Coming Soon: American-Style Chilli Smash Burgers in a Pocket-Sized CBD Space

When Razzie’s opens in Sydney’s CBD, it’ll mean two LA-born brothers have a place for the food of their childhood.

“I grew up mostly eating chilli dogs, chilli cheese fries and chilli burgers, so I rated places based on their chilli,” says Ryan Song. “When I first came to Sydney, I was looking for the food I used to eat back in the States … [but] I couldn’t really find anything that I liked.”

Teaming up with his brother Eugene Song, Ryan is taking over the old Caffe Amici space, just up the road from Towzen on Kent Street. When it opens in late April, it’ll mark their first crack at running a venue.

In the US, chilli is a slow-cooked minced beef stew with tomatoes – but there’ll be no beans or peppers in the mix at Razzie’s, just small yellow chilli peppers on the side for heat-seekers.

Recipes are still being finalised, but the direction is clear. Expect smash burgers using a juicy 75/25 blend of lean beef to fat, and hotdogs with “snap”. House chilli cooks for 14 hours before being ladled over chilli burgers, dogs and fries – with shredded cheese optional on the latter two.

They’ll be joined by an Oklahoma-style fried onion burger, a California-style serve (think In-N-Out) and a classic cheeseburger. Hotdogs will run from classic to Coney, with Sydney tins on the drinks list. “For chilli cheese fries, we’ll let people swap the base – onion rings, potato gems, normal or curly fries,” Ryan says. Plus, a soft-serve choc-top is on the cards.

The idea has been simmering since 2023, when Ryan started tinkering with chilli recipes and making smash burgers at home. When Eugene first tried one, he jumped on board.

A summer pop-up at Canterbury Park Racecourse followed in 2024, then a brief kitchen stint on Marrickville Road, in a kitchen rife with rangehood issues. Both experiences confirmed the brothers wanted (and needed) a space of their own. “We spent months going to locations and literally sitting out there with a ticker and counting people walking by to find the perfect spot,” Ryan says.

Now, after approvals and a full renovation, the CBD venue is nearly ready: three grills, bar stools and a half-booth packed into a 16-seat room. It’s just one of many newcomers expected in the city soon, like Odd Culture’s Razz Room, the Bar Planet team’s Bar Bridge and Tokyo favourite Pizza Studio Tamaki.

Razzie’s is slated to open at 1/355 Kent Street, Sydney, in late April 2026. 

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