Sydney Eat Street: Best eateries along New Canterbury Rd
Stretching from Enmore through Petersham to Dulwich Hill, the eateries on New Canterbury Rd are as diverse as the neighbourhoods through which they pass — including some Portuguese charcoal chicken and desserts. FIND OUT WHERE
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THE FOLD CAFE & PATISSERIE
It says cafe but those petite tarts elegantly topped with wisps of meringue, caramelised popcorn, chocolate nibs and sheets of gold in front look more like works of art.
As tasty as they are beautiful, these sweet and savoury delights, are all the handiwork of Travin De Hoedt (head pastry chef at Franca Brasserie in Potts Point) and his younger brother Jason. But, they’re just one half of The Fold Cafe & Patisserie, the other half being their father, Augustus, who with more than 40 years of experience in five-star hotels around the globe, pretty much handles the menu, and mother, Dilki who oversees them all.
A genuine passion project for the family, they’ve come together and opened an eatery that serves authentic Sri Lankan dishes and Australian cafe classics with a bit of Sri Lankan flavour.
“The food that you will eat here is the same that’d you get in Sri Lanka,” Augustus says, explaining that all too often, international cuisines get modified in different countries when specific ingredients become cost-prohibitive or unavailable.
He has learned that if it can’t be found, he’ll just make it himself, even creating his version of curry powders and what has already proven to standout out the menu, his spicy onion jam with sabal.
“If you came to my home, you’d be eating these same foods. The same chicken curry. Foods with lots of ginger, garlic, tamarind, lemongrass and obviously chilli. Just like what I’d do at home or what my mum would do for me.”
Another family recipe, and what is certainly a mainstay of Sri Lankan fare, is a hopper, something akin to a crisp, savoury crepe that has been fried into a bowl shape.
An egg hopper, as the name implies, has a fried egg in the base of the bowl.
“In Sri Lanka, it’s a staple,” Travin says.
“We eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the morning we’ll have it with an egg or with jam and butter, later in the day it’d be with curries.”
At The Fold, the signature dish would have to be the APPA-APPA which comes with an egg hopper, two plain hoppers, Augustus’ famous spicy onion jam, sambal paste and a choice of free-range chicken curry or red lentil curry.
The easiest and most common way is to eat it with your hands. Tear off a piece from the top then dip it into either the yolk at the bottom or in the condiments or both. You could also use a spoon to heap it on or put some in the “bowl” and wrap it up like a taco.
For the neophyte, if that sounds slightly intimidating, start off with something more familiar such as the Hopper Benedict-poached eggs and sweet paprika hollandaise served on a hopper with grilled ham and pancetta crumble or with herb-roasted mushrooms and crispy kale.
“It’s comforting to see people enjoy the food,” Augustus says.
“Food needs to come from your heart. If I’m not cooking food with my heart, you won’t enjoy it. It’s good to see that people like what we are doing.”
Later in the year, there’ll also be regular specials including a Sri Lankan High Tea, till then swing by and ponder your culinary calendar over a cup of The Little Marionette coffee and some cake, which if you’re after a slice of Saaya Takahashi’s divine Japanese Souffle Cheesecake, better make that a Tuesday.
— 402 New Canterbury Rd, Dulwich Hill; thefoldcafeandpatisserie.com.au
SWEET BELEM CAKE BOUTIQUE
Looks can be deceiving. While Portuguese tarts may appear as a simple custard and puff-pastry dessert, one bite and you’ll understand why queues have been known to form outside the steps of this Petersham bakery.
What takes mere minutes to devour takes days to make; the dough alone is a 72-hour process.
The rich filling is a traditional mix of sugar and yolk, but Sweet Belem’s co-owner Jose Silva (bibo Wine Bar, Guillaume) notes that it’s the locally-farmed free-range eggs that make all the difference — that plus a significant amount of skill and an old family recipe.
In the end, it all comes down to those final ten minutes in the oven where the yolk rises closer the heat, caramelising the top to a burnt-gold colour, and the ridges of the dough fan out to create delicate layers.
Though the traditional cinnamon-dusted tart is what brings people in, the actual range includes chocolate, salted caramel, almond, raspberry and blueberry variants as well an impressive selection of other pastries.
For those after a grand gesture and not just a treat, Jose suggests the shop’s crowning glory: The Sweet Belem Tart Tower.
“It’s a celebratory tower of our signature free-range pastel de natas (Portuguese egg tarts) covered with spun sugar.”
It looks like those simple custard tarts are finally getting the centrestage they deserve.
— 35B New Canterbury Rd, Petersham; sweetbelem.com.au
THE SAUSAGE FACTORY
Like begets like and it seems that the lineage of this expansive shop is destined to be the home of specialty producers, first as a Greek butcher shop and now, thanks to Chrissy Flanagan, the namesake behind Chrissy’s Cuts, it’s also a haven for artisanal producers.
When she and her partner Jim Flanagan were first looking for a place to expand the manufacturing of her “top-notch sausages” such as beef with roasted wattleseed, lamb with sumac and mint and pork with bacon and maple syrup, it ended up being the area itself that called their name.
“We were drawn to Dulwich Hill by its emerging artisan producers hub and diverse neighbourhood. We love the broad demographics of the area and its sense of community, things that from our experience go hand-in-hand.”
It was a fortuitous move as once they moved in, they “quickly realised the front would make an incredible restaurant, bar and sausage cellar door”.
Four years on, The Sausage Factory, which they affectionately refer to as ‘brewery/snaggery’, continues to make her gourmet sausages for wholesale and takeaway as well as a featured item on the menu.
At the moment, they’re only open on Friday and Saturday evenings but will soon revert to the five-day a week operation, with an expansive menu.
Fortunately, the excellent beer selection continues to be as abundant and diverse as ever, regularly featuring local craft brews, the highlight, of course, being Chrissy’s own Sausage Queen Brewing, which since launching two years ago has seen more than 30 varieties on tap and, now, since April is available in cans.
The response to her beers has been so overwhelmingly positive that as of September, their Boss Ale will be sold in select BWS stores. And as if that doesn’t keep them busy enough, Chrissy adds, that on Tuesday nights, that offer retail takeaway “for our sausages and beer, as well as other local artisan producers as part of Dully Locals, a not-for-profit I started to promote and distribute local businesses’ products”.
“We also do sausage masterclasses monthly and make beers to commission for milestone birthdays and private parties.”
Just imagine what she could do with a little free time.
— 380 New Canterbury Rd, Dulwich Hill; thesausagefactory.com.au
FRANGOS PETERSHAM CHARCOAL CHICKEN
For decades, Sydneysiders have been referring to the area around Audley St and New Canterbury Rd as Little Portugal which would probably make Frangos (the Portuguese word for chicken) it’s unofficial capital as it’s definitely where locals and visitors have been known to congregate and for a brief window in time, the masses are united over the love of Portuguese charcoal chicken.
Granted those engagements usually occur in the queue where hungry masses patiently waiting to grab some lunch or dinner, that doesn’t diminish the fact that this mouth-watering chicken, is so delicious it goes go to show that a shared love of food, can be one of life’s great equalisers.
Prepared using the traditional Portuguese method, the butterflied chicken which has been marinating for 24-hour in a special blend of garlic, lemon and spices then cooked on a rotisserie over hot coals for 20 minutes giving it a crispy skin and tender meat.
Pork, clam and grilled cod are also on the menu, and you choose between quick takeaway or to further the conversation with the friends you’ve made, have a seat at one of the tables out back or in the upstairs dining rooms.
Plus that makes it so much easier to share the chips salads and other sides while sipping on one of their domestic or International Portuguese wines, beers or sodas.
— 98 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham; frangos.com.au
WHAT’S FRESH
QUEENSIDE CAFE
A relatively new addition to Dulwich Hill’s emerging cafe scene, Queenside is testament to the power of good neighbours and kindred spirits.
Owners Jim and Antonella Papadakis could have opened up shop and served what can best be described as gourmet toasties anywhere in greater Sydney, but as Jim explains, “we chose our location as were inspired by the local wool shop, The Skein Sisters”, which in truth is more of a social hub for knitters that just happens to sell a massive selection of premium yarns.
For that matter, besides serving tasty yet uncomplicated breakfast staples and more savoury burritos and sandwiches such as The Morty a ham and cheese waffle toastie with Drunken Sailor’s smokey tomato relish, house-made aioli, and shallots or The El Heffe Burrito with Mexican spiced brown rice and beans, red pepper salsa, guacamole, bacon, egg, Oaxaca cheese and coriander, they’re also a defacto chess club.
While the meaning behind the cafe’s name, Queenside, may not be obvious to some, Jim notes that those with some knowledge of the game will recognise it as a chess reference.
“I’m a chess enthusiast/competitive player and the shop is close to Queen St, so the name seems apt.”
If you’re a keen player yourself, you’ll want to keep an eye on their Facebook page for upcoming chess social nights.
It’s an ideal time to have a laugh over the inside jokes behind the names on the menu, many of which are references to Jim’s favourite online chess streamers and movie classics, all of which is best conducted over a cuppa from any number of local coffee roasters.
It’s a win-win situation.
— 1/727 New Canterbury Rd, Dulwich Hill; queensidedulwichhill.com
THE HUB HOUSE DINER
The happy days of American diners can be found in Dulwich Hills where big burgers,
milkshakes and French fries are the go but to make it more appealing to every palette and
every age, they also have a kiddie menu creative salads, veggie burgers and spanakopita.
And in case you have a hankering for French Toast when everyone else is heading out for
afternoon tea, they have an all-day breakfast menu that ranges from housemade granola to
Australia’s own Big Brekkie.
— 410-412 New Canterbury Rd; thehubhousediner.com.au
TELLA BALLS DESSERT BAR
When those over-the-top milkshakes piled high with lollies first hit the sweet scene, Tella Balls co-owners Aki Daikos and Simon Kappatos felt that there was still something missing. They had the brilliant — and decadent — idea to crown their concoction with a Nutella-filled doughnut and run the straw right through the middle.
Seems the rest of the world thought it was quite a treat too, as in a mere three days they saw their Instagram account rise from 1000 to more than 20,000 followers.
They’ve gone on to open other outlets and if it’s even possible and created more Nutella-based dessert but at the end of the day this global phenomenon still calls Dulwich Hill home.
— Shop 5, 370 New Canterbury Rd, Dulwich Hill; tellaballsdessertbar.com
THE EATE
When the smoked-lamb platter is placed on the table, you’d swear it was divine intervention and you wouldn’t be too far off the mark as The Eate is named after the ancient Basque god of fire.
Slow-cooked over special selected charcoal, this succulent and tender meat is heaven sent. Being a Mediterranean restaurant at heart, the menu reflects the bounty of that region with equally more-ish beef, chicken and seafood options as well as an abundance of market fresh and organic produce.
Everything is prepared in-house, including the pickled vegetables that are interspersed throughout the menu. Your prayers have been answered.
— 555 New Canterbury Rd, Dulwich Hill; theeate.com.au
KICKIN’ INN KAJUN SEAFOOD
Fun with food. This is one place where not only allowed to play with your food, it’s pretty much the only way to eat it.
And as with any good messes, these a meal best enjoyed with friends, so don your bibs, slip on some gloves and tuck into the mounds of fresh seafood such as prawns, mud crab, lobster, pipis, that has been plopped right into the middle of the table.
Take it straight up or go for the house special and have it prepared with their Kajun sauce. For those after something a tick milder you can also get the lot prepared with garlic butter, or lemon pepper. What a beautiful mess.
— 82-86 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham; kickininn.com.au
Originally published as Sydney Eat Street: Best eateries along New Canterbury Rd
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