Mama’s & Papa’s, Valencia some Parramatta Church St restaurants that are reopen
Raise your glass and your appetite because now light rail construction has wrapped up on Parramatta’s main dining strip, Eat St is getting its gourmet groove back.
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After 18 months of construction upheaval and the headache of a global pandemic thrown in, Parramatta’s Eat St has reopened with broader footpaths for alfresco dining and a host of restaurants offering flavours from the Mediterranean to Southeast Asia.
The $2.4 billion light rail project, coupled with the virus, claimed its casualties with the longstanding Sicilian restaurant permanently shutting its doors after 26 years in March, following the closures of Ray and Lou’s and Criniti’s.
Parramatta Lord Mayor Steven Issa said people would be amazed to see Eat St’s transformation during lockdown.
“Eat St is western Sydney’s premier dining strip, and these businesses are the lifeblood of our community, so it’s fantastic to see them welcoming back customers as the city opens up and Parramatta light rail edges closer to completion,’’ he said.
Restaurateurs were relishing trade on Thursday when crowds heading to CommBank Stadium for the Socceroos match stopped at Church St for a pre-game feed.
“Eat St is once again the beating heart and soul of Parramatta with thousands of people flocking back to rediscover the culinary delights of this historic strip and to once again have a world-class experience at CommBank Stadium,’’ Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said.
“The billions of dollars of investment in a new stadium, light rail and other civic improvements are starting to deliver a dynamic city experience that will only grow as more of these major projects are completed. That is great news for local businesses, residents and visitors who are reaping the benefits.’’
The dining strip’s revitalisation has not all been smooth sailing — the hospitality industry is still struggling to recruit staff and Parramatta businesses are no exception.
“It’s definitely a pandemic for staff,’’ long-serving Parramatta businessman John Chammas, who has owned Mama’s & Papa’s Italian restaurant for the past five years, said.
“Everyone in the industry is literally crying because of it. We can actually do better now but we can’t because there’s no staff. Some of our staff are literally working seven days a week at the moment.’’
However, Chammas, who has yet to reopen his Baulkham Hills restaurant because of the staff shortage, is buoyed by Church St buzzing again.
“It’s amazing,’’ he said.
“Ever since alfresco dining started around 1990, it’s never looked that good. The only thing people complain about is parking.’’
That buzz drawing people back to his restaurant and others such as Bay Vista, Restaurant 317 and Kouzina Greco does not include the doof doof music.
“They used to go past with the Hot Rods and their cars and their loud music,’’ Chammas said. “They would pump their music and do a burnout in front of you.
“That’s gone now and it’s really peaceful. It’s really nice.
“There’s a lot of people coming. They’re coming out in the rain, they’re coming out in the wind, they’re coming out in the cold — they don’t care.’’
Frankie B’s opened last week and has an ambitious international menu serving Italian, Asian and Middle Eastern dishes at the freshly fitted-out, spacious venue, which has a capacity of 230.
“We worked a lot on our aesthetics,’’ manager Arti Chitrakar said.
“We wanted something fresh.’’
Once customers nestle in to an inviting booth or table, the next task of choosing a meal from any point of the globe.
At Estelita’s Filipino Kusina at Parramatta, staff are happy to start serving dishes from their ancestral home after the second lockdown meant they only had two months of trading before shutting.
Chef Ted Ileto is especially proud of the kare-kare dish, aka the peanut stew with braised beef in a thick sauce with eggplant, mixed greens and tripe.
If you’re seeking traditional Filipino food, look no further than Estelita’s, which does the classics well with dishes including oxtail, leche flan and fried ice cream.
From a similar melting pot, newbie Indonesian restaurant Ayam Penyet Ria has chosen Parramatta for its western Sydney debut and is busy serving its popular turmeric chicken soup along with staples such as chicken satay skewers.
“You get more savoury and spicy food,’’ owner Jeremy Jordan said.
“It’s not the food that’s spicy but the sauce.’’
Offerings include the restaurant’s namesake ayam penyet dish, an East Javanese cuisine with smashed fried chicken and served with cucumber, fried tofu and sambal.
If you’re missing travelling to Europe, transport yourself to Spain and indulge in some of Valencia Grill and Tapas Bar 10 cocktails and share plates, including nachos, saffron arancini and mushroom-topped garlic bread in the 89-seat venue replete with suede chairs and booths.
Owner Nabil Elbortol aims to create a “luxury, cosy vibe”.
“I want to spice it up in Parramatta,’’ he said.
“It needs it. Everyone’s saying ‘well done’, this is what Parramatta needs.’’
Sip festive cocktails such as the red Don’t Make Me Blush (Aperol, lychee, tequila and Midori) and the Iceberg or the Valencia Special with vodka, Aperol, lime, passionfruit juice and tequila.
Continue the Mediterranean vibe at SouvLucky Country, where the interiors resemble a Greek taverna by the water; just the vibe husband and wife Harry Petrohilos and Maria Strigkou aspire to emulate.
“Our philosophy is to cook with passion and serve authentic dishes to our customers in a warm and friendly atmosphere,’’ Petrohilos said.
“We want our customers to feel as though they travelled to Greece when dining at the SouvLucky Country.’’
Burger lovers are well catered for in Parramatta and John Belvedere takes care of it in Church St with its imaginative menu, from classic cheeseburgers to truffle chicken burger, the Korean chicken burger and everything in between. Opt for traditional fries or loaded options such as the bacon fries with cracked bacon, truffle mayonnaise and liquid cheese.
Round out the indulgent venture with fried Golden Gaytime, fried Oreo with Nutella and ice cream sundae for dessert.
For lovers of fine dining institution El Phoenician (which is most of Parramatta), the Church St mainstay plans to reopen in January when many other restaurants aim to reopen for lunch as more office workers return to Parramatta’s CBD.
On Friday, Restaurant 317 will host the first Parramatta edition of the Global Cities After Dark Celebrate Local. Tickets include a three-course dinner with paired wines, as well as live music performances by artists such as Becca Hatch, Carolina Gasolina, Jamaica Moana and Nardean.
At a recent Parramatta Council meeting, councillor Sameer Pandey called for a report into time frames on works that are yet to be completed between Macquarie and Phillip streets and the impact of the proposed Metro construction on Church St businesses.
Some cafes, such as the Coffee Emporium, are still waiting for outdoor dining facilities.
The council will also look into providing clear plastic enclosures attached to umbrellas for businesses to use in inclement weather.
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Originally published as Mama’s & Papa’s, Valencia some Parramatta Church St restaurants that are reopen
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