The July Hit List: Lankan Filling Station, Itacate, Soul Deli, and More

Your pantry will thank you after you load up on Lankan Filling Station’s goods. O Tama Carey has four of her curry powders available by the jar, from her mild unroasted white curry (which you’ll recognise from the excellent potato curry on her menu) to her fiery black spice mix (which you can use to season a goat, pork or lamb curry). Make room on your shopping list for her fermented chilli sauce, acharu, Maldive fish sambol and devilled cashews: they’re guaranteed to add a much-appreciated zing to your future snacking breaks or meal-making experiments. Prefer to skip the hard work? You can get a variety of pre-cooked curries instead or book a table for a time when those well-spiced dishes will be served hot from the kitchen again.

If there’s been a reigning dish throughout the pandemic, it would have to be lasagne. Everyone has sold a version of the densely layered and cheese-topped comfort food – even tasting-menu restaurants like Attica. Andiamo Trattoria Rhodes offers its home-style take, labelled “Italian lasagne like Nonna would make”. There’s an option for vegetarians, too, built from slices of eggplant and zucchini, with the classic béchamel finish. All the usual pasta staples – from aglio e olio to spaghetti Bolognese – are also up for grabs. Skip the plates and enjoy pizza slices direct from the box (or straight off the pizza stone, once this trattoria can fire up the oven for diners again).

After running a pop-up shop off Newtown’s main drag for a year, I Should Be Souvlaki finally opened its permanent location just days before the late June lockdown came into effect. It’s quickly pivoted to offering a frozen food range, so you can pick a range of vegan dishes that reflect co-owner Adam Papastathopoulos’ Greek heritage (think spanikopita, souvlaki, avgolemono, galaktoboureko). The diner is also open for pick-up and deliveries and will be a cute spot for Santorini-style souvlaki or vegan Greek salad once it’s allowed to welcome guests again.

Tamale queen Rosa Cienfuegos can claim a loyal fan base for her Tamaleria & Mexican Deli in Dulwich Hill, so it’s only logical that she’d open a second venue: it’s called Itacate & Mexican Deli and it’s located in Redfern. As you’d hope, she’s using the space to present real-deal Mexican food – plus the pantry staples needed to replicate the cuisine in your own home. You can request delivery of her sopes, tlacoyos and tacos, or wait until her colourful eatery is open again to tear corn husks off her just-cooked tamales or browse the shelves of hot sauces, tinned goods and other Mexican essentials. Itacate is the Nahuatl word for “your share of food”, so make sure you hoard accordingly.

Okay, so your residence might not have the signature archways or same Tel-Aviv-via-Sydney buzz, but grabbing an ‘Ezra At Home’ pack is still a handy way to channel the restaurant’s charms. Think of it as a greatest hits menu that allows you to impersonate head chef Ben Sears in your own kitchen: the selection changes from week to week, but might include the signature Jerusalem bagels and the brilliant macadamia muhammara with pomegranate, roast potatoes with burnt butter and za’atar and lamb shoulder tagine. Don’t overlook the option to add hummus with smoked egg as an extra. And definitely order the latter when tables open up again for Ezra.

Spanish Sakaba is truly one of a kind: how many other eateries offer tapas and ramen under the one roof? The restaurant’s neon signage and patterned tiles speak to its Spanish-Japanese heritage – which you can admire when customers can step back into the venue once more. When takeaway-only mode is in effect, though, try a few of its hybrid creations (matcha churros, wagyu paella) or dishes that reflect the Catalan region (tomato bread) or other geographically specific points in Japan and Spain.

When Bar Nina rolled into Sydney’s oldest Little Italy district earlier this year, it was a relief to learn it would continue the pasta-offering traditions that Stanley Street is historically known for. In addition to Moreton Bay bug spaghetti, duck ragu fettuccine and cacio e pepe gnocchi, this all-day venue also presents breakfast options to go with your hit of Little Marionette coffee. Expect a lockdown-adapted menu while restrictions are in place, but be thankful the caffeine, booze and food are still flowing.

Daero Lee and Illa Kim’s Korean eatery and shop is inspired by last year’s lockdown and the rice bowl dishes they served when their restaurant, Soul Dining, had to pivot under trading restrictions. So Soul Deli is already designed to be pandemic-friendly. There’s a standout selection of take-home soy pickles and kimchi worth stockpiling (the stir-fried kimchi cooked in sesame oil deserves space on your shelf!). Stack on some Korean pear juice and seaweed crackling to your takeout total – and request some ritzy truffle shavings if you’re splurging on your injeolmi waffle order.

Even when the city is in shutdown mode, Josh Niland always finds a way to be inventive. The award-winning chef is resurrecting his Mr Niland At Home range at Saint Peter and there’s no shortage of star power on the menu. You might find Murray Cod ramen featuring noodles by Chaco Ramen’s Keita Abe, kingfish green curry that draws on chef David Thompson curry paste, or king prawn strozzapreti with pasta made by Acme’s Mitch Orr. Of course, the menu is already worth your attention, regardless of the co-stars. The chef’s own dishes include lobster spanakopita, bigeye tuna carnitas and smoked pink ling pie.

Good Ways Deli is another newcomer to the Redfern neighbourhood. There’s a strong Australian accent to its line-up, which includes kangaroo mortadella on wattleseed ciabatta, lamingtons sweetened with rhubarb jam, Anzac biscuits, Vegemite scrolls and a whopping salad sandwich that might challenge the jawline of typical school canteen visitors. Co-owner Jordan McKenzie (Cornersmith, Cho Cho San) is also keen to include more native grains in the baked goods – so keep an eye out for future carb-friendly additions to the menu. There’s the option to scoop up Jersey milk, house-made jam, Maffra cheddar and in-house pickles from the deli shelves as well.