The March Hit List: Cafe Freda’s, Nakano Darling, Soul Deli, and More

The decade-long dance party at Freda’s in Chippendale wound up last year, but the dark basement venue lives on in a new bright, sun-dazed venture: Cafe Freda’s, located near Taylor Square. Xinyi Lim’s menu matches the luminous, colour-filled eatery: her vivid carrot mole with burrata is inspired by her cooking stint at Expendio de Maiz in Mexico; her chilli-dressed tomato and peach salad feels like a neverending summer – and is a tribute to her chilli-embracing Malaysian mother (so is the beef rendang dish with cucumber and nuts). For anyone missing Freda’s line-up of gigs, don’t despair: experimental music and art shows are planned for this multipurpose venue.

Dining status: open for walk-ins and bookings.

After selling out sopes at the Summer Hill’s Flour Mill Markets, Maíz Mexican Street Food has a permanent location down the south end of Newtown. The all-day brunch menu features its signature dish in many iterations (chicken and macadamia mole; mushrooms and charred salsa verde; hibiscus flower and pineapple jam), while also highlighting avocado and in-house Vegemite quesadillas, burrata chilaquiles, scrambled egg tortas and much more. Don’t miss the conchas and corn bread by Pancho Bakery and take note: you can bring your own bottle to fill up on Maíz’s agua fresca, too.

Dining status: open for takeaway, delivery, walk-ins and bookings.

Soul Dining’s Daero Lee and Illa Kim are calling their new venture, “your neighbourhood Korean deli”. It’s inspired by the ‘Bowl by Soul’ takeaway menu they ran during the lockdown, so there are galbi, mushroom and pork belly rice bowls on offer. You can order Korean fried chicken rolls, sweet corn kimchi pizza, omelettes with Korean ‘caviar’ or tofu salad, too. Supersize your pantry with Soul Deli’s range of in-house kimchi, pickles and sauces and admire the couple’s commitment to keeping things thoroughly K-style – the coffee is supplied by a Korean-Australian micro-roaster, Primary Coffee Roasters, run by Dan Kim.

Dining status: open for takeaway, walk-ins and bookings.

This Sri Lankan eatery is a family-run business in the best sense. Father Augi De Hoedt cooks the signature hoppers and gives them an Aussie brunch remix (think hoppers “shakshuka”-style or paired with spiced eggs Benedict). He serves them with more traditional red lentil, chicken and beef curries, too. Wife Dilki runs the front of house, while sons Travin and Jason bake the pastries after finishing their shifts at Franca Brasserie (Travin’s fiancee Saaya Takahashi, who is a pastry chef at Sixpenny, also contributes: credit her for the Japanese cheesecake). Having trouble scoring a table during brunch? Take note, The Fold has just opened for curries and hoppers at dinnertime.

Dining status: open for takeaway, walk-ins and bookings.

Saba Taghavi’s family has a serious commitment to food. In Iran, his aunts would cook Western recipes from contraband magazines they smuggled into the country, while his great-grandfather was a chef for the royal family. At Shila in Balmain, he’s reviving these family memories with dishes from his homeland. On the menu at his Persian tea house: duck fesenjan stew, spinach borani dip, kuku sabzi (Persian omelette), koofteh meatballs and other things that go well with bread and saffron rice.

Dining status: open for takeaway, delivery, walk-ins and bookings.

Each outpost of Three Blue Ducks makes the most of its location, whether it’s the beachy Bronte original cafe or the blockbuster Byron Bay farm complex. If you’re heading out of town, consider a day trip to Three Blue Ducks’ venture at Nimbo Fork Lodge in the Snowy Mountains. The menu is hyper-local: Nimbo lamb is served with smoked potato aïoli, while the signature butterflied trout is freshly caught from nearby waters. The charming cottage location – with hillside views of Nimbo Creek and Tumut River – is worth savouring, too.

Dining status: open for walk-ins and bookings.

It’s easy to find a decent bowl of pho in Marrickville – the streets are lined with countless eateries selling rice noodles in a fragrant beef broth. What makes Khoi Eatery stand out is its inclusion of other Vietnamese staples (such as the spicy Bún bò Huế beef soup from the country’s centre) and its compelling vegan versions of them (wok-fried mushrooms headline the meat-free alternative for Bún bò Huế, while the tofu broken rice is a plant-based translation of the typical pork chop or lemongrass beef take on that moreish dish).

Dining status: open for takeaway, delivery, walk-ins and bookings.

This industrial microbrewery showcases craft beers from Western Australia’s Gage Roads, so you can drop by for an ultra-fresh pour of its East Coast Eclipse, with its citrus-like fizz, or a schooner of its toasty India Dark Ale. But its menu is worth sampling, too. The charred roti bread is a highlight – use it to soak up the roast cauliflower curry with Thai eggplant or dunk it in the spiced chickpea dip. The sticky, tangy stir-fried tofu with black vinegar is also worth your time. Do the chefs tap into the kegs for inspiration? Yes, they do: the wagyu beef cheek is slow-cooked in a dark ale and served on a snackable croissant.

Dining status: open for walk-ins and bookings.

Nakano Darling’s gyoza recently got the star treatment during 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art’s “Secret Snacks” initiative. The gallery teamed up with More of Something Good to illustrate local stars and their favourite Chinatown snacks and covered Sydney with poster versions of these images. Acclaimed photographer Luisa Brimble singled out the izakaya’s pan-fried dumplings as something that’s best eaten with an army of friends. “Tip: don’t hold back. Dig in,” she says. Brimble even buys frozen versions of the gyoza to take home. At Nakano Darling, the vegetarian fried udon, Japanese curry and avocado takuan are also worth considering – whether you have extra friends to help you clear the plates or not.

Dining status: open for takeaway, delivery, walk-ins and bookings.

Indonesian eatery Kusuka has made the move to Darling Square. You can request the nasi goreng, beef pastrami rissoles and chicken with rendang, but the menu’s biggest drawcard has always been the ingredient-packed mi goreng bowls. There’s the hangover-friendly wagyu and corned beef option, featuring torched cheese, grilled corn and fries among the noodles. Or for something more saintly, the “garden bowl” mixes mi goreng with tofu, pickles, avocado and rendang. Also fun at Kusuka: the vivid drinks list, which ranges from lychee and calamansi soda to sediment-rich kopi tubruk coffee, available with a creamy, sweet boost of condensed milk.

Dining status: open for takeaway, walk-ins and bookings.