Cities, suburbs, and neighbourhoods are made up of streets. Often, the main strip running through a suburb can tell you more about the people who call the surrounding area their home than anything. Food is perhaps its most powerful expression. Zoom in on the grocers, cafes, bars, restaurants and takeaways, and not only will they reflect how the community eats, but by extension, how it lives. It’s the greens, spices and sauces they’re taking home, the cereals they’re stocking up on, the dishes they’re cooking or craving, and how that ties into who they are, where they or their family is from and where they’re going.

Step out of the station at Granville, and the scent of chicken fat dripping onto charcoal fills the air. Walk the streets of Cabramatta and grandmas hawk Vietnamese herbs from the footpath. Drive through Woollahra, and kids in sports uniforms chase hot chips with cans of drink while their parents stock up on dry-aged beef.

In these scenes, there are generations of stories, of people and place, of love, of loss, of war, of movement, immigration, cultures colliding and of kids growing up with feet partly in one world and partly another. These streets are what makes Sydney different from Paris, Hoi An, New York or Tokyo. Knitted together, they form a fabric that gives the city its texture.

This new series on Sydney’s great Eat Streets is about exploring those textures in full colour. From street to street, neighbourhood to neighbourhood, the goal is to build a portrait of the city and its people, how it’s changed over time, and how it continues to evolve.

And to kick it off, we’re heading to Enmore Road, the inner-west arterial tucked between Marrickville and Newtown, that has lagged King Street in the public consciousness. Newtown’s main strip drew headlines as boutiques and hatted restaurants moved in alongside the many crystal shops, vegetarian cafes and Thai eateries.

Enmore Road, meanwhile, always rocked more of a grunge aesthetic, more tooled for locals and specialists – record shops, African hairdressers, old pubs and neighbourhood cafes – with the Enmore Theatre setting the tone.

For those in the 2042 postcode, though, the script has flipped as more seasoned operators have moved in, buoyed by a full schedule at the theatre and increased international focus after Time Out magazine named Enmore Road one of the best in the world in 2022.

It’s backed by the state government, too, which, in 2023, designated the strip a permanent Special Entertainment Precinct, encouraging more live performances and later dining, a move that’s fuelled ever-more interest.

Pasan Wijesana has run Earl’s Juke Joint on South King Street since 2013, before following up on Enmore Road with Jacoby’s Tiki Bar, The Trocadero Room and most recently, The Magpie. He puts the change over the past decade down to invested operators keen to improve the area.

“Like most high streets, you have seen a new generation of professional and high-quality hospitality operators move in. What makes it special is that many of these are actual locals, so there’s a connection to the area that feels natural.”

Enmore Road’s appeal, he says, lies in its diversity. “A good mix of low-brow and high-end, something for all budgets and tastes. Being a bit off the beaten track of King Street was always a drawcard, I suppose – although ironically, it’s now arguably busier!”

One thing about Enmore Road that’s certain is that you’ll drink as well as you eat. Step out of Newtown Station, cross the crossing, and strap in.

Bar Planet

There’s plenty of ground to cover, so time your arrival around 5pm for an opening martini at specialist Bar Planet, with a fit-out featuring dripping candles and a cosmically inclined faux terrazzo bar top. Choose the house special and a stream of vermouth and “infinite spirit” (with batches and botanicals layered like a master stock) is spritzed with lemon oil as it’s poured, then garnished with an olive. Then there’s the sparkling vodka Scorpino, based on house sorbet (perhaps blueberry and lavender), plus plenty of options to customise your martini just the way you like it.

16 Enmore Road, Newtown, barplanet.com.au

Maiz Mexican Food

King Street mainstay Maiz took over the space that once housed Enmore institution Hartsyard at the end of 2023. Here, Puebla-born Juan Carlos Negrete builds his menu around corn, sourcing heirloom varieties and spinning them into crisp chilaquiles for brunch, scallop-topped tostadas for snacks, and hand-pressed tortillas topped with confit duck or grass-fed beef barbacoa, with house moles (complex sauces) for interest. Agave spirits drive the drinks, with margaritas taking top billing.

33 Enmore Road, Newtown, maizmexicanfood.com

P&V Merchants

Head through the lights and across the road to hit P&V, a bottle shop that needs little introduction. Launched by Rootstock co-founder Mike Bennie alongside veteran bar manager Lou Dowling in 2017, the bottle shop felt revolutionary at that time and is still a standard-bearer of the genre today. It’s the place to grab everything from natural wines from the Jura region of France and juicy red blends to rare artisanal sake, small-batch vermouth and premium oysters to go.

Over the road, meanwhile, 25-seat wine bar-slash-bottle-o Famelia offers drink-in and takeaway bottles, plus snacks – try the egg dip with caviar – to write home about.

P&V, 64 Enmore Road, Newtown, pnvmerchants.com; Famelia, 55 Enmore Road, Newtown, famelia.com.au

Cairo Takeaway

Cross back over, and odds are you’ll spy the lines out the door and the diners perched on milk crates before you spy the shopfront housing Cairo Takeaway. They’re here for epic sesame-encrusted broad bean falafel stuffed into pockets or served as part of a plate alongside fried cauliflower, pickles and toum (garlic sauce), as well as meats grilled over charcoal and ful medames (fava bean stew) for brunch. Wine is BYO, so bring yours from P&V or Famelia (see above) and have at it.

81 Enmore Road, Newtown, cairotakeaway.com

Palomino Lounge

A block further away, Dylan Howarth runs cocktail Fortunate Son, a small slip of a venue renowned for its premium bubbles as much as for its history of serving one of the city’s finest Ramos Gin Fizzes.

But it’s Howarth’s latest, the far larger Palomino Lounge, that’s turning heads. Red bar stools, green marble accents and a stage hosting live musicians draw the eye, but it’s the drinks that seal it. Think a frozen spin on Irish coffee made with Slane Whiskey, smoked chilli margaritas, and a fridge full of top-tier fizz.

Fortunate Son, 105 Enmore Road, Newtown, fortunateson.com.au; Palomino Lounge, 134A Enmore Road, Newtown, palominolounge.com.au

Little Lagos

Further along, Nigerian food and Afrobeats collide at Ade Adeniyi’s bistro-bar, Little Lagos, where tomato-spiked jollof rice and pliable fufu, made from pounded yam, are staples to soak up the likes of rich and fragrant stewed goat, or ila asepo, featuring spiced okra and beef braised to tenderness. Settle in for a meal, or drop in for fried plantains paired with creative cocktails and music that thumps from the speakers.

125 Enmore Road, Enmore, alittlelagos.com

Bar Louise

Just a little further up, the retro facade of the Marie-Louise hairdresser still stands, but the words “Salon de Tapas” hint at something else; step inside what’s now billed as Bar Louise from the group behind Continental Deli and Porteno, and you’ll find yourself in one of Sydney’s finest Spanish eateries. This hatted venue offers plenty to make a meal out of, but perch at the bar, and it’s all about vermut and sangria on ice, $6 Gildas and perhaps a sneaky soft-set tortilla vaga, with shellfish butter, prawn and a thatch of crisped potato for added texture.

135 Enmore Road, Enmore, barlouise.com.au

Firepop

Right next door, husband and wife Raymond Hou and Alina Van have put down roots at Firepop after more than a decade operating as a pulsating food stall. Fuelled by an immense charcoal and wood-fired grill, the menu here is more expansive than the skewers they made their name on. Sure, there’s lamb threaded onto sticks dusted with sesame, cumin and chilli and accented with Davidson’s plum, but then there’s a premium steak or two, rock oysters with fermented chilli, and crudo flavoured with white soy and mandarin oil. Add Mosel riesling, Georgian ambers and new-wave locals for drinks, and this is proof that starting small doesn’t mean you can’t dream big.

137 Enmore Road, Enmore, firepop.com.au

Jacoby’s Tiki Bar

More drinks? Slip over to Jacoby’s. Even if a bar themed after the tiki-obsessed psychiatrist from Twin Peaks sounded like a gimmick on launch in 2017, the fact it had the team from King Street institution Earl’s Juke Joint behind it hinted there was more going on under the thatched ceiling. 2024 still sees it going strong: booths and bar stools are packed to bursting, rum- and fruit-driven cocktails are spot on, and there’s no shortage of flair: order the Neptune’s Nirvana, a large-format rum and hibiscus wine punch served in a flaming clamshell, for a taste.

Loop back later, and next door, the group’s latest openings include The Trocadero Room, which offers live music, DJs and frozen negronis until late, and The Magpie, a teensy pub specialising in live sports and ice-cold local beers with a considered wine list in reserve.

Jakoby’s, 154 Enmore Road, Enmore, jacobys-tiki-bar.com; The Trocadero Room and The Magpie, 156 Enmore Road, Enmore, instagram.com/trocaderoroom

Osteria di Russo & Russo

A father-son affair, this hatted osteria, just a door or two up, pushes the boundaries of Italian cooking while maintaining respect for classics. So it is that casarecce with sweet spanner crab and sweetcorn gets punch from kombu, and rigatoni with wagyu sausage gets funk and heat from fermented chilli. Grilled duck breast with pineapple and Diane sauce is essential ordering, as is a thick slab of tiramisu to finish, chased with a glass of house limoncello.

158 Enmore Road, Enmore, russoandrusso.net.au

Colombo Social

Back over the road, social enterprise restaurant Colombo Social takes a broad approach to Sri Lankan cuisine while providing employment opportunities and training for people seeking asylum. Surrounds are comfortable, while dishes might include saganaki cheese doused in syrupy kithul or soft-shell crab stuffed into roti with papaya salsa. And Amma’s dhal isn’t to be skipped either.

159 Enmore Road, Enmore, plateitforward.org.au

Cow and the Moon

A little further along lies gelateria Cow and the Moon. Renowned for taking out the Gelato World Tour title in 2014, the Crowl family’s original shop is still going strong, with queues forming for favourites including balsamic vinegar and strawberry panna cotta, and seasonal specials like summery white-peach sorbet, churned in-house daily. But the must order is the panna cotta gelato with strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

181 Enmore Road, Enmore, cowandthemoon.com.au

Enmore Country Club

A nightcap? Cross back over Enmore Road and finish up at Enmore Country Club, a retro-styled newcomer. Here, the walls are wood-panelled, the wallpaper is intentionally daggy, and the staff are as friendly as their uniforms are fabulous. On the menu? There’s no skipping the Country Club Cherry Cola, a highball combining a splash of rum with house cherry cola, while the taps are tuned to affordable local brews. Still peckish? The twist on a club sandwich, with either chicken or tofu, has late-night cravings covered.

182 Enmore Road, Enmore, enmorecountryclub.com