How a grungy street of record shops and hairdressers became one of Sydney’s most exciting dining and drinking strips.
Cities, suburbs, and neighbourhoods are made up of streets. Often, the main strip running through a suburb can tell you more about the people who call the surrounding area their home than anything. Food is perhaps its most powerful expression. Zoom in on the grocers, cafes, bars, restaurants and takeaways, and not only will they reflect how the community eats, but by extension, how it lives. It’s the greens, spices and sauces they’re taking home, the cereals they’re stocking up on, the dishes they’re cooking or craving, and how that ties into who they are, where they or their family is from and where they’re going.
Step out of the station at Granville, and the scent of chicken fat dripping onto charcoal fills the air. Walk the streets of Cabramatta and grandmas hawk Vietnamese herbs from the footpath. Drive through Woollahra, and kids in sports uniforms chase hot chips with cans of drink while their parents stock up on dry-aged beef. In these scenes, there are generations of stories, of people and place, of love, of loss, of war, of movement, immigration, cultures colliding and of kids growing up with feet partly in one world and partly another. These streets are what makes Sydney different from Paris, Hoi An, New York or Tokyo. Knitted together, they form a fabric that gives the city its texture.
This series, on Sydney’s great Eat Streets, is about exploring those textures in full colour. From street to street, neighbourhood to neighbourhood, the goal is to build a portrait of the city and its people, how it’s changed over time, and how it continues to evolve.
We’re starting with five streets, each with its own distinct presence.
In Eastwood, one side of Rowe Street houses Sydney’s fastest-growing Koreatown while the other leans toward regional Chinese. In Cabramatta, John Street and its arcades speak to decades of immigration from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Burwood Road’s Chinatown development shows what can happen when a local council understands its community. In Harris Park, the chaat vendors and curry houses along Wigram Street have seen it become Sydney’s own Little India, reflecting what has, in recent years, become Australia’s second-largest migrant community.
And to kick it off, we’re starting on Enmore Road, the inner-west arterial tucked between Marrickville and Newtown, that has lagged King Street in the public consciousness. Newtown’s main strip drew headlines as boutiques and hatted restaurants moved in alongside the many crystal shops, vegetarian cafes and Thai eateries. Enmore Road, meanwhile, always rocked more of a grunge aesthetic, more tooled for locals and specialists – record shops, African hairdressers, old pubs and neighbourhood cafes – with the Enmore Theatre setting the tone.
For those in the 2042 postcode, though, the script has flipped as more seasoned operators have moved in, buoyed by a full schedule at the theatre and increased international focus after Time Out magazine named Enmore Road one of the best in the world in 2022. It’s backed by the state government, too, which, in 2023, designated the strip a permanent Special Entertainment Precinct, encouraging more live performances and later dining, a move that’s fuelled ever-more interest.
Pasan Wijesana has run Earl’s Juke Joint on South King Street since 2013, before following up on Enmore Road with Jacoby’s Tiki Bar, and most recently, The Trocadero Room. He puts the change over the past decade down to invested operators keen to improve the area.
“Like most high streets, you have seen a new generation of professional and high-quality hospitality operators move in. What makes it special is that many of these are actual locals, so there’s a connection to the area that feels natural.”
Enmore Road’s appeal he says, lies in its diversity. “A good mix of low-brow and high-end, something for all budgets and tastes. Being a bit off the beaten track of King Street was always a drawcard, I suppose – although ironically it’s now arguably busier!”
One thing about Enmore Road that’s certain is that you’ll drink as well as you eat. Step out of Newtown Station, cross the crossing, and strap in.
Bar Planet
There’s plenty of ground to cover, so time your arrival around 5pm for an opening martini at specialist Bar Planet, with a fit-out featuring dripping candles and a cosmically inclined faux terrazzo bar top. Choose the house special and a stream of vermouth and “infinite spirit” (with batches and botanicals layered like a master stock) is spritzed with lemon oil as it’s poured, then garnished with an olive. Then there’s the sparkling vodka Scorpino, based on house sorbet (perhaps blueberry and lavender), plus plenty of options to customise your martini just the way you like it.
Must order: Bar Planet martini.
16 Enmore Road, Newtown, barplanet.com.au
Maiz Mexican Food
Formerly home to Enmore institution Hartsyard, King Street mainstay Maiz took over at the end of 2023. Here, Puebla-born Juan Carlos Negrete builds his menu around corn, sourcing heirloom varieties and spinning them into crisp chilaquiles for brunch, scallop-topped tostadas for snacks, and hand-pressed tortillas topped with confit duck or grass-fed beef barbacoa, with house moles for interest. Agave spirits drive drinks, with margaritas taking top billing.
Must order: Confit duck tortillas.
33 Enmore Road, Newtown
P&V Merchants
Head through the lights and across the road to hit P&V, a bottle shop that needs little introduction. Launched by Rootstock co-founder Mike Bennie alongside veteran bar manager Lou Dowling in 2017, the bottle shop felt revolutionary at that time and is still a standard-bearer in the genre today. It’s the place to grab everything from natural wines from the Jura region in France and juicy red blends to rare artisanal sake, small-batch vermouth and premium oysters to go. Over the road, meanwhile, 25-seat Famelia offers drink-in and takeaway bottles, plus snacks – try the egg dip with caviar – to write home about.
Best buy: Something bright to pair with dinner.
64 Enmore Road, Newtown (P&V); 55 Enmore Road (Famelia)
Cairo Takeaway
Cross back over, and odds are you’ll spy the lines out the door and the diners perched on milk crates before you spy the shopfront housing Cairo Takeaway. They’re here for epic sesame-encrusted broad bean falafel stuffed into pockets or served as part of a plate alongside fried cauliflower, pickles and toum, as well as meats grilled over charcoal and ful medames (fava bean stew) for brunch. Wine is BYO, so bring yours from P&V or Famelia and have at it.
Must order: Mixed vegetarian plate.
81 Enmore Road, Newtown
Palomino Lounge
A block further away, Dylan Howarth runs Fortunate Son, a small slice of a venue renowned for its premium bubbles as much as for its history of serving one of the city’s finest Ramos Gin Fizzes. But it’s Howarth’s latest, the freshly opened Palomino Lounge, that’s currently turning heads. Red bar stools, marble accents and a stage hosting live musicians draw the eye, but it’s the drinks that seal it. Think a frozen spin on an Irish coffee made on Slane Whiskey, smoked chilli margaritas and top-tier fizz in the fridge.
Must orders: Naked and Famous.
105 Enmore Road, Newtown (Fortunate Son); 134A Enmore Road (Palomino Lounge)
Little Lagos
Further along, Nigerian food and Afrobeats collide at Ade Adeniyi’s bistro-bar, Little Lagos, where tomato-spiked jollof rice and pliable fufu, made from pounded yam, are staples to soak up the likes of rich and fragrant stewed goat, or ila asepo, featuring spiced okra and beef braised to tenderness. Settle in for a meal, or drop in for fried plantains paired with creative cocktails and music that thumps from the speakers.
Must order: Goat stew.
125 Enmore Road, Newtown
Bar Louise
Just a little further up, the retro façade of the Marie-Louise hairdresser still stands, but the words “Salón de Tapas” hint at something else; step inside what’s now billed as Bar Louise from the group behind Continental Deli and Porteño, and you’ll find yourself in one of Sydney’s finest Spanish eateries. This hatted venue offers plenty to make a meal out of, but perch at the bar, and it’s all about vermut and sangria on ice, $6 Gildas and perhaps a sneaky soft-set tortilla vaga, with shellfish butter, prawn and a thatch of crisped potato for added texture.
Must order: Tortilla vaga.
135 Enmore Road, Enmore
Jacoby’s Tiki Bar
More drinks? Slip over to Jacoby’s. Even if a bar themed after the tiki-obsessed psychiatrist from Twin Peaks sounded like a gimmick on launch in 2017, the fact it had the team from King Street institution Earl’s Juke Joint behind it hinted there was more going on under the thatched ceiling. 2024 still sees it going strong: booths and bar stools are packed to bursting, rum- and fruit-driven cocktails are spot on, and there’s no shortage of flair: order the Neptune’s Nirvana, a large-format rum and hibiscus wine punch served in a flaming clamshell, for a taste. Loop back later, and next door, the group’s latest opening, The Trocadero Room, offers live music, DJs and frozen negronis till late.
Must order: Zombie.
154 Enmore Road, Enmore (Jakoby’s); 156 Enmore Road (Trocadero)
Osteria di Russo & Russo
A father-son affair, this hatted osteria, just a door or two up, pushes the boundaries of Italian cooking while maintaining respect for classics. So it is that casarecce with sweet spanner crab and sweetcorn gets punch from kombu, and rigatoni with wagyu sausage gets funk and heat from fermented chilli. Grilled duck breast with pineapple and Diane sauce is essential ordering, as is a thick slab of tiramisu to finish, chased with a glass of house limoncello.
Must order: Grilled duck breast with pineapple and Diane sauce.
158 Enmore Road, Enmore
Colombo Social
Back over the road, social enterprise restaurant Colombo Social takes a broad approach to Sri Lankan cuisine while providing employment opportunities and training for people seeking asylum. Surrounds are comfortable, while dishes might include saganaki cheese doused in syrupy kithul or soft-shell crab stuffed into roti with papaya salsa. And Amma’s dhal isn’t to be skipped either.
Must order: Soft-shell crab taco.
159 Enmore Road, Enmore
Cow and the Moon
Just a few doors up, Queen Chow, Merivale’s rooftop restaurant in the Queen Victoria Hotel, offers polished Chinese fare with a modern flourish, extending to weekend yum cha, while a little further along lies gelateria Cow and the Moon. Renowned for taking out the Gelato World Tour title in 2014, the Crowl family’s original shop is still going strong, with queues forming for favourites including balsamic vinegar and strawberry panna cotta, and seasonal specials like summery white-peach sorbet, churned in-house daily.
Must order: Panna cotta gelato with strawberries and balsamic vinegar.
2/167 Enmore Road (Queen Chow); 181 Enmore Road (Cow and the Moon)
Enmore Country Club
A nightcap? Cross back over Enmore Road and finish up at Enmore Country Club, a retro-styled newcomer. Here, the walls are wood-panelled, the wallpaper is intentionally daggy, and the staff are as friendly as their uniforms are fabulous. On the menu? There’s no skipping the Country Club Cherry Cola, a highball combining a splash of rum with house cherry cola, while the taps are tuned to affordable local brews. Still peckish? The twist on a club sandwich, with either chicken or tofu, has late-night cravings covered.
Must order: Country Club Cherry Cola.
182 Enmore Road, Enmore
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David Matthews is a food writer and editor, and co-editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025.
