickens and game birds.
“Anthony and his team truly appreciate what it means to be an artisan producer and the effort it requires to bring a premium artisan product to market,” Saskia said.
For those looking to get a bit more hands on, sign-up for a workshop. Led by industry experts, you can learn general meat cooking skills, beef butchery and even sausage making.
— 132 Queen St
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BISTRO MONCUR
IT takes 36 ingredients and more than a day to make the Café de Paris butter sauce that generously adorns the grilled sirloin steak of this iconic dish, head chef Mark Williamson explains, listing things such as ginger, Worcestershire sauce and capers.
The original recipe, created in 1941, is a trade secret recipe for its namesake in Geneva, though variations have made the rounds.
Since 1993 however, when Chef Damien Pignolet opened the acclaimed Bistro Moncur, his is still considered one of the best.
It’s no wonder then that this dish, along with the famed swimmer crab and sweet corn omelet, has stayed on the menu since day one.
With the basics intact, this has given the head chef a bit of space to perfect other dishes on the menu, including the decadent and delicious raspberry and pistachio bombe Alaska and keeping Bistro Moncur at the top of Sydney’s French food ladder.
— 116A Queen St
CAFE PARTERRE
BEHIND the windows of this elegant French antiques store lies a secret and after 30 years as its custodian, Richard Haigh felt it was finally time to share this enchanted garden within the design of the serene and welcoming cafe.
Vibrant flowers and manicured bushes surround a green house and rustic wrought iron patio tables where patrons chat over coffee and baked goods or linger over lunches of smoked salmon tartines (open-faced sandwiches) and cold drinks.
Cafe Parterre’s cordials, such as hibiscus and mint or cumquat and rosemary, are made from leaves plucked from their own herb gardens, which not only ensures the freshest possible ingredients, but also reminds people — young and old — of the sources of their food.
— 33 Ocean St
MUST TRY
SOUVLAKI
WHEN brothers Alex and William Cooney looked to bring traditional Greek cuisine to Woollahra, they envisioned it being an extension of their home — some place warm, comfortable and with great food and yummy cocktails. Go savoury with skewers to start then follow up with Greek doughnuts for dessert.
— The Phoenix, 1 Moncur St
CHU CHEE SALMON and PAPAYA SALAD
Veer away from your standard pad Thai and try the house special, salmon fillets with a spicy curry sauce, vegetables and Kaffir limes. Cut the heat with a tangy order of crunchy papaya salad.
— KukThai, 144 Queen St
TURMERIC LATTE AND TONIC
Start your day on the bright side with some fresh juice blends. The vibrant colours of healthy veggies and nutrient-dense turmeric make these as pretty as they are tasty. Try their housemade turmeric latte spice mix with ginger and cinnamon.
— Plane Tree Cafe, 107 Queen St
CURED SALMON
One of Sydney’s oldest English Pubs has added some modern Australian fare to the revamped downstairs dining area, featuring such dishes as the pretty and delicious cured salmon with blood orange, blueberries and a horseradish crème fraiche. Fear not, pub grub’s still upstairs.
— The Garden at The Lord Dudley Hotel, 236 Jersey Rd
SUNDAY ROAST
The sun-drenched surrounds of this greenhouse-turned-restaurant are the ideal setting for a long lunch or for a twist on the Sunday dinner, a roast featuring farm fresh meats and produce straight from the kitchen garden.
— Chiswick, 65 Ocean St
