Editor’s Picks: The Eight Best Takeaway Meals and Deals From Sydney Restaurants, Cafes and Bars

It’s official – we’re living in crazy times. At 12pm on Monday March 23, all non-essential businesses were forced to shut in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, including all restaurants, bars and cafes. The Australian government did give the struggling hospitality industry a little to work with, permitting venues to offer takeaway and delivery. And just in: the state’s bars, cafes, restaurants and pubs are now able to sell alcohol to takeaway and deliver booze to customer’s homes (watch out for a wrap of Sydney's best).

Our city’s food scene is beautifully diverse, and its response to the Covid-19 situation is no different. We’ve got a live list of the creative and delicious initiatives introduced by Sydney venues here, covering everything from ready-to-eat meals to take-home ingredient packs (with easy instructions) to recreate the restaurant experience at home.

But here, we’re highlighting 10 of the best deals from top Sydney venues on offer right now. Get ordering and support Sydney's hospo industry.

Fish Butchery’s Mr Niland at Home
Fin-to-scale pioneer chef Josh Niland is making it easier to replicate his seafood feasts at home. Each day his teams at Paddington’s Fish Butchery and restaurant Saint Peter will prepare one full meal for you to pick up and finish at home. It changes daily, but the first few were: yellowfin tuna burgers with chips and caesar salad (Broadsheet Sydney editor Sarah Norris made it on Friday and says it was outstanding); mustard and lovage-crusted trout fillet with green beans and barbequed fennel; and fish sausages with potato puree, onion gravy and a side of cabbage, hazelnuts and currants. Each meal serves four people and comes with everything you need. Instructions for cooking the fish or seafood are included, while the rest of the ingredients are mostly ready to go – just toss the salad together or reheat sauces and veggies.
Pre-order at fishbutchery.com.au and pick up in-store.

Din Tai Fung’s dumplings (and more)
The international xiao long bao empire now has frozen versions of many of its dumplings and dishes available at all its Australian stores. While the famous soup dumplings aren’t available, you can get chicken dumplings; shrimp and pork shao mai; vegetarian wontons; golden lava mini bus; cha jiang noodles; and more. Steam them up whenever the feeling takes you.
Order by calling your preferred store location directly.

Prince of York’s Ready-to-Eat Cook @ Home and Party @ Home
You won’t be able to put your stuff in Prince of York’s lockers or dance on its tables for a while, so the CBD bar and restaurant is bringing the party to you – complete with food from the regular menu, drinks from Shorty’s Liquor and curated DJ mixes from Moonshine Music. In a very excellent move, it's launched "Little Prince", a cute yellow van that's now driving Sydney's streets seling ready meals. Get the Prince Burger with bacon and cheese, and the salmon salad with avocado and lemon-sherry vinaigrette. You can also buy vacuum-sealed bags of ingredients to heat up or cook on the stove at home – including its signature dish, spaghetti crab in a bag.
Place your order by phone. Contactless pick-up and delivery are available.

A1 Canteen’s takeaway sandwiches
As his smart Chippendale eatery, chef Clayton Wells is making a range for grab-and-go sandwiches. There’s a halloumi sandwich (beetroot, hummus, rocket, red cabbage, pickled onion, salsa verdé), a Portuguese-style grilled chicken burger and a crisp-prawn number with jalapeno hot sauce.
Sandwiches available 11.30am to 3pm.

Place your order by phone. Delivery is available for Paddington and the surrounding area, or you can pick up at the venue.

Continental Deli Bar and Bistro’s “doing what we can”
Newtown deli experts Continental (who also have a location in the CBD) changed Sydney’s opinion of canned goods. “Yes we can” was its motto – a super-cute reference to its vintage canning machine, which is used to batch everything from cocktails to fish and even merchandise. Continental tells us it’s doing “what we ‘can’ to keep our staff in jobs and keep the public fed”, so it’s upping its production of canned soups and veg dishes to take away ($10), as well as its perfectly made cocktails, including the Can-hattan and the Mar-tinny (renamed the Quarantinny – “it’s like a normal Martini but you drink it alone and in your house”). There’s also handmade pasta, sandwiches and heaps of pantry staples, such as olive oil, eggs, house-made hot sauce and more.
Grab the goods from Continental’s Newtown store.

The Oaks Hotel’s new butcher
If you can’t get your hands on meat due to all panic-buying, this 133-year-old pub is your unlikely saviour. A new butcher (with competitive prices) has opened in its takeaway chicken shop. It’s selling, New York sirloin strips, chicken schnitties, pork and fennel sausages, and more.
Available at the venue.

Firedoor’s market boxes
Chef-owner Lennox Hastie and the team from the Surry Hills fine diner are curating boxes of fresh produce from local farmers and growers. Available each week, they include Firedoor’s house-baked bread and hand-churned smoked butter (we reckon this is Sydney’s best restaurant butter), alongside in-season fruit and veg, eggs and protein options. Premium add-ons, such as Firedoor’s dry-aged steak, are also available.
Check out Firedoor’s Instagram for more info. Email your order to zoe@firedoor.com.au.

Ragazzi’s DIY pasta packs
The CBD Italian eatery will be making 30 portions of handmade pasta each weekday. First come, first serve between 4pm and 7pm. Today there’s spaghetti cacio e pepe, and mafaldine with duck ragu (15 serves of each). If you’re in Sydney’s east, you can also pick up limited amounts from sister venue Dear Sainte Eloise between 4pm and 8pm.

Available at the venues.

Our live list of Sydney restaurants offering takeaway is here.

Covid-19 (coronavirus) means we’re living in unprecedented and uncertain times. Mass public gatherings are banned and minimal social contact is recommended. If you have concerns about visiting businesses or public spaces, and questions about self-isolation or coronavirus testing, check out the latest updates from NSW Health.