FIFA star Ellie Carpenter’s guide to Sydney
She’s based in France’s gastronomic capital, but Ellie Carpenter says from sunrise to midday, Sydney dining is unrivalled. Ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Matildas star shares her favourite Sydney spots to eat, stay and play.
Cowra holds a special place in Ellie Carpenter’s heart, and her leg (she bears an ink outline of the NSW country town’s boundary on her left ankle).
But having moved to Sydney’s Inner West in her early teens to pursue her dream of soccer stardom, Sydney also feels like home. The 23-year-old Matildas’ defender has been living in the French food capital of Lyon since 2020, when she signed to one of the world’s best football clubs, Olympique Lyonnais.
Being a foodie, Lyon is a boon for Carpenter, but the athlete says between 6am and lunchtime, Sydney has the culinary upper hand. “Lyon is a beautiful city; the food there is incredible and there are so many Michelin-starred restaurants, and I love my food, so it’s a great place to live,” she says. “But I love the brunch culture and the coffee culture in Sydney; there’s really nothing else like it in the world.
With the eve of the FIFA Women‘s World Cup fast approaching, Carpenter hasn’t had much time to enjoy leisurely brunches. “I’m really excited to have a World Cup on home soil,” she says. “To have that opening game sold out; to have that crowd behind us is really exciting.”
Inspiring the next generation of Australian soccer stars is a huge motivation for the defender, who, in her capacity as an ambassador for sporting retailer Rebel, has joined forces with Nike to host GoalGirls, a free program aimed at encouraging young women to participate in the sport.
“I’m really proud to be able to inspire girls eight to 12 to play football,” she says.
Eat
For Carpenter, a Sydney morning well spent involves an early morning coffee and brunch at one of her favourite cafes.
“Whenever I get back to Sydney I’m always jet-lagged, so I’m awake and about at five or six in the morning, and I love that coffee shops are open,” she says. “In France they don’t open until about 11.”
The Nike athlete cites The Boathouse Balmoral as a favourite destination for a mid-morning feed. The casual beachside eatery, one of nine venues owned by The Boathouse Group, serves up Australian brunch classics such as steel cut oat porridge, bacon and egg rolls and ricotta hot cakes. “Whenever I come home from overseas which is about twice a year I go there,” Carpenter says. “Their avocado toast and poached eggs are my go-to for breakfast; it’s so big but so good, and for lunch I always get the classic fish and chips.”
She also makes a point of stopping by Bondi’s Fruitologist for one of the grocer’s famous Beach Bowls; a generous compilation of frozen acai berry puree, peanut butter and banana which has become so popular the line for the nutritious treat often snakes around the block. “I am an acai connoisseur and no matter what I go there,” she says. “They do the best acai bowls in Sydney.”
Having spent her teens living in Abbotsford in Sydney’s inner west, Carpenter likes to stop by Travatino Café in Wareemba for a nostalgic treat when she’s in the area. “Their raspberry and strawberry tarts are amazing.” she says. “It’s still got the same owners, and they’ve known me since I was 11 or 12.”
For a finer dining experience, Carpenter heads to Sydney’s eastern suburbs. You’ll find her lunching at Totti’s Bondi whenever she’s in town and her hectic training schedule permits.
“It’s one of my favourite restaurants to go to for lunch with a group of friends,” she says. For a main course, the reginette, lobster and crab alla vodka pasta is sublime, she concedes, but it’s the restaurant’s extensive shared antipasti which cannot be missed.
“The bread, oh my gosh, you can’t not order the bread,” she exclaims, “and the prosciutto and the olives and the cucumbers and the tomatoes; all the sides are great.”
Mimi’s, another Merivale restaurant located just a few beaches over at Coogee Pavilion, is the soccer star’s newest Sydney food find.
“I’ve eaten at restaurants around the world and honestly it’s one of the best lunches I’ve had,” she says.
“I went there last week before I went back to camp, and I was like ‘wow’. Their sticky date pudding souffle is one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten.”
Play
Located at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers, Lyon boasts beautiful waterways, but Carpenter admits she misses Sydney’s beaches. When she’s in town and not busy training, you’ll usually find her at one.
“We have the best beaches,” she says. Balmoral is a childhood favourite, and taking a dip after finishing the cliff walk from Bondi to Bronte Beach is a must do for anyone visiting the city for the first time. “I feel really lucky to be Australian when I’m walking along the coast, and I think it’s something a lot of us take for granted,” she adds.
Last year the FIFA World Cup contender took her partner and Olympique Lyonnais teammate Daniëlle van de Donk on another favourite Sydney excursion; a ferry tour around Sydney Harbour.
“It’s the best way to see the harbour,” Carpenter says. “We went to Taronga Zoo to see the koalas and kangaroos because she’d never seen them either. She still talks about it.”
Stay
Having risen through the ranks of the world’s professional female soccer leagues at such a young age, Carpenter has spent more time in hotel rooms than the average 23-year-old. So when it comes to accommodation, she knows what she likes.
In Sydney, she will often opt to stay at the 140 room, five-star Intercontinental Double Bay. And with its unrivalled views of the Sydney Opera House, the Park Hyatt is also another top pick. “Their rooms are exceptional,” she adds.
GoalGirls registrations launch 13th July on rebelsport.com.au.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout