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.