How do we categorise all the venues that fall outside the bounds of “restaurant” and “bar”? You could reach for “cafe” but an ice-cream house doesn’t quite fit. And neither does an onigiri stop. Or a seafood deli with a lava grill, for that matter.

Regardless of what you call them, the new cafes, sandwich shops and casual eateries on this list are all knockouts in their own way – and we’re only half-way through the year. Lucky us.

Cafes

Pantry Story, Stanmore

It’s “brochi” that first garnered Mutiara Sucipto a loyal following. The dense fudgy brownie-meets-mochi creation gets its chewiness from glutinous rice flour, and Sucipto sold slices of it via Instagram during lockdowns. Now she runs a Parramatta Road bakery with her partner and fellow baker Hari Wobowo – on a “ random ” strip of Parramatta Road. For something savoury, it’s the kimchi focaccia you want. But honestly, it’s all good. And the sweet hybrids don’t stop at the brochis – there’s a bright green and elastic pandan mochi cookie, too.

Maido, Darlinghurst

“Maido!” It’s a greeting in Osaka that Provider Store ’s Tara Bennett picked up on one of her frequent trips to Japan. You can use it morning, noon or night, the perfect moniker for her absolute beauty of a cafe – which she opened with the Artificer team. Especially since it's added wine nights to its usual roster of morning trade. Coffees come in mugs you’ll recognise from Provider, Comeco’s mochi brownies are on display and there’s a particularly good matcha. Make sure to spy resident shiba inu Pocari’s mood of the day too.

Cafe 143, Bronte

In 2014, The New York Times annointed Charles Babinski a “high priest” of coffee. If it was a religion, that is. But if you step inside his modest cafe on Macpherson Street, you won’t find a lick of caffeinated pretension. Barefoot regulars line up from the early morning for cups of Mecca coffee and flavour-packed sandwiches on Iggy’s bread (and bargain little deli rolls). On Wednesdays, there’s a plentiful produce stand from Harvest Farms in Bilpin too. The pastel pink lane alongside the cafe is the best spot to sit, and the “turm-ie” – pronounced choo-mie, slang for the sunshine-y spicy, sweet turmeric cup made on house-made nut milk – is bang on.

Ona, Marrickville

If you’re a hardcore coffee drinker, you already know about Ona. If you’re not, we’re here to say it: the Canberra roaster’s flagship is the final frontier of specialty coffee in Sydney. Nowhere else has a coffee menu this chonky, let alone three distinct bars for different brew methods. Coffee is even woven into the brunch menu via a 16-hour coffee-braised beef roll.

Noon, Manly

A picnicky plate is one of the best, if not the best, ways to eat. In my humble opinion. A hunk of bread with an egg, some cheddar and pickled veggies, maybe, for you to make perfect little mouthfuls to your liking. Or, as they do at Noon: nutty slices of hempseed loaf, a jammy egg, a few slices of house-cured trout and some Turkish tzatziki. It was popular with locals from the time Noon opened, just like the Middle Eastern pancakes with ricotta and roasted grapes. The space spruiks a '70s edge, with leather couches and glistening glass bricks – and you're only a few blocks back from the beach.

Splash, Petersham

The Soulmate crew’s poolside sequel dials up the nostalgia factor with salad sammies, burgers with the lot, and a hot-chip butty that’s gone just a little bit viral. All up, it’s like the school canteen from your childhood – but times hundreds and thousands.

Sandwiches

Ol’ Mates, Earlwood

Sometimes all you want is a good and honest sanga. Nothing fancy. “Look, it’s just a sandwich shop,” co-owner Nick Retsas told Broadsheet when he opened Ol’ Mates with his brother James. “But we’re not just doing the hi-bye greetings.” What they are doing is the kind of laidback, warm hospitality you want; plus whopping schnitties or layers of deli meats sandwiched between schiacciata, a Tuscan focaccia-like flatbread. A hot tip: order the fresh-as salad serve, which boasts a generous spread of house-made tirokafteri, a zingy Greek dip. Then, add a hashbrown and fermented chillies.

MLK Deli, Surry Hills

This bright blue beacon on Campbell Street popped up and quickly became a neighbourhood favourite. And it's because all the sangas are stars. There’s an Uzbek chicken-thigh number; an Italian-American-style one that brings mortadella, turkey ham and Wagyu salami together with cheese; and a meatball sub that uses owner Myra Karakelle’s mum’s lamb kofta recipe. If you’ve got room, make sure you grab a halva brownie too.

Self Raised Snack Shoppe, Bexley North

After the blockbuster success of Self Raised Bread Shoppe, you’d think the team would go bigger for the follow up. Instead it’s kept things compact with a walk-up bakery window. But it isn’t sacrificing what it does best. By that we mean stonking smoked beef sandwiches and banging Boston cream doughnuts.

It’s Recess, Surry Hills

It’s 11am. You’re starving but you’ve only got $11.90 in your splurge account. Good news – there’s a place you can go. It sells very good sandwiches, most of them landing under $15.Chicken and avo. Curried egg. One with green things on it. Ding ding, It’s Recess.

Casual eateries

Tita, Marrickville

If you’re hooked into Sydney’s food scene, it would’ve been hard to miss the frenzy around Tita. The Filipino carinderia from the Donut Papi team opened to queues snaking up the street. Everyone waiting to get their hands on a brekkie burg touting a just-baked pandesal. Award-winning food photographer Luisa Brimble bakes the buttery rolls, which are then stuffed with longanisa egg, cheese and banana ketchup. Vibrant swirls of ube soft serve are strong supports.

Uncut Seafood Delicatessen, Bondi

When Broadsheet spoke to Nic Lucas, one part of the sibling team of three here, he said they were firing up “restaurant-quality fish on a sidewalk” – and that we’d be hard-pressed to find better cooked fish. Bold. But true. The grilled fillet of barra – fired over a lava grill – knocked it out of the park. The crunch! The juiciness! The family-recipe taramasalata on the side! And don’t miss a serve of the house-pickled octopus with spuds.

Domo 39, St Peters

Japan’s convenience stores – konbini – are the inspo behind this newbie from the Kurumac and Mapo Gelato teams. It’s fuelling the city’s onigiri obsession with a fridge full of rice balls, and will take you on a seafood odyssey one Broadsheet writer can’t stop thinking about. Sugoi!

Khamsa, St Peters

When Sarah Shaweesh reopened her once-plant-based cafe, she decided to honour more of the traditional Palestinian dishes she eats with her family – which meant adding dairy and meat to the menu. Khamsa 2.0’s offering still leans vegan and vegetarian, with falafel and cauliflower Bedouin wraps, fava bean dip fol muddamas and smoky baba ganoush. But drop-ins looking for a familiar eggs-on-toast plate will be lovingly catered for, with the option to add on house-made khobez (flatbread) and shatta (chilli dip). A favourite is the bright green cooked-to-order falafels, made with a mixture of herbs the team keeps close to its chest.

Kariton Sorbetes, Burwood

The beloved Melbourne gelateria brought its Filipino scoops to Sydney this year. And cold weather be damned – we’re all in. Re the durian chiffon and cheddar-y keso scoops: don’t knock ’em till you try ’em. This is gelato like you’ve never tasted it before.

Mogu Mogu, Surry Hills

This is the latest recruit in the major onigiri moment Sydney is having. A husband and wife run Mogu Mogu, which uses Hokkaido rice exclusively. It adds drama with a flamed Wagyu number and a nitamago (ramen egg) option. There’s a dozen ready-to-go flavours too, adding a lunchtime saviour to a bustling portion of Cleveland Street.

Additional reporting by Lucy Brewer, Aimee Chanthadavong, Dan McBride, Callum McDermott and Pilar Mitchell.