They’re still serving the same inventive, high-quality, produce-led food, but trading in the white linen for white paper in a more laid-back setting.

We’ve seen it in New York with celebrity chef Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack empire, and David Chang’s expanding noodle bars.

The fast-casual model is taking off locally, too. Stefano Manfredi slings dough at The Star’s Pizzaperta when he’s not matching wines with smart Italian plates at his central coast fine diner, Manfredi at Belles. Sokyo’s Chase Gojima tried his hand flipping sushi burgers (he’s since parted ways with it to focus on his fine dining outposts).

In Paddington, Josh Niland is serving battered fish and chips to go at the Fish Butchery, down the road from his lauded seafood restaurant, Saint Peter. And The Paddington’s Ben Greeno, who once manned the pans at Momofuku Seiobo, sells his famous brined and glossy roast chicken at the adjoining The Chicken Shop on Oxford Street.

Then a few weeks ago, Mat Lindsay, the chef-owner of Chippendale’s Ester and Surry Hills’ Poly, opened the doors to his standing room-only kebab shop on Commonwealth St, Shwarmama.

Lindsay, the man responsible for exalting the cauliflower to rock star status in Sydney (he cooks the earthy florets in the wood-fire, then rests them on a nutty sauce and scatters mint leaves and almonds over the top), has partnered with the Paramount Coffee Project team on the new Middle Eastern hole-in-the-wall.

“The concept was really Mat’s idea — I had the space on Commonwealth Street and he had the idea to cook shwarma,” says co-owner Russell Beard, who runs Paramount Coffee Project and Rueben Hills nearby.

The kebab idea isn’t completely out of left field; Lindsay has done a few shwarma-style specials at Ester in the past. The namesake dish is one of four on the punchy neon-lit menu, and sees boneless, butterflied chicken Marylands spiced and stacked on a vertical spit. The juicy chook is shaved to order and piled into flatbread with tahini, hummus, garlic sauce and pickles. Or there’s have it over chips with sauces and chilli pickles in the Not Halal Snack Pack.

A falafel wrap, sabich – that Israeli breakfast sandwich with Iraqi-Jewish roots featuring fried eggplant and boiled eggs – and a lone tahini, choc chip and sesame cookie, round out the menu.

Shwarmama is licensed for those happy to linger a while, with a red, white and a sour ale from Marrickville’s Wildflower Brewing and Blending on offer.

A pomegranate molasses soda will keep the teetotallers happy, but it’s the automatic espresso machine powered by Seven Seeds and Rueben Hills beans, that throws a curveball. Given Beard is of solid coffee pedigree, why the 7-Eleven-style machine?

“You can’t get a coffee after 4 or 5pm in Sydney,” Beard says. “We wanted to be able to serve coffee all day and as you know, wages are expensive. A late night shwarma and a coffee … perfect. It’s a Swiss machine — it’s expensive. You might be seeing more of these as wages go up.”

Growing up, Rockpool Dining Group’s director Neil Perry was raised on a steady diet of burgers, so opening the first Burger Project outlet in 2014 was something close to his heart.

“For me, I wanted the freedom of being able to cook something casual, comforting and nostalgic,” Perry tells the Wentworth Courier.

“I’ve always loved burgers. I was born in Blakehurst and the corner store at the end of Stuart Street served the best grilled beef patties in a bun. I always had mine with salad, always with tomato ketchup, always with cheese, and always with a milkshake.”

Those memories of old-school burgers stuffed into translucent paper bags stuck with Perry, and is likely why his famed David Blackmore’s full-blood wagyu burger has been a Rockpool Bar & Grill menu mainstay, later inspiring the buns at Burger Project.

“They certainly made an impression on me and I wanted to share that experience, while maintaining the Rockpool Dining Group DNA and philosophy: sourcing quality ingredients and sustainability.”

Perry thinks customers are more price-conscious nowadays, and they’re also more discerning than ever before.

“They want premium-grade food at a cheaper price point. Fast-casual dining experiences created by chefs with a fine food background, ticks that box.”

We’re open to Fred’s Danielle Alvarez opening a Cuban sandwich shop, or Dan Hong doing a dumpling and soft serve bar down the track, too. One can dream.