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Sixpenny in Stanmore among top restaurants in NSW

Sixpenny — a Stanmore restaurant with humble origins — has cracked the top 20 in the Delicious 100 list. Find out why.

The best restaurants of 2017 as voted by delicious.

A small corner restaurant in Stanmore with an intriguing seven-course menu has been named as one of the state’s best restaurants.

Sixpenny, in Percival Rd, has been ranked the top inner west spot on the NSW Delicious 100 list.

Chefs Daniel Puskas and Aaron Ward opened Sixpenny in 2012, hoping to pave their own way after working in other restaurants.

Sixpenny Head chef Daniel Puskas, head chef Aaron Ward, restaurant manager George Papaioannou and sommelier Bridget Raffal. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu
Sixpenny Head chef Daniel Puskas, head chef Aaron Ward, restaurant manager George Papaioannou and sommelier Bridget Raffal. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

“We didn’t have huge expectations. We were just two keen young chefs,” Mr Puskas said.

Seven years on, they’ve landed the 12th spot on the Delicious top 100 list, and recently received three chef hats for the second year running.

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“We also both had common interests in terms of what we wanted to cook,” Mr Puskas said.

When a patron sits down to dine at Sixpenny, they don’t necessarily know what is going to land in front of them.

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There’s no one ethnic cuisine, no real menu staples.

They take their inspiration from places and people.

Their most recent addition to the bill is panettone.

Sixpenny cured fish.
Sixpenny cured fish.
Sixpenny’s coral trout fish.
Sixpenny’s coral trout fish.

A dish the half-Italian Mr Puskas remembers his nonna enjoying at home in the afternoons with a glass of milk.

“We make it and we serve it to random tables a couple times a week,” he said.

The mead vinegar custard with honey wine vinegar and strawberry consommé is probably the longest-serving dish on the menu.

Sixpenny has been listed as 12th on the Delicious 100 list.
Sixpenny has been listed as 12th on the Delicious 100 list.

They were initially drawn to the location of the restaurant.

“It was outside the city but not too far away for people to travel,” Mr Puskas said.

“I worked at different restaurants for a long time and I finally wanted a back garden and a herb garden.”

The herb garden at Sixpenny. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu
The herb garden at Sixpenny. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

The restaurant works on a simple premise, Mr Puskas said: “To always push the restaurant forward”.

“We’re a small restaurant in the inner west, it’s about making changes to be better than the day before,” he said.

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Many of the restaurants Mr Puskas worked in previously — Tetsuya’s, Marque Restaurant, Oscillate Wildly, Sepia — are either moving or have closed.

But after 19 years in the industry he said “it’s sad, but it’s just what happens”.

“Even if Sixpenny closed tomorrow, it would be a great run,” Mr Puskas said.

Sixpenny snacks with seven course menu.
Sixpenny snacks with seven course menu.

INNER WEST’S DELICIOUS 100

12 — Sixpenny, Stanmore

26 — Stanbuli, Enmore

29 — Continental Deli, Newtown

37 — Bella Brutta, Newtown

80 — Hartsyard, Newtown

87 — The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Glebe

97 — One Penny Red, Summer Hill

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/sixpenny-up-there-with-the-top-restaurants-in-nsw/news-story/57cd5b16a65f8e1c3600f35ad68be606