wining & dining in sydney: making our way through a new city
With only a few days in Sydney, we mad the best choice. Thanks to a half day food tour with a local company called Ultimately Sydney, we saw the city’s food scene much differently than I had expected. After much time spent wining & dining in Sydney I can confirm. It’s not all shrimp on the barbie & fish and chips, after all!
So, where did we head on our Gourmet Tour of Sydney’s Inner West?
Stop 1: The Coffee Roaster
As we learned in New Zealand, both Kiwis and Ozzies are extremely proud of their cafe culture. Each morning, we laughed at how many people were crowded around tiny little cafe tables, sipping their morning lattes. My favorite? A local spot that was always crammed with bulked up construction workers. They sat at tiny tables, gossiping over little espresso mugs before they headed off to the job.
This is why we weren’t surprised to learn that our tour would stop at The Coffee Roaster. It’s one of the main brands we noticed advertised throughout the city’s cafes. We were led through the roasting process by Dan Fitzsimmons, who founded the company in 1991 with his wife JoAnne. With a focus on small batch roasting, each bean is browned to perfection.
As a non-coffee drinker when I’m home, I can at least say this: my latte at The Coffee Roaster was the beginning of my coffee-downing streak for the rest of our RTW.
Stop 2: Establishment 218
(which appears to now be called Meat Emporium)
We walked in here and the hubs was pretty much in immediate heaven. Donned in our finest winter coats as provided by the staff (see above), we made our way through what was, essentially, a giant meat locker. With packs of everything from steak to pork to kangaroo, it was clear that this is where locals go when they need to feed an army of about 45 hungry Australians.
At the end, we tried samples of steak tips and sausages dipped in some of their signature sauces, and the hubs sulked because we didn’t have a grill at our guesthouse.
Stop 3: Herbie’s Spices
Our next stop was stupid adorable.
Founded by Ian “Herbie” Hemphill, Herbie’s is a tiny little shop full of every spice imaginable. The spices were broken up by region–with everything from Moroccan to American (where you find their signature guacamole mix, le duh). It was my turn to wish we were headed back to a kitchen post-tour.
Stop 4: P.R. Raineri
If I had to live on one type of cuisine for the rest of my life, it would be Italian food. Pasta, mozz, pizza, yes, yes & yes. Unfortunately for me, Hawaii, Fiji, and New Zealand didn’t offer much in this department.
Enter: P.R. Raineri
As soon as we walked in, I felt like we were in an Italian deli in the West Village. We wandered from aisle to aisle, exploring the fresh ingredients and pointing out all our favorite foods that we hadn’t seen (at least not authentically) in almost two months. I was pretty much in heaven, and then the cheese came out:
YEP, heaven.
Stop 5: Rino Saffioti
If you’ve been around for awhile, you may have heard: I don’t really do sweets… and when I do, I want, like, gummy bears. Not the classiest of candy eaters, what can I say? The hubs, on the other hand, is pretty much always on his period and could live on dark chocolate. It’s weird.
So while I wasn’t drooling over the offerings at the family-run Rino Saffioti, the hubs assures me it was delish.
Based on the well-loved kitchen and the general adorableness of each handmade chocolate, I believe him.
Stop 6: Annandale Cellars
What’s a foodie tour of Sydney without some Australian wine? Our final stop took us to a local wine shop where we tried a few different types of Head Red wines from the Barossa Valley.
I’m glad we had this little tasting, especially because we never made it to the Barossa. Head Wines has a tie to the shop (the founder worked at Annandale before become a winemaker), and I liked that the store showed so much support for boutique wineries.
In general, I appreciated that Ultimately Sydney focused on small, family-owned and operated stores throughout the city. Each stop felt integral to the neighborhood, and the tour was all the more authentic because of it.
If you’re headed to Sydney, be sure to check out their tour offerings, and if you opt to take a tour, do not eat a big breakfast!
xo,
the romantic
– Thanks to Ultimately Sydney for inviting us along for the day! All opinions are my own, pinky promise.
Lazy Travelers
The Lazy Travelers are two transatlantic best friends who have mastered the art of exploring a new city. Though Ashley is based in London and Carolyn is in Philadelphia, we'll use any excuse to reunite around the world. We’re professional bar hoppers, pub crawlers, and food testers, and you’ll never see us zipping around, checking things off a list of “must-sees.”
22 Comments
Anita Mac
Sounds pretty good to me!!! Did you get to try kangaroo while in Australia? So yum.
Anita Mac recently posted..Monday Morning Series: Antigua Paradise
Lazy Travelers
no way jose!! we tried emu, but that was about as adventurous as i was going to get.
Lazy Travelers recently posted..ultimately sydney: wining & dining our way through a new city
_theHubs
dark chocolate is NOT just for ladies.
Lazy Travelers
no. its for batbabies too.
Paul Farrugia (globalhelpswap)
Damn, I wish we knew about this tour when we were down under! Love the re-design of the site btw!
Paul
Paul Farrugia (globalhelpswap) recently posted..Culinary Delights – Traditional Russian Food
Lazy Travelers
thanks, paul! and definitely check it out when you head back to sydney, was a cool way to get to know the city 🙂
Lazy Travelers recently posted..foodie break: il ristorante rosi nyc
@mrsoaroundworld
Wow, this brings back fab memories from Sydney. I so want to go back!
@mrsoaroundworld recently posted..A fab girls weekend in Los Cabos, Mexico
Lazy Travelers
i’ll go with you, just let me know when 😉
Lazy Travelers recently posted..no travel required: #frifotos
Pola (Jetting Around)
OMG this post should have come with a warning! Those photos… Good thing I clicked after lunch.
Well, if I finally make it to Sydney, this will be a great resource. Yup, coffee’s on the list. 🙂
Pola (Jetting Around) recently posted..Touring American Eagle’s Embraer E-175 aircraft
Lazy Travelers
by if, you mean when! you’d love sydney, i think (and probably melbourne even more).
Lazy Travelers recently posted..no travel required: #frifotos
Jo
Great food review of my home town, without the cliche of the fish markets. I can also recommend the Eveleigh farmers market every Saturday in Redfern. There are also specialist food tours of Auburn & Lakemba for Middle Eastern specialties, and Cabramatta for Vietnamese treats.
Jo recently posted..Real life one bag travel – man’s packing list for Europe
Lazy Travelers
we actually missed the fish markets, but not for sake of trying–just not enough time!
those other tours sound delish, and to be fair, ultimately sydney did tell us that saturdays were best for the tour because of the farmers markets. i think this just means a return trip is in order 🙂
Lazy Travelers recently posted..no travel required: #frifotos
Traveling Ted
I never thought of the practicality of a food tour quite in this way. It is the one tour you can do over and over again and still enjoy as you always have to eat. This one looks like a fantastic one with meat and wine galore.
Traveling Ted recently posted..Cleveland Terminal Tower in clouds and blue sky
Lazy Travelers
it also is great to do at the beginning of your trip so that you know where to return!
Lazy Travelers recently posted..no travel required: #frifotos
Erin at The World Wanderer
Food tours are like my new favorite way to see a city, and this sounds right up my alley. Also, the fact that it ends in chocolate and wine. Heaven!
Erin at The World Wanderer recently posted..Egypt’s Famous Dish: Koshari.
Lazy Travelers
cha, i know, right?! we should all go on another one in nyc together!
Lazy Travelers recently posted..no travel required: #frifotos
Kate
I’m a fan off coffee art. It would be fun to do a coffee tour. I got to see a coffee plant for the first time in Hawaii. (I’m just closing my vegan eyes to the meat pic lol)
Kate recently posted..New York Budget : Our First 30 Days.
Lazy Travelers
ahhh yes, sorry for the meat pic!! probably not a good stop for you… but the coffee part was definitely worth it!
Lazy Travelers recently posted..no travel required: #frifotos
Francesca (@WorkMomTravels)
How do you not like sweets?? That blows my mind. I’m with the hubs, though I’m not always on my period.
Anyway, looks like an awesome tour, especially P.R. Raineri (yes, I happen to be partial to the Italian stuff). I spent several months in Sydney, but as a broke college student, so my food experiences consisted of PB&Js in the dorm dining room and fresh mangoes on the beach. I see I missed out on a lot.
Francesca (@WorkMomTravels) recently posted..Traveling With a Large Family: Important Rules to Remember
Lazy Travelers
i KNOW, i know. the sweets thing baffles everyone. it’s not that i don’t like them, i just wouldn’t kill a guy for some chocolate.
a ball of mozz, however. def homicide worthy. also, fresh mangoes on the beach don’t sound too bad either.
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lola
NOM NOM NOM. most of all, the WINE
lola recently posted..How to have an Endless Summer…head to the Caribbean!
Lazy Travelers
you’re telling me, lady. australian wine is tops.
Lazy Travelers recently posted..style spotter: sydney day & night