Sydney’s Secrets: Lunch: Tonia’s Kitchen

By Christopher Hire On April 3rd, 2008

Tonias Kitchen Sydney, A Sydney Lunch Secret

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REVIEWS, SYDNEY — When in Sydney, unless frequenting exclusive restaurants or suburban secrets, it is hard to find a decent food at any price. Reasonable prices in the city are harder.

In nearby Melbourne, it is easy to have a good-size quality meal in small café venues. There are Melbourne city venues where you can get decent lunch specials of classics like veal for $10 or $15 a plate (about 6-8 EUROs), the latter with a glass of wine.

Prego, in Melbourne CBD on Collins St, has one such special.

In Sydney, in contrast, you may end up in eating in food court or an over priced café, where food is served with chips, salads drizzled with some oil and everything served with some jus concoction.

Well there is a Sydney special, few outsiders know about. Underneath Grace Bros, in the Pitt St Mall, there is a foodcourt. A giant barn of Asian re-heated food, with some takewaway burgers, in the far right corner is a secret.

Tonias Kitchen, Meat and vegetables

Although the ubiquitous pomme-frites (or as we say chips) abound, all meals can be served with vegetables or salad.

Garlic Steak, Chicken Romano (tomatoes & olives), Veal meatballs, the schnitzel standby, or various pasta. The food is not oily, over-cooked or over fussy. It is not big plate small meal, it is basic good quality home cooking that men walk miles for.

Vegetables include potatoes, pumpkin, broccoli and cauliflower. Salads are more diverse, and normally popular with female customers.

The food is served in hot trays yes, some recipes appear East European, possibly Hungarian or Romanian adapted to Australian Italian-style taste.

Service is fast, and with the central venue, this means you can seat and eat in 20 minutes, should you desire to do so. I have been eating here for 4+ years, and have never had a slow meal.

Unlike many venues in Sydney with good food, this venue has space, plenty of seating, real cutlery and no stools or ‘grunge’ like many Thai venues.

They are, as is rarer for Sydney cafes, licensed – so you can have a drink. A nice Peroni Nastro Azzuro beer goes down a treat with this hearty food.

Bottom Line

My recommendation is garlic steak, extra serve of vegetables, cracked pepper on top, washed down with Peroni. Or an organic Fruit juice mixture.

The meal is only $11.50 Australian (around 7 EURO), plus drinks. The quality is consistent.

Tonia’s Kitchen is a safe choice, with consistent quality, healthy options and fast clean service. It’s a bargain. And if you feel like chips you can have them.

Connect to Christopher Hire.

Speaker. Author. Editor-In-Chief. Executive Director of Innovation, 2thinknow.