Big hamburgers, crazy milkshakes, truckloads of retro-cool lollies: Who says the milk bar is dead?

LOLLY jars lining the walls, hamburgers so big you need to roll up your sleeves and milkshakes in every possible flavour. Who says the milk bar is dead?

REMEMBER a place where jars of lollies adorned the walls, the hamburgers were as big as your head, and the milkshakes came in every flavour you could imagine?

Many would be forgiven for thinking milk bar culture was a thing of the past, but even from the street it is clear that Daisy’s Milkbar in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of Petersham is more than just a tip-of the hat to the milk bars that used to be the meeting place for every Australian.

When Jake De Varine-Bohan and his partner Jessica Barnes started dating they realised they both shared a passion for the cafe culture.

They joked about how they dreamt of setting up a cafe that was the best bits of every place they’d ever visited, but also a flashback to the dying culture of relaxed milk bars with bubbly milkshakes.

In early 2014, they discovered a shop on Stanmore Rd in Petersham and realised their dreams could become a reality.

“Before we even met we’d both always wanted to do something like this,” Mr De Varine-Bohan said.

“We’d joked about it and neither of us liked the jobs we were doing, and we kind of started looking around for a place.

“Before we knew it, we’d bought this place and then we kind of had to keep going.

“Now, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

“Our vision really was to create an old Australian milk bar, crossed with a cafe.”

Daisy’s owner Jake De Varine-Bohan with waitress Jemma Lindsay.

What they have created in Petersham is a refreshing change of pace, and Mr De Varine-Bohan said that it was fast becoming a favourite with the locals.

“Everyone loves going to places with lollies,” he said.

“We sell a lot of milkshakes though as well, particularly on weekends, and we recently had to get a second milkshake machine just to keep up.

“We use local companies wherever we can for all our produce, and we sell a lot of coffees as well, and we use Marrickville-based Double Roasters for those.”

Daisy’s milk bar at Petersham has plenty of local customers.

But it’s not just the milkshakes that are proving a hit with the locals, and the milk bar’s menu has a great mix of old-fashioned favourites and fancier cafe creations.

The Burger With the Lot (at $12) is the real deal, and it really does have the lot.

The beef pattie is slammed between beetroot, a fried egg, onion, pineapple, bacon, lettuce, cheese, and smothered in tomato and BBQ sauce.

It’s so good that it’s impossible to eat without rolling up your sleeves.

You’ll roll up your sleeves to eat this burger.

For breakfast, the Pesto Eggs ($15) are more modern option.

These scrambled eggs, with pesto and Persian feta on toast, are a favourite at Daisy’s.

Pesto Eggs are a crowd-pleaser.

But, along with the milkshakes (from $5), the real crowd-pleaser at the milk bar are the desserts.

Sundaes and banana splits are on hand for traditionalists, while the Knickerbocker Glory ($14) brings a brighter, fruitier option to the menu.

The Glory combines jelly, peaches, strawberries, ice cream, raspberry sauce, and whipped cream, and is completed with a cherry on top.

The Knickerbocker Glory is a winner.

Everyone loves milkshakes.

After committing to the milk bar, Mr De Varine-Bohan and Ms Barnes only had to come up with a name, and that didn’t take long.

“When Jess and I first met I started calling her Daisy,” Mr De Varine-Bohan said.

“She’d said to me that she thought her name was boring, and so I said ‘right, I’ll call you Daisy then’.

“It just went from there, and now we even have customers who come in and call her Daisy.”

This milk bar certainly lives up to it’s name, and Daisy’s is one of the funkiest new places to eat or drink in Sydney.

DAISY’S MILK BAR

Where: 340 Stanmore Rd, Petersham

Tel: [phone]

daisysmilkbar.com

Originally published as Big hamburgers, crazy milkshakes, truckloads of retro-cool lollies: Who says the milk bar is dead?