The Hot List is the definitive guide to Sydney’s most essential food and drink experiences, updated weekly. Learn more.

This week’s Hot List activity

• Added: Corner 75
• Most trending restaurant: Bessie’s
• Most trending bar: Letra House
• Most trending cafe: Pina

Randwick’s hottest restaurant is one of its oldest ones

“This is our first time here since it reopened,” the couple says to me, as we all congregate anxiously around the doors of the newest incarnation of Corner 75. “Me too,” I say. “How are you feeling about it?”

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“Cautiously optimistic.”

That’s been the general vibe among locals since the announcement in January that the teams behind Sixpenny and Baba’s Place, two beloved Hot-Listed Sydney restaurants well on the way to institution status, were taking over a bona fide one. Corner 75 is a Randwick icon and a place of communion for Sydney’s Hungarian diaspora.

I’m not Hungarian, but as someone who grew up 500 metres from Corner 75, it’s literally the only restaurant I’ve been going to consistently for my entire life. I loved its chintzy look, which can only be described as the answer to the question, “What if a doily was a whole restaurant?” I loved its sound – you’ve never heard a more laughter-filled dining room. And I loved its food.

So I was really bummed when long-time owner Paul Varga handed over the keys, even to operators of this calibre.

I used to call Corner 75 some nights to book in and Varga would bluntly tell me “No sorry, there’s no way you’re coming in tonight, we’re too busy.” When I’d tell him that’s okay, he’d stay on the phone and launch into a five-minute monologue about why they were so busy, and I’d get a stream-of-consciousness play-by-play of what exactly was happening that second that was making it so busy. Then, after another five minutes, he’d thank me for the chat and tell me he’d get a table sorted. I didn’t want to lose that version of Corner 75.

The ramshackle Randwick I grew up in is unrecognisably cool these days. Corner 75 was one of the last spots in the area that still felt like it belonged to me.

It’s noon on a Sunday and it’s 35 degrees, so our little contingent of sceptical Corner 75 fans is relieved when new co-owner Alex Kelly (who also co-owns Baba’s Place) lets us shuffle off the street into the dining room. It’s almost identical. The maroon walls are still an agglomeration of commemorative plates, framed photos of patrons, and shrines to notable Hungarians like legendary footballer Ferenc Puskás and Erno Rubik (of cube fame). It’s just a bit tidier now.

It’s the final service of the first full week since Corner 75 reopened and from my perch at the new bar counter I watch as Kelly and general manager Alice Tremayne go over small things with staff – like the finer details of the Hungarian-leaning wine list, or the break-in period for the pastel yellow uniforms.

A waiter walks up to Kelly with a serious look on her face. “A Hungarian woman has just walked in,” she says solemnly. Red alert. The new Corner 75 bills itself as a preservation project, and its Hungarian Australian regulars have the highest priority. Kelly pauses, then says “Can you ask her if she’d be interested in the special?”

The special today is hortobágyi palacsinta – a classic Hungarian dish.

The waiter reports back. “She was really excited about the special.” The whole crew relaxes with relief. One by one, they’re winning the long-timers over.

The menu is more concise than the old Corner 75, but there are enough familiar items to satisfy the OGs. I order a lot. The sauerkraut-stuffed bullhorn peppers are great, as is the LP’s pork and paprika sausage. But I’m here for the three things I always ate here: langós, goulash, and the schnitzel.

Langós is fried bread, typically served with sour cream, garlic and cheese. At the old Corner 75, they were garlicky enough to give you a solid month of vampire protection. Now they arrive with a side serving of sour cream and chopped chives. They’re different to before but scratch the same itch. Tick. Unlike the old stewier version, the new goulash is a more traditional gulyásleves soup. It sings of paprika and the A9 Wagyu neck in it is creamy and beautiful. Another tick.

Now, the schnitzel. Corner 75 has long had one of Sydney’s great schnitzels. During Covid I would always get takeaway from Corner 75 and think, “everything’s terrible, but at least I can still have this schnitzel”. The new version is more magnificent than ever: a beautiful ripple of craggy curves that’s simultaneously light and fluffy. My worries had been steadily receding. Post-schnitzel tasting, they had completely washed away.

As I leave through the dining room, I see that it’s filled up with young families and old Hungarian couples, just like it used to be. And just like they used to, the staff boxed up everything I couldn’t finish for leftovers. I head home with a stomach full of schnitzel and a heart full of relief.

Corner 75 is still Corner 75.

broadsheet.com.au/hotlist/sydney

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