By Matt Shea · Food / Eating out (Bris)
The Clarence team is looking to eschew your high-end sushi spots and izakayas to create something that’s dark, moody and, most importantly, uniquely Brisbane. September 10, 2026 SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. ShareAAAWhat should a Japanese restaurant look like in Brisbane in 2026? Because Ben McShane and Matt Kuhnemann have a few ideas on what it shouldn’t. “It’s not spins on Nobu recipes from the early 1990s,” McShane says. “You’re in Brisbane 30 years later. Something needs to be different.” Max Burns, venue manager Sam Tansiri, Ben McShane and Matt Kuhnemann inside the Nito premises on Fish Lane.Markus RavikMcShane developed strong ideas about Japanese cooking when he worked at Kiyomi on the Gold Coast, and after that Umu in London when it held two Michelin stars. More recently he quietly did a stint working alongside Alex Yu at Sokyo Brisbane when that restaurant first opened in 2024. “I was in Paris recently and went to this Mexican restaurant,” McShane explains. “They’re doing aguachile with cherries and corn, there were apricots in the mole. You’re eating Mexican food in Paris but it still captures this sense of place and season. That’s what we’re trying to do: what makes sense as a Japanese restaurant in Brisbane today?” McShane and Kuhnemann’s response is Nito, a 70-seat Japanese restaurant that will open in November a couple of doors along Fish Lane from Clarence, their popular produce-driven bistro. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Locals-focused wine bar and op shop lands in brilliant heritage locationThe menu is yet to be finalised but will be split into raw dishes, snack-sized plates and then larger format meat dishes, with much of the cooking anchored by a binchotan-powered charcoal grill. Draft dishes include a half lamb shoulder with bottarga and pickled wasabi, and grilled whole Murray cod served with Japanese sauces. “Lamb shoulder is a very Australian thing, but here it’ll be served with bottarga and pickled wasabi,” McShane says. “It’s creating things that still have flavours of Japanese food but in the context of Brisbane.” Overseeing the kitchen will be Max Burns, who worked with McShane at Stokehouse Q, and then Kuhnemann and Clarence venue manager Zoe O’Mahoney at Two Lights in London soon after McShane had left that restaurant. For drinks, expect a tighter wine list than Clarence, but one that still focuses on Australian producers. There will also be a sake menu and a “pretty highball-heavy” cocktail list. Nito will open just a few doors down from Clarence on Fish Lane.Markus RavikThe digs themselves are being designed by Sunshine Coast-based Studio Hillier. Diners can expect something dark and moody, with a very different vibe to Clarence. “Studio Hillier came down and wanted to walk through the space immediately,” Kuhnemann says. “They wanted to talk through what we were feeling, and they really got it. They’ve been excellent.” “It naturally has a mood to it, in a way,” McShane adds. “There are services running out of the ceiling, which is relatively low. And the back corner has this slant. It feels like the perfect spot for this concept.” SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. ShareLicense this articleMore:
Food / Good Food Guide (Vic)
Updated September 10, 2026,first published November 18, 2024 SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. ShareAAA1 / 17Dining at Figlia.Supplied2 / 17Figlia’s minimalist dining space.Kristoffer Paulsen.3 / 17Mortadella, taleggio, black shallots and pistachios.Bonnie Savage4 / 17Fior di Zucca: Ramarro farm steamed zuchinni flowers, goats curd and tarragon.Kristoffer Paulsen5 / 17Margherita pizza.Eddie Jim6 / 17Making the dough from scratch.Eddie Jim7 / 17Into the oven.Eddie JIm8 / 17Millefoglie: flaky Cobb Lane puff pastry, poached quince and lemon custard.Supplied9 / 17Poached meringue, ruby grapefruit granita, lemon curd and pepperberry.Kristoffer Paulsen10 / 17Cacio e pepe arancini.Supplied11 / 17Figlia.Supplied12 / 17Linguna pizza.Jason South13 / 17Fegatini at Figlia.Jason South14 / 17Inside the chic space.Jason South15 / 17Spaneer crab pizza. Jason South16 / 17Mortadella pizza.Luis Enrique Ascui17 / 17Baby snapper chargrilled with chilli, anchovy and caper butter.SuppliedPrevious SlideNext Slide14/20How we scoreFigliaItalian$$$$ This pizza powerhouse – cousin to Tipo 00 and Osteria Ilaria – tickles all the senses from dough to woah. First comes the aroma: hot bread puffing up in the gas-wood hybrid oven. Then it’s the texture of a chewy crust, light and charred. Finally, toppings. Perhaps a classic margherita with sweet tomato and fresh basil or the more intense salsiccia that smacks you with spicy pork and fennel sausage and a left hook of gorgonzola. Elsewhere, rock flathead is kissed by the chargrill and comes in a lake of lemon, caper and herb butter that’s perfect for any crusts in need of a quick dunk. The room’s soaring industrial ceiling, polished concrete floors and fluted glass define understated chic; the big horseshoe bar creates good times with affordable, mostly Italian wines and a killer selection of amari and grappa. Good to know: The menu’s unexpectedly excellent for gluten-intolerant diners – even the pizzas. The secret to making the perfect margherita pizza (leopard spots ’n all)AdvertisementGood Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Last visited: May 2026 SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. ShareMore:
The latest cafés and bakeries across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to have on your radar.
Save Print Share Share this post Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Email Copy link Make us your preferred source (function() { document.addEventListener('click', function(event) { if (!event.target || typeof event.target.closest !== 'function' || !event.target.closest('.c-preferred-source-btn')) { return; } window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.dataLayer.push({ event: 'preferred_source_clicked', source_url: window.location.href }); }); })(); Asides Advertisement :where(.wp-block-group.has-background){padding:1.25em 2.375em} /*# sourceURL=https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/wp-includes/blocks/group/theme.min.css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8bb04800{flex-direction:column;align-items:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-1-inline-css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bf211acf{flex-wrap:nowrap;justify-content:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-2-inline-css */ Sign up for our newsletter Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Are Media Pty Limited collects your personal information through this site to process registrations, send out newsletters, communicate offers, discounts, competitions, or surveys, and to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities. Our Privacy Policy contains information on how you can access or correct your personal information, which entities we may disclose your personal information to (including overseas recipients), how to opt out of targeted advertising, and how to lodge a complaint. FOLLOW US: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Related Across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, the café and bakery scene is in the midst of a fresh wave of openings. Established operators are expanding their footprints, while newcomers are entering the scene to an enthusiastic response. Today’s morning destinations are about more than what’s on the plate, with interiors becoming part of the experience, from European-inspired bistros to Nordic-style spaces. From Vietnamese salted coffee and freshly baked goods to neighbourhood favourites drawing queues out the door, these new openings reflect a continued appetite for well-made coffee, seasonal dishes and pastries worth planning a morning around. Jump to Best new Melbourne cafés Best new Sydney cafés Best new Brisbane cafés Mecca Coffee’s new Darlinghurst café takes its design cues from an unlikely source: the dugout homes of Coober Pedy. The speciality roaster’s third Sydney outpost, following Alexandria and Paddington, occupies a cave-like space, where Sydney studio Killing Matt Woods has leaned into its unusual proportions. The result is a café that feels carved into its surroundings, with convict-era bricks, swirled Sydney sandstone and pottery dating to 1820 woven through the interior. A raw-cut Pilbara red-marble counter anchors the space, bringing another piece of Australia’s geological history inside, while textured ceilings and a moon-like dome light add to the earthy palette. The design is matched with quick-stop service runs from cold foam brews and pour overs, to batch brews and matcha, while indoor and outdoor seating is suited for longer stays, with daily pastries from Iggy’s Bread in Bronte. After earning cult status for its overstuffed schiacciate (Tuscan flatbread) and snaking queues in Florence, sandwich shop All’Antico Vinaio has opened its first Australian outpost on Pitt Street. The menu features fifteen generously filled schiacciate, from the viral Paradiso with mortadella, stracciatella and pistachio to an Australia-exclusive creation with Papandrea‘s wagyu bresaola, parmesan and rocket. Much of what goes into each sandwich arrives directly from Italy, including the flour, 16-month-aged Prosciutto di Parma, buffalo mozzarella, parmesan and pecorino, while the bread is baked fresh on-site daily and finished with house-made pesto, seasonal produce and other local ingredients. It’s a faithful slice of Florence, now just a short walk from Sydney Harbour. Adelaide’s Kitchen has quickly become one of Paddington’s most talked-about new neighbourhood cafés. Tucked inside a heritage terrace on Regent and Renny streets, the café found its audience almost immediately, with strong demand in its first week prompting the team to temporarily pause hot dishes such as egg soldiers and porridge. The room helps explain the enthusiasm, with the interiors leaning into a familiar, cottage-kitchen feel. Café curtains, warm timber and terracotta-toned tiles give it the character of a well-loved home kitchen rather than a newly opened café. Until the hot menu returns, the counter is the focus. House-made baked goods, from scones and fresh cookies to sweet treats like orange ricotta cake, sit alongside Lay Day Coffee. Both a neighbourhood café and contemporary wine bar, Cà Phê Mai has brought a fresh take on Vietnamese dining to Double Bay. Opened by couple Cindy Mai and Ed Loveday, the venue draws on Mai’s family recipes and the pair’s travels through Vietnam, pairing nostalgic flavours with a relaxed, European-style bistro atmosphere. Since opening in mid-June, it has quickly gained a following for its blend of tradition and modernity, combining Mai’s family history in hospitality with Loveday’s experience across Sydney’s bar and wine scene (ACME, Bar Brosé). By day, the menu centres on their signature pho gà, made from Mai’s generations-old chicken broth recipe, alongside Hanoi-style spring rolls and vermicelli bowls. Paired with the house speciality, salted Vietnamese coffee, is a range of Vietnamese-Australian breakfast dishes, including bánh mì filled with hash browns, eggs and Vietnamese pickles, and a bò lá lốt sausage and egg muffin. Evening drinks shift to low-intervention wines, sparkling rice wine and produce-driven cocktails. Blossoming from its early beginnings as a laneway coffee cart, social enterprise Two Good Co’s café, The Fold, opened its doors in March, above North Sydney’s Victoria Cross Metro station. Reflecting the Turkish heritage of head chef Ayse Moonen, the menu revolves around its signature sandwiches or “folds”. A folded pita is layered with fillings including free-range butcher’s lamb kofta with lemon sumac slaw, tahini and house-made pickles, and charred eggplant with lemon sumac slaw and tahini. Coffee is Single O and toast and sandwiches use Baker Bleu bread, with loaves available for sale. The Fold operates on Two Good Co’s model of reinvesting 50 per cent of profits into their Work Work employment program for women with lived experience of domestic violence, homelessness and complex trauma. “The Fold is a place to sit, to belong, to feel cared for,” says Rob Caslick, founder of Two Good Co, “and in doing so it directly supports women rebuilding their independence.” Team Baba’s Place is embracing the day with its new café Sit, which opened in February. Built with not-for-profit Fresh Hope Communities, it’s a social enterprise located on the street level of Nightingale Marrickville, an affordable housing project, and designed to be a multi-functional space for the community. As for the food, its rolled omelette stuffed with feta and greens with an anchovy on top has been an early hit, as have the pancakes with butter and maple syrup. In an old Stanmore battery shop in Sydney’s inner west, Christiana Daaboul has opened Ard bakery, finding a permanent home for her popular plant-based creations, after developing a following through her roaming market pop-ups. Lebanese-Australian, Daaboul draws on her heritage for an ever-changing menu of baked goods, which includes the likes of pistachio plum baklava cake, mango cardamom buns and date shortbread. Having officially opened at the end of January, you can pop by from 6am Wednesday to Friday, when she cranks up the red roller door on the coffee window, and from 8.30am on weekends. Still, you’ll have to turn up and join the bustling bakery’s queue to find out what her “bake-of-day” is going to be; rather than planning ahead, Daaboul prefers to see where the mood takes her, on the day. Fans of Little Collins Street’s pint-sized bakery, Kudo Bakery, will rejoice to hear that its founders are opening the doors to their first dine-in, gluten-free bakery in Brunswick. With a menu led by head chef Kelvin Ong (ex-Society), the space isn’t the only thing that’s been upsized — a new all-day menu brings a wider variety of baked goods and sweet treats inspired by the teams’ backgrounds. In the pantry cabinet, you’ll find a rotating selection of eight canelé flavours (where favourites like pandan and taro custard; star anise and coffee; and jasmine tea with peach ganache and fresh raspberry will be permanent fixtures), corn and cheese choux (which uses every part of the corn and received a 5-star rating from Marco Pierre White on his visit) and a variety of tarts. Meanwhile, our picks from the hot menu include the buttery chicken congee pot pie; a corn and cheese rarebit “toastie”; and folded eggs and ‘nduja scooped up with torn baguette. To the glee of locals in Abbotsford, pastry chef Charlie Duffy opened Daybaker in May. During his time at Small Batch, Duffy’s laminated pastries earned him a following, and since setting up his own spot fans have been braving the cold to queue patiently in the early mornings. “It’s been far beyond anything we could have imagined,” Duffy says. “It’s been amazing to see such enthusiasm for a new neighbourhood bakery.” The chocolate wattleseed croissant best captures what they’re all about – the native seed is speckled throughout the dough and they use Planet Cocoa single-origin chocolate batons from Fiji. “It’s a pastry that reflects our focus on quality, locality and creating something that feels both familiar but unique.” Front-of-house veteran Franck Sammut, who spent eighteen years at France-Soir, has opened Upper Middle, a casual all-day spit in South Melbourne. “The menu and the space both draw on the food and places I love: simple things done well, European touches, and a room with personality. My hope is that it becomes part of people’s daily routine, a spot they return to without thinking,” says Sammut. Led in the kitchen by head chef Lakshay Kapoor (Le Cordon Bleu, formerly Bistro Thierry), the offering spans brunch staples and St Ali coffee, alongside a baguette and pizza bar serving everything from margherita to nduja with pickled chilli and jalapeño honey. Our pick: the baguette with DOP prosciutto, stracciatella, tomato, basil pesto and rocket. A second CBD outpost on Bourke Street cements Bloomwood as a go-to for pastries that sit between French technique and Asian-influenced flavours, drawing a steady city crowd since its debut on Exhibition Street in 2024. Moving between the familiar and the unexpected, the pastry case is anchored by viennoiserie like buttery pain au chocolat and crisp croissants, alongside playful reinventions: miso banoffee Danish, Dubai chocolate cookies, shio salt bread and a Hong Kong custard shio. Past creations such as the black sesame mochi flower offered a more intricate bite — layered with black sesame custard, mochi, blackberries, ginger sesame cream and black sesame jelly. Drinks complete the picture, from matcha clouds to well-executed coffee, reinforcing Bloomwood’s appeal to both pastry purists and those seeking something a little more exploratory. Cult Melbourne sandwich shop Hector’s Deli has opened its eighth location in Carlton, arriving on Lygon Street shortly after launching its second CBD site on Little Collins Street. The expansion continues a steady rollout, which has become a go-to for fast, well-made sandwiches across Melbourne. Known for its signature toasted tuna melts on rye, generously filled salad sandwiches and chicken schnitzels tucked into steamed milk buns, Hector’s Deli also serves a tight line-up of drinks and doughnuts. The Carlton store adds a location-only item to the menu with a doughnut maritozzo, filled with whipped cream, condensed milk and vanilla. Hector’s Deli has been running since 2017, when chef Dom Wilton first opened in a former milk bar tucked into Richmond’s backstreets. Quality ingredients and a commitment to consistency paid off. Key elements such as bread, pickles and sauces are made on-site at Hector’s Bakery in Richmond, and while the menu remains the same, each fit-out is designed to suit the location. Melbourne has a new sweet stop worth queuing for at Butter Days Bakery. Owned by John Demetrios (Vue de Monde, Omnia, Yugen)—winner of season two of MasterChef: Dessert Masters—and his wife Martina Cissig Demetrios (Embla, Trader House), the bakery blends classical pastry technique with Scandinavian influence. The signature is the Sunshine Bun: a savoury-sweet malted dough filled with lemon and cinnamon-scented custard. Sweet offerings continue, from Swedish kanelbulle and chocolate-dipped profiteroles to brown butter sablés Bretons filled with fruit custard and macadamia swirls. Those who prefer savoury can go for Danishes with everything bagel seasoning, cream cheese, dill, capers, shallots and lemon topped with smoked salmon, or cheesy pinwheels. A freshly made crisp chicken sandwich bathed in a glowing blue light sounds more like a mirage than a genuine snack option for late-night revellers, but it’s real! In March, Nico’s Sandwich Deli opened an after-hours sandwich automat in Fitzroy, modelled on examples they’d come across in Amsterdam. Staff on hand keep the vending machine freshly stocked, and for the six-month stint it’s operating, there is a rotating menu of limited-edition sandwiches. The team behind Brisbane favourite Mosconi has opened the doors to Bistro Tino, a European-inspired café and wine bar that brings a ritualistic approach to all-day dining. The menu is ingredient-led and flexible, with all-day breakfast spanning fried brioche with honey ricotta and balsamic strawberries and potato and zucchini frittata with blue swimmer crab and crème fraîche, while midday dishes include simmered pastina minestrone and panzanella made with yesterday’s bread. Inside, the 20-seat dining room feels warm, anchored by a handmade Tasmanian oak bar, ochre leather banquettes and herringbone parquetry. With pastries, sweets and coffee from morning and plans to extend into evening trade by spring, Bistro Tino looks set to become one of Fortitude Valley’s most charming new neighbourhood addresses. Goodside joined South Brisbane’s Fish Lane precinct, in June. The kitchen at the new “Asian brunch café” from Fanda Group (Rick Shores, Marlowe, Central, Southside) is led by executive chef Benny Lam, who also heads up Southside and Central. The prawn har gow katsu sando – which uses the same mix in its prawn patty as Southside’s har gow dim sum – has been a hit since day one. “It’s comfort food and technique in the same bite,” says Fanda Group owner David Flynn. “Once people try it, they always come back for it.” Growing up between Byron Bay and Sydney, Lana began her career in publishing after a chapter in fashion, which included a London stint with luxury labels such as Stella McCartney. Now back in Australia, she’s swapped runways for restaurant trails as the editorial assistant at Gourmet Traveller magazine, working across both print and digital channels. Equal parts style-obsessed and food-curious, she’s just as likely to be curating the latest looks for glossy pages as she is chasing down the newest bars. Linkedin Author Alice Wasley News Editor Alice has written for publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, GQ, Marie Claire and Miss Vogue. As a features journalist based in Sydney, then New York, then Sydney again, she has interviewed Fran Lebowitz, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Baz Luhrmann, Yoko Ono and many more. At Gourmet Traveller Alice covers food, restaurant and travel news, writes features and interviews people about what their last meal would be. When she is not writing, you’ll find Alice drinking coffee and reading an actual paper. An English major with a penchant for anchovies on toast and the ocean, Monique Foy got her start at Gourmet Traveller after an existential crisis and career pivot. Following her time as a digital marketer at global media agencies and a short stint as an SEO writer, Monique threw caution to the wind one Wednesday and decided to pursue her true passion – writing, of the food and drinks variety. Since then, she’s had her work published in Broadsheet and Urban List, and she joins Gourmet Traveller as Senior Content Producer with the intention to continue adding funky venues and quaint new wine bars to her growing iPhone notes section. Save Print Share Share this post Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Email Copy link Make us your preferred source (function() { document.addEventListener('click', function(event) { if (!event.target || typeof event.target.closest !== 'function' || !event.target.closest('.c-preferred-source-btn')) { return; } window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.dataLayer.push({ event: 'preferred_source_clicked', source_url: window.location.href }); }); })(); Asides Advertisement :where(.wp-block-group.has-background){padding:1.25em 2.375em} /*# sourceURL=https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/wp-includes/blocks/group/theme.min.css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8bb04800{flex-direction:column;align-items:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-1-inline-css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bf211acf{flex-wrap:nowrap;justify-content:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-2-inline-css */ Sign up for our newsletter Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Are Media Pty Limited collects your personal information through this site to process registrations, send out newsletters, communicate offers, discounts, competitions, or surveys, and to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities. Our Privacy Policy contains information on how you can access or correct your personal information, which entities we may disclose your personal information to (including overseas recipients), how to opt out of targeted advertising, and how to lodge a complaint. FOLLOW US: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Related Across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, the café and bakery scene is in the midst of a fresh wave of openings. Established operators are expanding their footprints, while newcomers are entering the scene to an enthusiastic response. Today’s morning destinations are about more than what’s on the plate, with interiors becoming part of the experience, from European-inspired bistros to Nordic-style spaces. From Vietnamese salted coffee and freshly baked goods to neighbourhood favourites drawing queues out the door, these new openings reflect a continued appetite for well-made coffee, seasonal dishes and pastries worth planning a morning around. Jump to Best new Melbourne cafés Best new Sydney cafés Best new Brisbane cafés Mecca Coffee’s new Darlinghurst café takes its design cues from an unlikely source: the dugout homes of Coober Pedy. The speciality roaster’s third Sydney outpost, following Alexandria and Paddington, occupies a cave-like space, where Sydney studio Killing Matt Woods has leaned into its unusual proportions. The result is a café that feels carved into its surroundings, with convict-era bricks, swirled Sydney sandstone and pottery dating to 1820 woven through the interior. A raw-cut Pilbara red-marble counter anchors the space, bringing another piece of Australia’s geological history inside, while textured ceilings and a moon-like dome light add to the earthy palette. The design is matched with quick-stop service runs from cold foam brews and pour overs, to batch brews and matcha, while indoor and outdoor seating is suited for longer stays, with daily pastries from Iggy’s Bread in Bronte. After earning cult status for its overstuffed schiacciate (Tuscan flatbread) and snaking queues in Florence, sandwich shop All’Antico Vinaio has opened its first Australian outpost on Pitt Street. The menu features fifteen generously filled schiacciate, from the viral Paradiso with mortadella, stracciatella and pistachio to an Australia-exclusive creation with Papandrea‘s wagyu bresaola, parmesan and rocket. Much of what goes into each sandwich arrives directly from Italy, including the flour, 16-month-aged Prosciutto di Parma, buffalo mozzarella, parmesan and pecorino, while the bread is baked fresh on-site daily and finished with house-made pesto, seasonal produce and other local ingredients. It’s a faithful slice of Florence, now just a short walk from Sydney Harbour. Adelaide’s Kitchen has quickly become one of Paddington’s most talked-about new neighbourhood cafés. Tucked inside a heritage terrace on Regent and Renny streets, the café found its audience almost immediately, with strong demand in its first week prompting the team to temporarily pause hot dishes such as egg soldiers and porridge. The room helps explain the enthusiasm, with the interiors leaning into a familiar, cottage-kitchen feel. Café curtains, warm timber and terracotta-toned tiles give it the character of a well-loved home kitchen rather than a newly opened café. Until the hot menu returns, the counter is the focus. House-made baked goods, from scones and fresh cookies to sweet treats like orange ricotta cake, sit alongside Lay Day Coffee. Both a neighbourhood café and contemporary wine bar, Cà Phê Mai has brought a fresh take on Vietnamese dining to Double Bay. Opened by couple Cindy Mai and Ed Loveday, the venue draws on Mai’s family recipes and the pair’s travels through Vietnam, pairing nostalgic flavours with a relaxed, European-style bistro atmosphere. Since opening in mid-June, it has quickly gained a following for its blend of tradition and modernity, combining Mai’s family history in hospitality with Loveday’s experience across Sydney’s bar and wine scene (ACME, Bar Brosé). By day, the menu centres on their signature pho gà, made from Mai’s generations-old chicken broth recipe, alongside Hanoi-style spring rolls and vermicelli bowls. Paired with the house speciality, salted Vietnamese coffee, is a range of Vietnamese-Australian breakfast dishes, including bánh mì filled with hash browns, eggs and Vietnamese pickles, and a bò lá lốt sausage and egg muffin. Evening drinks shift to low-intervention wines, sparkling rice wine and produce-driven cocktails. Blossoming from its early beginnings as a laneway coffee cart, social enterprise Two Good Co’s café, The Fold, opened its doors in March, above North Sydney’s Victoria Cross Metro station. Reflecting the Turkish heritage of head chef Ayse Moonen, the menu revolves around its signature sandwiches or “folds”. A folded pita is layered with fillings including free-range butcher’s lamb kofta with lemon sumac slaw, tahini and house-made pickles, and charred eggplant with lemon sumac slaw and tahini. Coffee is Single O and toast and sandwiches use Baker Bleu bread, with loaves available for sale. The Fold operates on Two Good Co’s model of reinvesting 50 per cent of profits into their Work Work employment program for women with lived experience of domestic violence, homelessness and complex trauma. “The Fold is a place to sit, to belong, to feel cared for,” says Rob Caslick, founder of Two Good Co, “and in doing so it directly supports women rebuilding their independence.” Team Baba’s Place is embracing the day with its new café Sit, which opened in February. Built with not-for-profit Fresh Hope Communities, it’s a social enterprise located on the street level of Nightingale Marrickville, an affordable housing project, and designed to be a multi-functional space for the community. As for the food, its rolled omelette stuffed with feta and greens with an anchovy on top has been an early hit, as have the pancakes with butter and maple syrup. In an old Stanmore battery shop in Sydney’s inner west, Christiana Daaboul has opened Ard bakery, finding a permanent home for her popular plant-based creations, after developing a following through her roaming market pop-ups. Lebanese-Australian, Daaboul draws on her heritage for an ever-changing menu of baked goods, which includes the likes of pistachio plum baklava cake, mango cardamom buns and date shortbread. Having officially opened at the end of January, you can pop by from 6am Wednesday to Friday, when she cranks up the red roller door on the coffee window, and from 8.30am on weekends. Still, you’ll have to turn up and join the bustling bakery’s queue to find out what her “bake-of-day” is going to be; rather than planning ahead, Daaboul prefers to see where the mood takes her, on the day. Fans of Little Collins Street’s pint-sized bakery, Kudo Bakery, will rejoice to hear that its founders are opening the doors to their first dine-in, gluten-free bakery in Brunswick. With a menu led by head chef Kelvin Ong (ex-Society), the space isn’t the only thing that’s been upsized — a new all-day menu brings a wider variety of baked goods and sweet treats inspired by the teams’ backgrounds. In the pantry cabinet, you’ll find a rotating selection of eight canelé flavours (where favourites like pandan and taro custard; star anise and coffee; and jasmine tea with peach ganache and fresh raspberry will be permanent fixtures), corn and cheese choux (which uses every part of the corn and received a 5-star rating from Marco Pierre White on his visit) and a variety of tarts. Meanwhile, our picks from the hot menu include the buttery chicken congee pot pie; a corn and cheese rarebit “toastie”; and folded eggs and ‘nduja scooped up with torn baguette. To the glee of locals in Abbotsford, pastry chef Charlie Duffy opened Daybaker in May. During his time at Small Batch, Duffy’s laminated pastries earned him a following, and since setting up his own spot fans have been braving the cold to queue patiently in the early mornings. “It’s been far beyond anything we could have imagined,” Duffy says. “It’s been amazing to see such enthusiasm for a new neighbourhood bakery.” The chocolate wattleseed croissant best captures what they’re all about – the native seed is speckled throughout the dough and they use Planet Cocoa single-origin chocolate batons from Fiji. “It’s a pastry that reflects our focus on quality, locality and creating something that feels both familiar but unique.” Front-of-house veteran Franck Sammut, who spent eighteen years at France-Soir, has opened Upper Middle, a casual all-day spit in South Melbourne. “The menu and the space both draw on the food and places I love: simple things done well, European touches, and a room with personality. My hope is that it becomes part of people’s daily routine, a spot they return to without thinking,” says Sammut. Led in the kitchen by head chef Lakshay Kapoor (Le Cordon Bleu, formerly Bistro Thierry), the offering spans brunch staples and St Ali coffee, alongside a baguette and pizza bar serving everything from margherita to nduja with pickled chilli and jalapeño honey. Our pick: the baguette with DOP prosciutto, stracciatella, tomato, basil pesto and rocket. A second CBD outpost on Bourke Street cements Bloomwood as a go-to for pastries that sit between French technique and Asian-influenced flavours, drawing a steady city crowd since its debut on Exhibition Street in 2024. Moving between the familiar and the unexpected, the pastry case is anchored by viennoiserie like buttery pain au chocolat and crisp croissants, alongside playful reinventions: miso banoffee Danish, Dubai chocolate cookies, shio salt bread and a Hong Kong custard shio. Past creations such as the black sesame mochi flower offered a more intricate bite — layered with black sesame custard, mochi, blackberries, ginger sesame cream and black sesame jelly. Drinks complete the picture, from matcha clouds to well-executed coffee, reinforcing Bloomwood’s appeal to both pastry purists and those seeking something a little more exploratory. Cult Melbourne sandwich shop Hector’s Deli has opened its eighth location in Carlton, arriving on Lygon Street shortly after launching its second CBD site on Little Collins Street. The expansion continues a steady rollout, which has become a go-to for fast, well-made sandwiches across Melbourne. Known for its signature toasted tuna melts on rye, generously filled salad sandwiches and chicken schnitzels tucked into steamed milk buns, Hector’s Deli also serves a tight line-up of drinks and doughnuts. The Carlton store adds a location-only item to the menu with a doughnut maritozzo, filled with whipped cream, condensed milk and vanilla. Hector’s Deli has been running since 2017, when chef Dom Wilton first opened in a former milk bar tucked into Richmond’s backstreets. Quality ingredients and a commitment to consistency paid off. Key elements such as bread, pickles and sauces are made on-site at Hector’s Bakery in Richmond, and while the menu remains the same, each fit-out is designed to suit the location. Melbourne has a new sweet stop worth queuing for at Butter Days Bakery. Owned by John Demetrios (Vue de Monde, Omnia, Yugen)—winner of season two of MasterChef: Dessert Masters—and his wife Martina Cissig Demetrios (Embla, Trader House), the bakery blends classical pastry technique with Scandinavian influence. The signature is the Sunshine Bun: a savoury-sweet malted dough filled with lemon and cinnamon-scented custard. Sweet offerings continue, from Swedish kanelbulle and chocolate-dipped profiteroles to brown butter sablés Bretons filled with fruit custard and macadamia swirls. Those who prefer savoury can go for Danishes with everything bagel seasoning, cream cheese, dill, capers, shallots and lemon topped with smoked salmon, or cheesy pinwheels. A freshly made crisp chicken sandwich bathed in a glowing blue light sounds more like a mirage than a genuine snack option for late-night revellers, but it’s real! In March, Nico’s Sandwich Deli opened an after-hours sandwich automat in Fitzroy, modelled on examples they’d come across in Amsterdam. Staff on hand keep the vending machine freshly stocked, and for the six-month stint it’s operating, there is a rotating menu of limited-edition sandwiches. The team behind Brisbane favourite Mosconi has opened the doors to Bistro Tino, a European-inspired café and wine bar that brings a ritualistic approach to all-day dining. The menu is ingredient-led and flexible, with all-day breakfast spanning fried brioche with honey ricotta and balsamic strawberries and potato and zucchini frittata with blue swimmer crab and crème fraîche, while midday dishes include simmered pastina minestrone and panzanella made with yesterday’s bread. Inside, the 20-seat dining room feels warm, anchored by a handmade Tasmanian oak bar, ochre leather banquettes and herringbone parquetry. With pastries, sweets and coffee from morning and plans to extend into evening trade by spring, Bistro Tino looks set to become one of Fortitude Valley’s most charming new neighbourhood addresses. Goodside joined South Brisbane’s Fish Lane precinct, in June. The kitchen at the new “Asian brunch café” from Fanda Group (Rick Shores, Marlowe, Central, Southside) is led by executive chef Benny Lam, who also heads up Southside and Central. The prawn har gow katsu sando – which uses the same mix in its prawn patty as Southside’s har gow dim sum – has been a hit since day one. “It’s comfort food and technique in the same bite,” says Fanda Group owner David Flynn. “Once people try it, they always come back for it.” Growing up between Byron Bay and Sydney, Lana began her career in publishing after a chapter in fashion, which included a London stint with luxury labels such as Stella McCartney. Now back in Australia, she’s swapped runways for restaurant trails as the editorial assistant at Gourmet Traveller magazine, working across both print and digital channels. Equal parts style-obsessed and food-curious, she’s just as likely to be curating the latest looks for glossy pages as she is chasing down the newest bars. Linkedin Author Alice Wasley News Editor Alice has written for publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, GQ, Marie Claire and Miss Vogue. As a features journalist based in Sydney, then New York, then Sydney again, she has interviewed Fran Lebowitz, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Baz Luhrmann, Yoko Ono and many more. At Gourmet Traveller Alice covers food, restaurant and travel news, writes features and interviews people about what their last meal would be. When she is not writing, you’ll find Alice drinking coffee and reading an actual paper. An English major with a penchant for anchovies on toast and the ocean, Monique Foy got her start at Gourmet Traveller after an existential crisis and career pivot. Following her time as a digital marketer at global media agencies and a short stint as an SEO writer, Monique threw caution to the wind one Wednesday and decided to pursue her true passion – writing, of the food and drinks variety. Since then, she’s had her work published in Broadsheet and Urban List, and she joins Gourmet Traveller as Senior Content Producer with the intention to continue adding funky venues and quaint new wine bars to her growing iPhone notes section. Linkedin Related stories Previous Our expert food reviewers’ guide to the best Melbourne restaurants Next .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8bb04800{flex-direction:column;align-items:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-3-inline-css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bf211acf{flex-wrap:nowrap;justify-content:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-4-inline-css */ Sign up for our newsletter Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Are Media Pty Limited collects your personal information through this site to process registrations, send out newsletters, communicate offers, discounts, competitions, or surveys, and to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities. 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The Blue Door swaps city life for country calm – with provenance as its guiding light.
Save Print Share Share this post Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Email Copy link Make us your preferred source (function() { document.addEventListener('click', function(event) { if (!event.target || typeof event.target.closest !== 'function' || !event.target.closest('.c-preferred-source-btn')) { return; } window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.dataLayer.push({ event: 'preferred_source_clicked', source_url: window.location.href }); }); })(); Asides Advertisement :where(.wp-block-group.has-background){padding:1.25em 2.375em} /*# sourceURL=https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/wp-includes/blocks/group/theme.min.css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8bb04800{flex-direction:column;align-items:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-1-inline-css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bf211acf{flex-wrap:nowrap;justify-content:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-2-inline-css */ Sign up for our newsletter Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Are Media Pty Limited collects your personal information through this site to process registrations, send out newsletters, communicate offers, discounts, competitions, or surveys, and to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities. Our Privacy Policy contains information on how you can access or correct your personal information, which entities we may disclose your personal information to (including overseas recipients), how to opt out of targeted advertising, and how to lodge a complaint. FOLLOW US: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Related After half a decade of booked-out evenings in Surry Hills, Australian-born chef Dylan Cashman is taking his acclaimed restaurant The Blue Door to the Mid North Coast, following the closure of its Sydney outpost earlier this year. Opening in a heritage-listed former bank in Bellingen on 18 September, the restaurant’s regional relocation is a result of more than just rising rental prices for Cashman and his wife, co-owner and wine director, Angelica Nohra. “We felt we could no longer offer the authentic version of ourselves in Sydney,” Cashman tells Gourmet Traveller. “It’s become geared up against small farmers – group-led venues aren’t purchasing whole animals off small farmers, [so] the farmers don’t bother trying to deliver to Sydney…we saw so many of our amazing farmers shut down that we didn’t have a connection with our concept there anymore. The only way for The Blue Door to grow was to move to the countryside.” Hailing from Crescent Head, the sea change marks a homecoming for Cashman, whose ethos of hyperlocal sustainably sourced produce, whole-animal butchery and seasonality underpins The Blue Door’s whole MO. Shaped by his time at Fins in Kingscliff, Sean’s and Paper Daisy – as well as at the Michelin-starred Vendôme in Germany – Cashman’s commitment to sourcing his produce from personally-vetted vendors within a 100-kilometre radius is on full display in Bellingen – down to the eleven dining tables cut, milled and made by his uncle and cousin from a single tree. Crockery too comes from New South Wales ceramicists Gabs Wallington and Leia Sherbolm, while local Indigenous artist Jason Ridgeway is behind the feature artwork. As with its Surry Hills format, a seven-course tasting menu offers the best of what’s available that week. “To me, seasonality is weekly,” Cashman explains. “We change the menu based on what the farmers have – we don’t push them to have things ready when they aren’t.” Depending on the week, this might include whole animals – from pasture-raised beef and regenerative pigs to line-caught iki jime fish – sourced from the farms in the area and butchered by the team on-site, or whatever organic fruit and vegetables are available from the regenerative growers nearby. Anchoring the wine list is an exclusively New South Wales menu curated by Nohra, which spotlights young winemakers, emerging producers and female winemakers. Around the corner from the main dining room, a six-seat bar and four-seat front patio, known as The Blue Door Wine Bar, offers a more casual, snack-led experience – with walk-ins welcome daily. Save Print Share Share this post Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Email Copy link Make us your preferred source (function() { document.addEventListener('click', function(event) { if (!event.target || typeof event.target.closest !== 'function' || !event.target.closest('.c-preferred-source-btn')) { return; } window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.dataLayer.push({ event: 'preferred_source_clicked', source_url: window.location.href }); }); })(); Asides Advertisement :where(.wp-block-group.has-background){padding:1.25em 2.375em} /*# sourceURL=https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/wp-includes/blocks/group/theme.min.css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8bb04800{flex-direction:column;align-items:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-1-inline-css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bf211acf{flex-wrap:nowrap;justify-content:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-2-inline-css */ Sign up for our newsletter Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Are Media Pty Limited collects your personal information through this site to process registrations, send out newsletters, communicate offers, discounts, competitions, or surveys, and to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities. Our Privacy Policy contains information on how you can access or correct your personal information, which entities we may disclose your personal information to (including overseas recipients), how to opt out of targeted advertising, and how to lodge a complaint. FOLLOW US: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Related After half a decade of booked-out evenings in Surry Hills, Australian-born chef Dylan Cashman is taking his acclaimed restaurant The Blue Door to the Mid North Coast, following the closure of its Sydney outpost earlier this year. Opening in a heritage-listed former bank in Bellingen on 18 September, the restaurant’s regional relocation is a result of more than just rising rental prices for Cashman and his wife, co-owner and wine director, Angelica Nohra. “We felt we could no longer offer the authentic version of ourselves in Sydney,” Cashman tells Gourmet Traveller. “It’s become geared up against small farmers – group-led venues aren’t purchasing whole animals off small farmers, [so] the farmers don’t bother trying to deliver to Sydney…we saw so many of our amazing farmers shut down that we didn’t have a connection with our concept there anymore. The only way for The Blue Door to grow was to move to the countryside.” Hailing from Crescent Head, the sea change marks a homecoming for Cashman, whose ethos of hyperlocal sustainably sourced produce, whole-animal butchery and seasonality underpins The Blue Door’s whole MO. Shaped by his time at Fins in Kingscliff, Sean’s and Paper Daisy – as well as at the Michelin-starred Vendôme in Germany – Cashman’s commitment to sourcing his produce from personally-vetted vendors within a 100-kilometre radius is on full display in Bellingen – down to the eleven dining tables cut, milled and made by his uncle and cousin from a single tree. Crockery too comes from New South Wales ceramicists Gabs Wallington and Leia Sherbolm, while local Indigenous artist Jason Ridgeway is behind the feature artwork. As with its Surry Hills format, a seven-course tasting menu offers the best of what’s available that week. “To me, seasonality is weekly,” Cashman explains. “We change the menu based on what the farmers have – we don’t push them to have things ready when they aren’t.” Depending on the week, this might include whole animals – from pasture-raised beef and regenerative pigs to line-caught iki jime fish – sourced from the farms in the area and butchered by the team on-site, or whatever organic fruit and vegetables are available from the regenerative growers nearby. Anchoring the wine list is an exclusively New South Wales menu curated by Nohra, which spotlights young winemakers, emerging producers and female winemakers. Around the corner from the main dining room, a six-seat bar and four-seat front patio, known as The Blue Door Wine Bar, offers a more casual, snack-led experience – with walk-ins welcome daily. Cashman isn’t the first chef to trade the city for greener pastures. Icebergs Dining Room and Bar’s culinary director Alex Prichard recently swapped ocean views for rich soil in Berry, while Sydney favourite Three Blue Ducks has put down roots on a 600-acre regenerative farm in Burradoo. And after 24-year stint at the top of Sydney’s dining game, Peter Gilmore has swapped (for now) his chef whites for garden gloves in Hobart. Call it a trend, a homecoming or simply a different way forward, the countryside is proving increasingly hard for chefs to resist. The Blue Door Bellingen is open for dinner Thursday – Saturday and lunch on the weekends; The Wine Bar is open daily from 5.30pm. Bookings are available online via their website. An English major with a penchant for anchovies on toast and the ocean, Monique Foy got her start at Gourmet Traveller after an existential crisis and career pivot. Following her time as a digital marketer at global media agencies and a short stint as an SEO writer, Monique threw caution to the wind one Wednesday and decided to pursue her true passion – writing, of the food and drinks variety. Since then, she’s had her work published in Broadsheet and Urban List, and she joins Gourmet Traveller as Senior Content Producer with the intention to continue adding funky venues and quaint new wine bars to her growing iPhone notes section. Linkedin Related stories Previous The best new cafés and bakeries to bookmark for your next morning out Native ad body. Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%% How three food experiences proved to me that the Michelin Guide belongs in New Zealand Native ad body. Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%% The best new restaurants in Sydney The 9 Noosa restaurants you cannot miss in 2026 Ashe The best Canberra restaurants to visit in 2026 Native ad body. Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%% Our 2026 Restaurant Guide: the 100 best restaurants in Australia Our experts’ picks for the best restaurants in Tasmania right now The best restaurants in South Australia right now Native ad body. Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%% Next .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8bb04800{flex-direction:column;align-items:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-3-inline-css */ .wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bf211acf{flex-wrap:nowrap;justify-content:center;} /*# sourceURL=block-support-4-inline-css */ Sign up for our newsletter Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Are Media Pty Limited collects your personal information through this site to process registrations, send out newsletters, communicate offers, discounts, competitions, or surveys, and to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities. Our Privacy Policy contains information on how you can access or correct your personal information, which entities we may disclose your personal information to (including overseas recipients), how to opt out of targeted advertising, and how to lodge a complaint. FOLLOW US: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Related Receive BONUS mystery gifts when you subscribe to Gourmet Traveller
SubscribeLoginSubscribeLoginSubscribeLogin{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/best-lunch-sydney-spring-2026"},"headline":"Lunch for $20 and Under? Seven New Sydney Spots Will Sort You Out","description":"Including a rump steak with fries and salad, Thai rice bowls in the CBD, a winning Caesar salad, and a few good-looking sandwiches.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Grace Mackenzie"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/09/LunchWrapSpringSyd-6a2a286ad2.gif","caption":""}],"datePublished":"2026-09-09T15:37:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-09-09T05:37:54.009Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Grace Mackenzie","url":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/author/grace-mackenzie"},"articleBody":"A filling lunch for $20? Tell him he’s dreaming. Or hit one of these new Sydney openings – for classic steak sandwiches, smashburgers, rice bowls or coconutty Thai pancakes. Carlisle Castle Hotel, Newtown The Bat & Ball team is now overseeing a second Sydney pub – and after the incredible success of the daily specials in Redfern, they’ll continue in Newtown. At lunchtime, that means a line-up of pub classics for a clean 20. A crumbed prawn or classic beef burger and fries? $20. A steak sub dressed with chimichurri? $20. A rump steak with fries, gravy and dressed leaves? $20. From Wednesday to Friday, midday till 3pm. Read more. Riceface, CBD Chat Thai’s Palisa Anderson knows good rice – and there’s a “triple-A grade” grain, only harvested in the most recent season, underpinning the menu at her just-opened food court counter. Riceface is a pick’n’mix situation, with a core menu of four rices and five proteins –and everything is made in the on-site kitchen, often with veggies sourced from Anderson’s own Boon Luck Farm. The most expensive bowl is $18. Opt for butterfly pea-blue rice topped with stewed tofu and greens, maybe, or golden turmeric rice topped with grilled chicken, revved up by the chilli-kick of nam jim jaew. Add a $2 cup of slow-cooked chicken broth – for the flavour and your gut health. Read more. Coco Krok, markets around Sydney This market stall is the spot for one of Thailand’s most popular street foods: khanom krok. These crisp-on-the-outside, custardy-on-the-inside bites are made from rice flour, sugar, salt and coconut milk – straddling sweet and savoury. The original is coconutty, with 10 bucks getting you nine little pieces hot from the cast-iron pan. Or you can top yours with corn, spring onion, grated pumpkin or grated taro, or get a dozen for $15 to try them all. Coco Krok regularly pops up at the Parramatta Farmers Market on Wednesdays, but check Instagram for upcoming appearances. Read more. Bronte Road Fish, Bondi Only six months after opening on its namesake stretch in Waverley, the team behind this fish’n’chipper went for round two – closer to the beach. Your lunch? The $19 tuna smash burger. Bluefin tuna – half ground, half chopped – is mashed with barbequed onions then shaped into patties. They’re smashed onto the hot plate, flipped, topped with cheese, then sizzled till the edges are crisp. They hit a fluffy bun with lettuce, pickles, American cheese and a slightly spicy tomato relish. If you’re hellbent on sticking to your budget and chippies are a non-negotiable, grab the teriyaki tofu serve with a side of the spuds for $20 instead. Read more. Little River, Surry Hills Ex-Tetsuya’s chef (and 40 Res captain) Josh Raine is behind this new bakery, which opened with topsy-turvy cinnamon buns and Big Bird loaves two weeks ago. The lunchtime winner is the $15 made-to-order jamon baguette, where a just-baked baguette is loaded with nothing but house-made mustard butter and local jamon made at Petersham’s Spanish Portuguese Butchery. Meat-free? Go for the $15 devilled egg sanga on slices of the signature seeded Big Bird loaf. Read more. Bantry Bay, Seaforth Missed (or missing) Euro summer? Sydney’s warmer weather is already here, along with Grace Triglone (ex-Caravin) and her Euro-style alimentari. The all-day spot has a stocked deli fridge and fresh loaves of bread for you to make your own lunch at home. Dine in for the Sex on Bread, a $19 sanga stuffed with ribbons of grilled zucchini, pecorino, salami and rocket, dressed up with whipped ricotta and chilli aioli; or keep it zingy with a tomato, blood orange and mozzarella salad. The simple $10 daily panini with a $10 glass of wine is always a good idea – so very Euro, and available till 2pm. Read more. Sandwhich, St Peters This new inner west spot – from two ex-Neptune’s Grotto chefs – has been hot out the gate, with a tight list of sangas on an Indonesian bent. The $18.90 mushroom katsu “sandwhich” is saucy, pickle-y and cheesy, everything squished onto a potato bun. You can opt for the confited mushies in the $18.90 Caesar salad, too, or go for poached chicken. Scrounge around for loose change, though, you’ll want to add the dippable onsen egg swimming in fiery sambal for $4.50. Read more. Looking for more? Here are eight more options from earlier in the year – including a rice bowl from a Niland alum, a homely chicken pie with a minty house-made soda, salad dotted with hash brown crispies, and an outstanding charcoaled fish sandwich.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Broadsheet","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://broadsheet.com.au/assets/image/logo-full-white.png","width":520,"height":53}},"inLanguage":"en-AU"}(self.__next_s=self.__next_s||[]).push([0,{"children":"\n const fusetag = window.fusetag || (window.fusetag = { que: [] });\n window.__fuseInitPath = window.location.pathname;\n fusetag.que.push(function() {\n fusetag.pageInit({\n blockingFuseIds: [\"96225910\"],\n pageTargets: [{\"key\":\"sessionalcohol\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionautomotive\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionfinance\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontechnology\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontravel\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"pagetype\",\"value\":[\"article\"]},{\"key\":\"campaign\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsor\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorcategory\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorname\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"tags\",\"value\":[]},{\"key\":\"suburb\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"vertical\",\"value\":\"Food & Drink\"},{\"key\":\"city\",\"value\":\"sydney\"}]\n });\n });\n ","id":"load-publift"}]){"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Sydney","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Food & Drink","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink"}}]}SydneyFood & DrinkLunch for $20 and Under? Seven New Sydney Spots Will Sort You OutIncluding a rump steak with fries and salad, Thai rice bowls in the CBD, a winning Caesar salad, and a few good-looking sandwiches.Words by Grace Mackenzie · Published on 09 Sep 2026 Read laterA filling lunch for $20? Tell him he’s dreaming. Or hit one of these new Sydney openings – for classic steak sandwiches, smashburgers, rice bowls or coconutty Thai pancakes. The Bat & Ball team is now overseeing a second Sydney pub – and after the incredible success of the daily specials in Redfern, they’ll continue in Newtown. At lunchtime, that means a line-up of pub classics for a clean 20. A crumbed prawn or classic beef burger and fries? $20. A steak sub dressed with chimichurri? $20. A rump steak with fries, gravy and dressed leaves? $20. From Wednesday to Friday, midday till 3pm. Read more. Chat Thai’s Palisa Anderson knows good rice – and there’s a “triple-A grade” grain, only harvested in the most recent season, underpinning the menu at her just-opened food court counter. Riceface is a pick’n’mix situation, with a core menu of four rices and five proteins –and everything is made in the on-site kitchen, often with veggies sourced from Anderson’s own Boon Luck Farm. The most expensive bowl is $18. Opt for butterfly pea-blue rice topped with stewed tofu and greens, maybe, or golden turmeric rice topped with grilled chicken, revved up by the chilli-kick of nam jim jaew. Add a $2 cup of slow-cooked chicken broth – for the flavour and your gut health. Read more. This market stall is the spot for one of Thailand’s most popular street foods: khanom krok. These crisp-on-the-outside, custardy-on-the-inside bites are made from rice flour, sugar, salt and coconut milk – straddling sweet and savoury. The original is coconutty, with 10 bucks getting you nine little pieces hot from the cast-iron pan. Or you can top yours with corn, spring onion, grated pumpkin or grated taro, or get a dozen for $15 to try them all. Coco Krok regularly pops up at the Parramatta Farmers Market on Wednesdays, but check Instagram for upcoming appearances. Read more. Only six months after opening on its namesake stretch in Waverley, the team behind this fish’n’chipper went for round two – closer to the beach. Your lunch? The $19 tuna smash burger. Bluefin tuna – half ground, half chopped – is mashed with barbequed onions then shaped into patties. They’re smashed onto the hot plate, flipped, topped with cheese, then sizzled till the edges are crisp. They hit a fluffy bun with lettuce, pickles, American cheese and a slightly spicy tomato relish. If you’re hellbent on sticking to your budget and chippies are a non-negotiable, grab the teriyaki tofu serve with a side of the spuds for $20 instead. Read more. Ex-Tetsuya’s chef (and 40 Res captain) Josh Raine is behind this new bakery, which opened with topsy-turvy cinnamon buns and Big Bird loaves two weeks ago. The lunchtime winner is the $15 made-to-order jamon baguette, where a just-baked baguette is loaded with nothing but house-made mustard butter and local jamon made at Petersham’s Spanish Portuguese Butchery. Meat-free? Go for the $15 devilled egg sanga on slices of the signature seeded Big Bird loaf. Read more. Missed (or missing) Euro summer? Sydney’s warmer weather is already here, along with Grace Triglone (ex-Caravin) and her Euro-style alimentari. The all-day spot has a stocked deli fridge and fresh loaves of bread for you to make your own lunch at home. Dine in for the Sex on Bread, a $19 sanga stuffed with ribbons of grilled zucchini, pecorino, salami and rocket, dressed up with whipped ricotta and chilli aioli; or keep it zingy with a tomato, blood orange and mozzarella salad. The simple $10 daily panini with a $10 glass of wine is always a good idea – so very Euro, and available till 2pm. Read more. This new inner west spot – from two ex-Neptune’s Grotto chefs – has been hot out the gate, with a tight list of sangas on an Indonesian bent. The $18.90 mushroom katsu “sandwhich” is saucy, pickle-y and cheesy, everything squished onto a potato bun. You can opt for the confited mushies in the $18.90 Caesar salad, too, or go for poached chicken. Scrounge around for loose change, though, you’ll want to add the dippable onsen egg swimming in fiery sambal for $4.50. Read more. Looking for more? Here are eight more options from earlier in the year – including a rice bowl from a Niland alum, a homely chicken pie with a minty house-made soda, salad dotted with hash brown crispies, and an outstanding charcoaled fish sandwich. About the author Grace MacKenzie is Broadsheet Sydney’s food and drink editor. More like this MORE FROM BROADSHEET VIDEOS 04:33 01:00 02:18 More Guides RECIPES
SubscribeLoginSubscribeLoginSubscribeLogin{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/article/itera-gluten-free-bakery-opens-brunswick"},"headline":"The Kudo Founders Open Itera, a 100 Per Cent Gluten-Free Bakery in Brunswick ","description":"The canelés and breads have made the move, along with kueh-inspired pandan-and-coconut cakes. The dine-in menu, by an ex-Society chef, features congee pot pies and prawn toast-style tiger prawn burgers.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-24-1a9dea8f98.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-26-66ea3ca20c.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-45-6a5b0993df.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun 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Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-28-8fb43c0beb.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-40-573017aa6e.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-7-cf3297501b.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-1-4713744493.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-15-4b89dd3494.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-20-e7d5ff871f.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-4-8ed4454572.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-6-0d35bac7d0.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-38-a46f36af98.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-49-f874cb769b.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-8-33b4ae7647.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-47-09a8672978.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-21-f66d9312dd.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-16-714754754e.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-23-15616861c1.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-52-c5482d8208.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Haymun Win"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/03/Kudo(Itera)_@hellopablodiaz_Aug26HR-10-8b65e6c03b.webp","caption":""}],"datePublished":"2026-09-03T14:41:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-09-08T04:02:11.203Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Haymun Win","url":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/author/haymun-win"},"articleBody":"Anyone after gluten-free baked goods in Melbourne knows about Kudo, the pint-sized CBD bakery where ex-Sunda pastry chef Felix Goodwin and his partner Elena Nguyen have been pumping out coeliac-friendly sourdough and canelés for four years. Now, the couple have launched a full-service bakery in the 300-square-metre former Hard Yakka factory in Brunswick. And this time, they’re going it alone. While Kudo started out as part of the Hotel Windsor, this is Goodwin and Nguyen’s own operation. The name, shortened from “iteration”, represents the process of constant refinement their recipes go through. The couple realised “pretty early on” that the 80-square-metre Kudo wasn’t big enough for the offering they wanted to produce. “People ask why we don’t do croissants. We just didn’t have the time and space to dedicate that type of attention to trial and error in the city,” Goodwin says. At Itera, there’s room for a dine-in cafe menu of gluten-free plates alongside Kudo’s beloved gluten-free bread and sweets. The menu is designed around the rotating loaves on the bakery’s timber shelves: five sourdoughs, a wholemeal option, and a rye that’s either fruit-studded or seeded à la Danishrugbrød. The breads are made with likes of tapioca starch, rice flour, millet, buckwheat, teff, sorghum and other naturally gluten-free grains. “We want people to have the opportunity to try our breads without buying a full loaf,” Goodwin says. Sourdough rarebit is layered with Vegemite-infused butter and a chunky corn-and-gruyere spread that plays on Korean corn cheese. Classic avo toast gets an intense twist with soy-marinated avocado, smoky seaweed mayo and a smattering of furikake piled onto seeded bread. Baguettes are draped with folded eggs, which hide labneh, ’nduja and fermented capsicum. Elsewhere, a congee pot pie is the bakers’ first foray into laminated pastries. It’s a mashup of Nguyen’s favourite breakfast – congee – with a signature Donovans pie from Goodwin’s time at the St Kilda fine diner. The congee – a blend of Thai sticky rice and Taiwanese short-grain rice cooked in chicken stock with a rich, velouté-like quality from rendered pork lard – is encased in flaky puff pastry brushed with shallot oil. Nguyen says the pastry is their stand-in for a Chinese doughnut, a traditional congee accompaniment. Head chef Kelvin Ong, former sous-chef at Society and chef de partie at Hazel, has developed a tiger prawn burger that nods to the Cantonese prawn toast found on yum cha carts. He minces two types of prawns into a springy paste with sesame oil, ginger and spring onions. The patty is crumbed, deep-fried and stuffed between brioche buns with wasabi rocket and salted cod roe mayo. Eight rotating canelé flavours include vanilla and oaked rum, jasmine tea with peach ganache and fresh raspberry, and a pandan and taro number based on a cake Nguyen’s grandmother used to bake for her. Another riffs on banh gan (Vietnamese coconut flan), infused with star anise and topped with a takeaway coffee lid made of chocolate. Nguyen’s corn and parmesan choux, with corn-tea jelly and a parmesan and mozzarella custard in the middle, is available too. Ong is also behind a pandan and coconut cake inspired by his mum’s ondeh ondeh (a Malay kueh). There’s also a layered leatherwood honey cake and a crème caramel served with whipped cream. Pair them with specialty drinks like pandan matcha and Vietnamese coconut coffee with young rice foam on top. Besides its dietary ethos, Kudo’s cosy charm is also on show at Itera. The space is split into three canelé-inspired circles separated by rounded timber shelves, echoing Kudo’s “little nooks of discovery”, Goodwin says. Doors open into the middle ring, where a split-flap display is mounted above a glass-brick counter, announcing Itera’s rotating menu specials. A 26-seat dining room is fitted out with peg stools from local designer Conrad-S, and a grocery section is stocked with gluten-free pantry staples. Itera 4A Ballarat Street, Brunswick No phone Hours: Wed to Mon 9am–4pm @iterabakery","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Broadsheet","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://broadsheet.com.au/assets/image/logo-full-white.png","width":520,"height":53}},"inLanguage":"en-AU"}(self.__next_s=self.__next_s||[]).push([0,{"children":"\n const fusetag = window.fusetag || (window.fusetag = { que: [] });\n window.__fuseInitPath = window.location.pathname;\n fusetag.que.push(function() {\n fusetag.pageInit({\n blockingFuseIds: [\"96225910\"],\n pageTargets: [{\"key\":\"sessionalcohol\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionautomotive\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionfinance\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontechnology\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontravel\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"pagetype\",\"value\":[\"article\"]},{\"key\":\"campaign\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsor\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorcategory\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorname\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"tags\",\"value\":[]},{\"key\":\"suburb\",\"value\":\"brunswick\"},{\"key\":\"vertical\",\"value\":\"Food & Drink\"},{\"key\":\"city\",\"value\":\"melbourne\"}]\n });\n });\n ","id":"load-publift"}]){"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Melbourne","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Food & Drink","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink"}}]}MelbourneFood & DrinkThe Kudo Founders Open Itera, a 100 Per Cent Gluten-Free Bakery in Brunswick Itera, Brunswick·Photo: Pablo DiazThe canelés and breads have made the move, along with kueh-inspired pandan-and-coconut cakes. The dine-in menu, by an ex-Society chef, features congee pot pies and prawn toast-style tiger prawn burgers.Words by Haymun Win · Updated on 08 Sep 2026 · Published on 03 Sep 2026 Read laterAnyone after gluten-free baked goods in Melbourne knows about Kudo, the pint-sized CBD bakery where ex-Sunda pastry chef Felix Goodwin and his partner Elena Nguyen have been pumping out coeliac-friendly sourdough and canelés for four years. Now, the couple have launched a full-service bakery in the 300-square-metre former Hard Yakka factory in Brunswick. And this time, they’re going it alone. While Kudo started out as part of the Hotel Windsor, this is Goodwin and Nguyen’s own operation. The name, shortened from “iteration”, represents the process of constant refinement their recipes go through. The couple realised “pretty early on” that the 80-square-metre Kudo wasn’t big enough for the offering they wanted to produce. “People ask why we don’t do croissants. We just didn’t have the time and space to dedicate that type of attention to trial and error in the city,” Goodwin says. At Itera, there’s room for a dine-in cafe menu of gluten-free plates alongside Kudo’s beloved gluten-free bread and sweets. The menu is designed around the rotating loaves on the bakery’s timber shelves: five sourdoughs, a wholemeal option, and a rye that’s either fruit-studded or seeded à la Danishrugbrød. The breads are made with likes of tapioca starch, rice flour, millet, buckwheat, teff, sorghum and other naturally gluten-free grains. “We want people to have the opportunity to try our breads without buying a full loaf,” Goodwin says. Sourdough rarebit is layered with Vegemite-infused butter and a chunky corn-and-gruyere spread that plays on Korean corn cheese. Classic avo toast gets an intense twist with soy-marinated avocado, smoky seaweed mayo and a smattering of furikake piled onto seeded bread. Baguettes are draped with folded eggs, which hide labneh, ’nduja and fermented capsicum. Elsewhere, a congee pot pie is the bakers’ first foray into laminated pastries. It’s a mashup of Nguyen’s favourite breakfast – congee – with a signature Donovans pie from Goodwin’s time at the St Kilda fine diner. The congee – a blend of Thai sticky rice and Taiwanese short-grain rice cooked in chicken stock with a rich, velouté-like quality from rendered pork lard – is encased in flaky puff pastry brushed with shallot oil. Nguyen says the pastry is their stand-in for a Chinese doughnut, a traditional congee accompaniment. Head chef Kelvin Ong, former sous-chef at Society and chef de partie at Hazel, has developed a tiger prawn burger that nods to the Cantonese prawn toast found on yum cha carts. He minces two types of prawns into a springy paste with sesame oil, ginger and spring onions. The patty is crumbed, deep-fried and stuffed between brioche buns with wasabi rocket and salted cod roe mayo. Eight rotating canelé flavours include vanilla and oaked rum, jasmine tea with peach ganache and fresh raspberry, and a pandan and taro number based on a cake Nguyen’s grandmother used to bake for her. Another riffs on banh gan (Vietnamese coconut flan), infused with star anise and topped with a takeaway coffee lid made of chocolate. Nguyen’s corn and parmesan choux, with corn-tea jelly and a parmesan and mozzarella custard in the middle, is available too. Ong is also behind a pandan and coconut cake inspired by his mum’s ondeh ondeh (a Malay kueh). There’s also a layered leatherwood honey cake and a crème caramel served with whipped cream. Pair them with specialty drinks like pandan matcha and Vietnamese coconut coffee with young rice foam on top. Besides its dietary ethos, Kudo’s cosy charm is also on show at Itera. The space is split into three canelé-inspired circles separated by rounded timber shelves, echoing Kudo’s “little nooks of discovery”, Goodwin says. Doors open into the middle ring, where a split-flap display is mounted above a glass-brick counter, announcing Itera’s rotating menu specials. A 26-seat dining room is fitted out with peg stools from local designer Conrad-S, and a grocery section is stocked with gluten-free pantry staples. Itera4A Ballarat Street, BrunswickNo phone Hours:Wed to Mon 9am–4pm @iterabakery About the author More like this MORE FROM BROADSHEET VIDEOS 01:35 01:24 01:00 More Guides RECIPES
SubscribeLoginSubscribeLoginSubscribeLogin{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/brisbane/food-and-drink/article/best-hainanese-chicken-rice-brisbane"},"headline":"I Ate 27 Versions of Hainanese Chicken Rice To Find Brisbane’s Best","description":"After sampling 27 dishes, these six are my pick of the best from a “peerless ginger-spring onion oil” to an institution that bravely dispenses with soup.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_9 of 11-0229634651.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_5 of 11-0289313005.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_4 of 11-19e30c99b0.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_3 of 11-bfa2a511bd.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_10 of 11-d5c696c811.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_7 of 11-4fc7cb4e72.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_8 of 11-10186b96dd.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_6 of 11-6acd0d9efc.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_1 of 11-422ccb9f7b.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"JP Middleton"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/02/Best HCR in Brisbane_FergusHurst_2 of 11-082d1cd329.webp","caption":""}],"datePublished":"2026-09-02T04:43:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-09-03T00:02:26.995Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"JP Middleton","url":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/author/jp-middleton"},"articleBody":"Hainanese chicken rice. It’s a brilliantly simple dish of poached chicken with seasoned rice and basic sides. It’s not much to look at but it’s a cultural and culinary heavyweight that’s done as much for loose skin as any body positivity movement. From humble Hainanese beginnings to Singapore's national dish, this hawker classic of cooled poached chicken and fragrant steamed rice is one of Southeast Asia's most beloved dishes. And for those of us indoctrinated into the church of chilled chook, there is no finer quartet: supple, gelatinous bird; a steaming bowl of the gelatine-rich poaching liquor; a schmaltz-smothered mound of pandan-scented rice brimming with fried garlic and ginger; and a palette of chilli, ginger and soy dipping sauces. After sampling 27 variations – virtually every example I could find in Brisbane – these are the six best. Sunnybank Oriental | Photo: Fergus Hurst Sunnybank Oriental 东方茶餐厅 Even after a quarter-century, this chaotic cha chaan teng continues to pump out perfectly poached poultry. Tattered drapes of silky skin, stained with the remnants of soy and sesame, barely cover the modesty of the plump, pale flesh underneath. Each slice is seasoned to its core, enhanced only by radiant chilli sauce or a peerless ginger-spring onion oil, dotted with hoops of sweet spring onion. New Season Asian Thai-style khao man gai is practically identical to Hainanese chicken in both flavour and execution, with one key exception – the sauces, which are amalgamated with tao jeow into a kind of addictively funky mixture. Ironically, the sauce at New Season is probably my least favourite of all the Thai joints in Brisbane, but the rice is delightfully oily, the soup peppery and the chicken moist. It also comes with the added bonus of a single playing-card-sized slab of congealed blood, perfect for sating any bloodlust that might arise from a morning of meetings that could’ve been emails. Singapore Fast Wok | Photo: Fergus Hurst Singapore Fast Wok 興興 Even in the Lion City there’s a tendency for the rice to be relegated to the role of supporting actor. Fortunately, Singapore Fast Wok’s Oscar-worthy version is packed with fried garlic and ginger, and so slick with chicken drippings that you'll find yourself obsessively wrestling every plump, slippery grain off the plate. The fowl plays second fiddle here, but aim for lunch to secure a freshly chilled chicken. When everything comes together, this might be as spiritually close as you’ll get to the legendary hawkers of Singapore, complete with pastel pink plates and a panorama of Marina Bay’s mythical Merlion. Your Personal Chef 米饭班煮 You might assume the specialty of a restaurant whose name roughly translates to “Rice Boss” would be obvious. But the real draw is the unctuous gilded chook cooked to within a whisker of blushing pink and slumped in a shallow pool of its own delicious juices. It’s texturally sublime and tastes more intensely of itself than anything else. The real philosophical dilemma you’ll grapple with is this: can the best chicken rice be served without soup? Would Sponge Bob be complete without Patrick? Harry Potter without Ron? Well, if an institution like Singapore’s famous Tian Tian can go sans soup, then the answer is emphatically yes. Just make sure to get your order in early, before they inevitably sell out. Malaya Corner | Photo: Fergus Hurst Malaya Corner 旺角 It’s fitting this chaotic Sunnybank restaurant sits at the Mad Max-esque intersection of Market Square and McCullough Street, a lawless wasteland where basic road rules do not apply. Malaya Corner feels equally anarchic: for every one-star rant lamenting the pace of service, there are three glowing five-star rebuttals. I can’t pretend that the Hainanese chicken rice is superior to the glowing orange vat of Malaysian seafood laksa, which is one of the best the city has to offer. But on a good day, when the mustard-yellow chicken and rice are sticky with a salve of schmaltz, and the soup isn’t quite so murky, it competes with the best. Or, to paraphrase Anchorman’s Brian Fantana, 60 per cent of the time, it’s good every time. The Noodle Club 面缘 Runcorn Plaza is one of the most eclectic strip malls in Brisbane, where a lazy afternoon food crawl starts with smoky lamb testicles, meanders through bowls of Taiwanese gaifan, and finishes with a six-pack of still-warm egg tarts and an antacid. If there’s room, you can also squeeze in the city’s most complete plate of HCR. The Noodle Club is an anomaly. Not because of the delicate, supple texture of the beach-blond chicken, nor because the rice glistens with a balm of delicious chicken fat, not for the lightness of the soup, nor the vibrancy of its sauces, but because it delivers something that no other pollo pusher in Brisbane can: consistency. It dishes up the same wobbling mass of gloriously jelly-like chicken, every time. Author’s note: In case my commitment to HCR was ever in doubt, here’s the full list of chicken slingers that were sampled as part of this ill-advised journey: Sunnybank Oriental, Singapore Fast Wok, New Season Asian, Malaya Corner, Your Personal Chef, The Noodle Club, Little Nyonya Kitchen, New Alley, Platform Pho, Malaysian Makanan, Uncle Rocky’s, Joy’s Asian Cuisine, Mr Tall Pork Noodles, Thai Topia, Old Street Claypot, Mui G Kitchen, Sri Mahkota, Roti Place, Satay Ria, Ya Hoo Dining, AJ Vietnamese Noodle House, Kinn-Imm, Thai Nakonlanna, Zen Flavours, Emily Yeoh, Jackpot Dining and Lert Rod Thai.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Broadsheet","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://broadsheet.com.au/assets/image/logo-full-white.png","width":520,"height":53}},"inLanguage":"en-AU"}(self.__next_s=self.__next_s||[]).push([0,{"children":"\n const fusetag = window.fusetag || (window.fusetag = { que: [] });\n window.__fuseInitPath = window.location.pathname;\n fusetag.que.push(function() {\n fusetag.pageInit({\n blockingFuseIds: [\"96225910\"],\n pageTargets: [{\"key\":\"sessionalcohol\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionautomotive\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionfinance\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontechnology\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontravel\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"pagetype\",\"value\":[\"article\"]},{\"key\":\"campaign\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsor\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorcategory\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorname\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"tags\",\"value\":[]},{\"key\":\"suburb\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"vertical\",\"value\":\"Food & Drink\"},{\"key\":\"city\",\"value\":\"brisbane\"}]\n });\n });\n ","id":"load-publift"}]){"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Brisbane","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/brisbane"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Food & Drink","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/brisbane/food-and-drink"}}]}BrisbaneFood & DrinkI Ate 27 Versions of Hainanese Chicken Rice To Find Brisbane’s BestSingapore Fast Wok·Photo: Fergus HurstAfter sampling 27 dishes, these six are my pick of the best from a “peerless ginger-spring onion oil” to an institution that bravely dispenses with soup.Words by JP Middleton · Updated on 03 Sep 2026 · Published on 02 Sep 2026 Read laterHainanese chicken rice. It’s a brilliantly simple dish of poached chicken with seasoned rice and basic sides. It’s not much to look at but it’s a cultural and culinary heavyweight that’s done as much for loose skin as any body positivity movement. From humble Hainanese beginnings to Singapore's national dish, this hawker classic of cooled poached chicken and fragrant steamed rice is one of Southeast Asia's most beloved dishes. And for those of us indoctrinated into the church of chilled chook, there is no finer quartet: supple, gelatinous bird; a steaming bowl of the gelatine-rich poaching liquor; a schmaltz-smothered mound of pandan-scented rice brimming with fried garlic and ginger; and a palette of chilli, ginger and soy dipping sauces. After sampling 27 variations – virtually every example I could find in Brisbane – these are the six best. Sunnybank Oriental | Photo: Fergus Hurst Even after a quarter-century, this chaotic cha chaan teng continues to pump out perfectly poached poultry. Tattered drapes of silky skin, stained with the remnants of soy and sesame, barely cover the modesty of the plump, pale flesh underneath. Each slice is seasoned to its core, enhanced only by radiant chilli sauce or a peerless ginger-spring onion oil, dotted with hoops of sweet spring onion. Thai-style khao man gai is practically identical to Hainanese chicken in both flavour and execution, with one key exception – the sauces, which are amalgamated with tao jeow into a kind of addictively funky mixture. Ironically, the sauce at New Season is probably my least favourite of all the Thai joints in Brisbane, but the rice is delightfully oily, the soup peppery and the chicken moist. It also comes with the added bonus of a single playing-card-sized slab of congealed blood, perfect for sating any bloodlust that might arise from a morning of meetings that could’ve been emails. Singapore Fast Wok | Photo: Fergus Hurst Even in the Lion City there’s a tendency for the rice to be relegated to the role of supporting actor. Fortunately, Singapore Fast Wok’s Oscar-worthy version is packed with fried garlic and ginger, and so slick with chicken drippings that you'll find yourself obsessively wrestling every plump, slippery grain off the plate. The fowl plays second fiddle here, but aim for lunch to secure a freshly chilled chicken. When everything comes together, this might be as spiritually close as you’ll get to the legendary hawkers of Singapore, complete with pastel pink plates and a panorama of Marina Bay’s mythical Merlion. You might assume the specialty of a restaurant whose name roughly translates to “Rice Boss” would be obvious. But the real draw is the unctuous gilded chook cooked to within a whisker of blushing pink and slumped in a shallow pool of its own delicious juices. It’s texturally sublime and tastes more intensely of itself than anything else. The real philosophical dilemma you’ll grapple with is this: can the best chicken rice be served without soup? Would Sponge Bob be complete without Patrick? Harry Potter without Ron? Well, if an institution like Singapore’s famous Tian Tian can go sans soup, then the answer is emphatically yes. Just make sure to get your order in early, before they inevitably sell out. Malaya Corner | Photo: Fergus Hurst It’s fitting this chaotic Sunnybank restaurant sits at the Mad Max-esque intersection of Market Square and McCullough Street, a lawless wasteland where basic road rules do not apply. Malaya Corner feels equally anarchic: for every one-star rant lamenting the pace of service, there are three glowing five-star rebuttals. I can’t pretend that the Hainanese chicken rice is superior to the glowing orange vat of Malaysian seafood laksa, which is one of the best the city has to offer. But on a good day, when the mustard-yellow chicken and rice are sticky with a salve of schmaltz, and the soup isn’t quite so murky, it competes with the best. Or, to paraphrase Anchorman’s Brian Fantana, 60 per cent of the time, it’s good every time. Runcorn Plaza is one of the most eclectic strip malls in Brisbane, where a lazy afternoon food crawl starts with smoky lamb testicles, meanders through bowls of Taiwanese gaifan, and finishes with a six-pack of still-warm egg tarts and an antacid. If there’s room, you can also squeeze in the city’s most complete plate of HCR. The Noodle Club is an anomaly. Not because of the delicate, supple texture of the beach-blond chicken, nor because the rice glistens with a balm of delicious chicken fat, not for the lightness of the soup, nor the vibrancy of its sauces, but because it delivers something that no other pollo pusher in Brisbane can: consistency. It dishes up the same wobbling mass of gloriously jelly-like chicken, every time. Author’s note: In case my commitment to HCR was ever in doubt, here’s the full list of chicken slingers that were sampled as part of this ill-advised journey: Sunnybank Oriental, Singapore Fast Wok, New Season Asian, Malaya Corner, Your Personal Chef, The Noodle Club, Little Nyonya Kitchen, New Alley, Platform Pho, Malaysian Makanan, Uncle Rocky’s, Joy’s Asian Cuisine, Mr Tall Pork Noodles, Thai Topia, Old Street Claypot, Mui G Kitchen, Sri Mahkota, Roti Place, Satay Ria, Ya Hoo Dining, AJ Vietnamese Noodle House, Kinn-Imm, Thai Nakonlanna, Zen Flavours, Emily Yeoh, Jackpot Dining and Lert Rod Thai. About the author JP Middleton is a freelance food writer and prolific eater based in Brisbane. He posts at @bneofmylife. More like this MORE FROM BROADSHEET VIDEOS 01:35 04:33 01:00 More Guides RECIPES
[category] [title] [category] [title] Photograph: Supplied | Dishes at WanderPreviousNext/5Photograph: Supplied | Dishes at WanderPreviousNext/5Photograph: Supplied | Dishes at WanderPreviousNext/5Photograph: Supplied | Out the front of WanderPreviousNext/5Photograph: Supplied | Prawns at WanderPreviousNext/5Review 5 out of 5 starsThis neighbourhood Italian bistro is worth wandering across Sydney forRestaurants | ItalianCronullaRecommendedThursday 10 September 2026ShareCopy LinkFacebookTwitterPinterestEmailWhatsAppWritten by Carla GrossettiAdvertising window.rawSlots = window.rawSlots || []; window.rawSlots.push('{"adSlotId":"/5185/body1/venue","adContainerId":"ad-body-1-3166","isOutOfPage":false,"isRegistered":false,"adSizes":[{"viewport":[992,50],"slotSize":[]},{"viewport":[320,50],"slotSize":[[1,1],[320,100],[320,50],[300,600],[300,250],[300,100],[300,50]]},{"viewport":[0,0],"slotSize":[]}],"adTags":[{"key":"type","value":"body1"},{"key":"ad_slot_number","value":"ad-body-1"}],"adSenseTags":[],"adSlotGroup":"body","breakpoints":["xs","sm"],"loadsAutomatically":true}'); Time Out says ✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. I was heavily invested in the opening of Wander months before chef and owner Alexis Noble opened the doors to the intimate eatery early in 2026. I’d walked past the site to see her painting walls, hauling rubble into a skip and planting out a garden bed full of pretty natives. I’d also followed along on Instagram to see the beautiful retro Namco tables and chairs she’d travelled across Sydney to secure. By the time the restaurant opened its doors, half the neighbourhood felt like they had a stake in the place. Wander sits on the Wills Road strip in Woolooware – or Woollahra-ware as I like to call it – a strip made hip with new arrivals like Zee’s Cafe and homewares store Girl Meraki. Six months in, locals have claimed the neighbourhood eatery as an extension of their own living room – and the tables fill quickly as the night wears on. Alexis grew up in Cronulla, cut her teeth in some of Sydney’s top kitchens like Otto and Restaurant Balzac, and was shortlisted for the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award. Like a lot of Aussies in their 20s, Alexis then took a sabbatical, travelling to California, New York and London, where a working holiday turned into seven years running her original Wander restaurant in Stoke Newington. In 2021, Wander was named 88th in the UK’s Best Restaurants 2021, according to the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards. The restaurant also received a favourable review from Fay Maschler in The Standard in the UK, where Alexis built a reputation for a menu that shifted with the seasons. When Wander closed its London doors in 2024, coming home was always the plan. The restaurant landed in Woolooware in 2026, a short stroll from the Cronulla Alexis left behind and, as it happens, from my own front door. We visit for the early sitting in the lilac light of the early evening when the restaurant looks warm, cosy and inviting. Tonight, the menu is dedicated to Bologna, because that is how Noble cooks: chasing places, memories and ingredients wherever they lead. The $55 set menu is one of the best-value dinners going in Sydney right now: four courses that read like Alexis’s highlights reel from Emilia-Romagna. The menu is also set to pivot to Piemonte, Napoli and Roma and includes a larger seven-course option for $80. Alexis is joined in the open kitchen by a competent local lass and service is shared between the two of them. First up is a starter of Flour sourdough served alongside a puddle of friggione, a slow-cooked slick of onion and capsicum that is a deep, rich red, and both savoury and sweet. We spread it thick on slices of the wholemeal bread, then drape it with curls of LP’s smoky mortadella and salty shards of Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s a mighty morsel that pairs beautifully with a fruit-forward juicy and vibrant Nord-Sud Rouge shiraz grenache from the Adelaide Hills. I’ve also been served the Flour sourdough with whipped Vegemite, which is an unctuous exercise in umami. The bread and friggione arrive on pretty, bespoke pottery that Alexis crafts herself. Those following along on Instagram will know the chef’s covetable ceramics are now available for sale at pop-up stalls held throughout the year. On the Friday night we visit, chef Alexis is dressed in Newtown-cool dungarees, her locks tucked back in a bandana as she delivers a large wodge of lasagne verde to our table. It’s the kind of dish that invites a bit of oohing and aahing and we dutifully rotate it on the plate to examine the layers. In this instance, Bologna’s signature spinach pasta is layered with a rich ragù that has been bubbling on the stove for the better part of a day and a besciamella that clings to each sheet of pasta. It is finished with a vibrant salsa verde. Dessert is fior di latte gelato, milky and cold and faintly sweet, finished with a drizzle of proper aceto balsamico di Modena and a slick of good olive oil flecked with flakes of sea salt. I would recommend mixing it all together so that the sweet, savoury and acidity all land in one scoop. The wine list rewards a wander of its own. It leans hard into Australian orange and natural drops with names as playful as the food: a Dormilona Orenji from Margaret River, a McLaren Vale verdelho cheekily labelled Hipster Juice, a Vinteloper Rosé from the Adelaide Hills that would also be a killer match for the mortadella. There is a German Müller-Thurgau in there too, Smells Like Mean Spirit, in case anyone needed proof this list does not take itself too seriously either. Wander might sit just down the road from the familiar sands of Wanda Beach, but a night at this modern Italian bistro feels entirely transportive. A neighbourhood bistro worth wandering across Sydney for. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Been there, done that? Think again, my friend. By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. 🙌Awesome, you're subscribed! Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! Popular on Time Out [category] [title] [category] [title] Discover Time Out original video
[category] [title] [category] [title] Swing by Circular Quay and come say hi to Winnie’s ShareCopy LinkFacebookTwitterPinterestEmailWhatsAppPhotograph: Steven Woodburn | Out the front of Winnie'sAdvertising window.rawSlots = window.rawSlots || []; window.rawSlots.push('{"adSlotId":"/5185/body1/post","adContainerId":"ad-body-1-1577","isOutOfPage":false,"isRegistered":false,"adSizes":[{"viewport":[992,50],"slotSize":[]},{"viewport":[320,50],"slotSize":[[1,1],[320,100],[320,50],[300,600],[300,250],[300,100],[300,50]]},{"viewport":[0,0],"slotSize":[]}],"adTags":[{"key":"type","value":"body1"},{"key":"ad_slot_number","value":"ad-body-1"}],"adSenseTags":[],"adSlotGroup":"body","breakpoints":["xs","sm"],"loadsAutomatically":true}'); Sitting right on Sydney Harbour next door to Opera Bar, this new waterfront café and eatery from Applejack (also behind Rafi, Forrester’s, Bopp & Tone and more) is inspired by Winifred Atwell, the first woman to perform at the Opera House during its construction in 1964. There’s lots to love, including the views, and the fact that Winnie’s is open from morning through to night (hello, breakfast meetings). In the morning, come for nourishing and aromatic bowls of chicken and sweetcorn congee with free-range soft-boiled eggs, nori, black fungi and chilli crisp; pea and feta fritters with mint yoghurt, fermented chilli and free-range soft-boiled eggs; and a rainbow breakfast plate with pickles, cheese, free-range soft-boiled eggs, ferments and fresh sourdough. Plus, the team has collaborated with Annandale’s Cherry Moon General Store, serving their delicious cinnamon scrolls. Lunch and dinner highlights include South Seas yellowfin tuna tartare with cucumber, tahini, wasabi peas and seaweed salsa; potted blue swimmer crab with salt and vinegar potato scallops; conchiglie pasta with king prawns, chilli, basil, lime and a seafood stock; and Pino’s Soppressata pizza slice featuring locally produced soppressata from Sydney artisan Pino’s Dolce Vita. Signature cocktails are inspired by Australian natives. Try the Wattleseed (Brookie’s Sundrift Australian Aperitivo with wattleseed tea and local honey) or the Finger Lime (Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin with finger lime verjus and Geraldton wax flower). "The café is Australia's greatest cultural export. It's where we come together, where cultures meet and where we celebrate the city we live in. At Winnie's, we're just building on that – great NSW produce, cooked with the creativity and generosity that defines Australian café culture,” says Patrick Friesen, director of culinary, Applejack. Designed by Luchetti Krelle, the space pays homage to the Opera House’s heritage-listed architecture with warm timber, rich terracotta and plenty of harbour views. Find out more here. Address: Sydney Opera House, Lower Concourse Level, Sydney NSW 2000 Note: I was hosted by Winnie’s, but our editorial recommendations are always honest. Time Out doesn't write star-rated restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – when we review, Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Been there, done that? Think again, my friend. By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. 🙌Awesome, you're subscribed! Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! Popular on Time Out [category] [title] [category] [title] Discover Time Out original video