Miss America's Diner, Riverwood

It’s hard to miss the violent display of Americana that is Miss America’s Diner – a cafe turned diner for a few nights a week. Riverwood isn’t the first suburb to spring to mind for pop-ups but hey, I’m not complaining. A pop-up diner is a pop-up diner. There’s brightly colored vinyl table covers, American flags, and a white picket fence. Unsurprisingly, the menu is filled with burgers, hot dogs (or dawgs in this case), sundaes, and pie.

Ippudo, Sydney

There’s nothing quite like slurping a bowl of piping hot noodle soup on a chilly, gloomy day. Located in Westfield Sydney, Ippudo is perfect for those days when you’re hungry mid-shop but you don’t want to venture outside in the torrential rain. It’s very popular with shoppers and those who just want to try some of Ippudo’s famous ramen or compare it to the original.

Masu Izakaya, Sydney

Dixon St and its surrounds are any Sydney-siders go-to when they want Asian food, don’t want to blow a small hole in their pocket, but haven’t totally decided what they want to eat. Masu Izakaya is at the far end (opposite fried chicken favorite, Arisun) and is the only place in this part of town doing it izakaya-style. It’s pretty obvious that yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) is their drawcard because as you walk in, you’re immediately greeted with the sight of a chef quickly turning over skewers on a charcoal fire.

Butter, Surry Hills

Julian Cincotta is a Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year award winner creating a world of sneakers, fried chicken, rap/hip hop and champagne at Butter. It’s like he was throwing around ideas with some of the award’s previous winners (ahem, Dan Hong, Mitch Orr) and said “you know what would be awesome…” I’d be happy here with some slushies and the Nas tracks of my youth.

Mado Cafe, Auburn

Mado Cafe has been an Auburn mainstay for years. I still remember the first time I went there after hearing stories about Turkish food from a friend’s travels. Stepping into a back room filled with ornate (and heavy) wood tables and chairs and decorated with hookahs then ordering plates of ice cream felt like an absolute contrast.

Haven, Surry Hills

After a visit when Surry Hills’ Haven first opened, I decided to come back with a few friends and see how they were going. Briefly put, Haven is one of those cafes that puts as much thought behind their food as their specialty coffee. Their menu is predominantly filled with Modern Australian and healthy options. It seems that one of their goals is to educate their diners about coffee. Possibly after they’re lured in by promise of delicious and pretty food.

The Bridge Room, Sydney

The Bridge Room has been on the up ever since Chef Ross Lusted was crowned Chef of the Year in the 2014 Good Food Guide. The restaurant gained two hats in the 2015 guide, and attained the coveted three hat status in the 2016 guide. Enter through a simple set of glass doors into a room which feels both casual and refined. You wouldn’t walk in here wearing flip-flops and a singlet, but you also don’t feel the pressure to dress up in your finest garb. As for the menu, it serves Modern Australian food with clear Asian influences; the latter of which distinguishes it from the other three-hatters.

Jang Ta Bal, Strathfield

There’s something poetic about Korean barbecue. You’re perched on benches around a charcoal grill. As the fat drips onto the coals, it makes a sound similar to a bubbling brook. Smoke rises from the pit and is swiftly wafted away by numerous ceiling fans, saving you from carbon monoxide poisoning. Welcome to Jang Ta Bal.

Easy Eight, Sydney

Have you ever noticed that when you go out, you either enjoy drinks or food but never both? A restaurant with a fun drinking vibe is hard to find; a bar with filling and mouth-watering food is even rarer. The crew from Mojo Record Bar are aiming to remedy this with their newest opening, Easy Eight, which sits across from the famous Baxter Inn.

Pho Viet, Cabramatta

Pho Viet is widely known for their phở, many rave about it, but there are other options that you should also try. It’s on the quiet end of Cabramatta’s main strip and also happens to be the only place you can find mì quảng in the area.

The Glass Onion Society, Long Jetty

A man in a suit with a radiating onion for a head – that’s exactly the kind of kookiness that sums up Long Jetty’s The Glass Onion Society. It’s always busy, rain or shine so you’ll want to arrive in the early morning if you want to snag a seat at the communal table indoors. There’s plenty of seats outside in the sunshine though. Somewhat unsurprisingly, it also doubles as a small exhibition space with a rotating resident artist.

Lucky Surf & Supply, Long Jetty

It isn’t immediately obvious from the outside that Lucky Surf & Supply in Long Jetty serves coffee. If it wasn’t for the sandwich board on the footpath, you would not have noticed that inside the glass doors, lies a coffee shop. One side is a minimally designed surf supply store and on the other, is the brick bar. Behind it is a shelf holding bags of coffee and a surfboard (as you’d expect). A small menu is written neatly on blackboards that hang above a blondewood counter. I’ve seen cyclists enjoy their morning brew there before hopping back on their bikes.

Shenkin Kitchen, Enmore

Israeli cuisine is the kind that confuses you at first because you have little idea what it entails but you’ll quickly find out that it is delicious. Don’t believe me? Think hummus, bourekas, and sufganiyot. Shenkin Kitchen is one of the few places in Sydney to get your Israeli fix. Since opening in mid-2013, this member of the Shenkin Cafe family has cemented its spot on Enmore’s main strip and is known for its falafel and shakshuka.

Brainwave Cafe, Ultimo

Brainwave Cafe is a split-level space tucked away in an unassuming Ultimo building. Bar and outdoor seating is available and in a light-filled space. The upstairs seating involves a communal table, some benches around the edge of the room, and a set of couches. Small glass bottles filled with dried flowers decorate the room along with a bookshelf containing an eclectic selection of things like the specialty coffee book, piano for dummies, and a box of legos.

Nookie, Surry Hills

Of all the coffee-serving shops in Sydney, Nookie is probably the smallest; there’s enough wiggle room for a single barista. The counter is only big enough to fit an espresso machine so the treats are lined up at the ordering window. There’s nowhere to sit and it’s located near the corner of two very busy roads – Cleveland and Elizabeth – that aren’t pedestrian heavy but it’s somehow still surviving.

Reuben Hills, Surry Hills

Reuben Hills is one of the few specialty coffee shops with a full menu. Just walk up quiet Albion St until you see the black and white sign hanging over some upturned crates. The sound of clinking cutlery and general conversation bounces around the somewhat cavernous space. On one side of the room, there's a shelf lined with pourover filters and all manner of V60 drippers (all for sale). This sits above a Fetco batch brewer. Fluorescent tube lighting forms an 'X' on the wall opposite. I'm not sure if it's meant to mean anything but I appreciate the aesthetic choice.

Eathouse Diner, Redfern

A brief look at my Instagram and you'd know that I used to spend a lot of time in Redfern. Every time I crossed the intersection of Chalmers and Redfern, Eathouse Diner would catch my eye. It was probably the bright turquoise walls, red and yellow handlettering, and Victorian style hands along with "eat here" on the signage. The wall behind the bar is lit by a string of fairy lights which reflect off of a mirror mounted on the top. This may be one of the best-stocked diners in the city judging from the range of bottles on display.

Devon, Surry Hills

The Devonshire St side of Surry Hills used to be the stomping grounds for the local creatives. Then there was a sudden influx of non-locals around the same time that Devon opened up. Almost everyone who walks through the door tries to get a table in the courtyard with its small tables, vertical garden and canopy. It's a pretty good date cafe actually.

Sample Coffee, Surry Hills

Sample Coffee is small, even by Surry Hills standards. A few chairs and tables are squeezed into all the available space and the rest of them spill out onto the footpath where it’s perfect weather to enjoy a coffee. The shop itself is just off busy Devonshire St and enjoys a healthy amount of foot traffic, a lot of which veers into Sample for a take-away coffee.

Papparich, Bankstown

Quick Malaysian classics have come a little closer to home for the west. There’s now a Papparich in Bankstown’s recently opened Little Saigon Plaza, and while it doesn’t evoke as much colonial charm as it’s siblings, it’s still serving homey, filling dishes. Here’s my theory about how Papparich seems to draw crowds: it’s a combination of an extensive menu filled with Malay favorites (some of which you wouldn’t find at Mamak or Hawker) and the novel but efficient ordering system.