The sun-drenched forecourt of the Museum of Sydney is what attracted House Made Hospitality to the space for their newest venue, This Way Canteen. The group – which also operates Hinchcliff House (a hub of eateries in a heritage-listed building just down the road) as well as nearby Bar
Mammoni – decided to capitalise on the empty spot at the enviable north-facing location, and join Sydney’s sandwich surge for a laid-back canteen-style eatery.

This Way Canteen is open for breakfast and lunch and, as the name suggests, has been designed so you can pop in and grab something for a desk lunch, or sit in for a quick meal. There are choose-your-own-adventure salads, croissants, granola and a breakfast plate (boiled egg, toast, pickled peppers, whipped ricotta and tomato), but really, it’s all about the sandwiches and doughnuts. The menu, which is curated by executive chef Stephen Seckold, has got a modern-Australian-meets-New-York-deli vibe.

For the first meal of the day there’s the B&E (bacon, fried egg and caramelised onion on focaccia), Hot Boi (pastrami, beet hummus, habanero mustard and pickled onion on a bagel) and TW Bruschetta (tomato, feta, harissa and lime on sourdough). At lunch there’s an array of hot and fresh sangas, such as
the Drunken Chicken (marinated chicken, crisp chicken skin, bacon jam, green tomato, and carrot on a country loaf) and the Duck Toastie (pulled duck, kimchi, hoisin, and ginger scallion slaw on focaccia).
Brown’s pick is the Plantivore, a vegetarian take on the meatball sub (plant-based rissole, haloumi, cabbage and hummus on focaccia). A lot of the bread is made at House Made Hospitality’s Grana Bakery.

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“Steve spent a lot of time eating sandwiches around town, with myself,” says House Made Hospitality director, Scott Brown. “... [This Way Canteen sandwiches] are not too big, and they’re not too heavy or stodgy, so you can actually do some work in the afternoon instead of slumping behind a desk.”

The doughnuts are courtesy of House Made Hospitality’s head of viennoiserie, Jonny Pisanelli. The flavours will change with the seasons but now there’s pistachio cream (Brown calls this one “beautiful”), crème brûlée and peanut butter and jelly. The house coffee is Allpress, and there are also house-made sodas and a selection of local beers and wines.

The canteen’s fit-out – the work of interior designer Vicki Punch – is mostly neutral. The cork floor is a nod to department store cafeterias from the ’50s and ’60s, and the browns and greys are inspired by Aussie gum trees. The seating, a collection of high and low tables, spills out to the forecourt.

“We’d like just to be known as a place where you can come and relax and have some good-quality food, and just get away from the office … enjoy some sunshine and energise yourself,” Brown says.

Other recent Sydney sandwich spots include Cut Lunch Deli, S’Wich, Sandy’s and Cafe Parker, among others.

This Way Canteen
Corner Bridge and Phillip Streets, Sydney

Open:
Mon–Fri 7am–4pm
Sat & Sun 9am–4pm

thiswaycanteen.sydne