Eat The World in 10 Sandwiches at Parramatta
From Vietnamese bánh mì to Turkish kebabs and Mumbai vada pav: 10 sandwiches from around the world, all within reach in Parramatta. Here’s where to find them.
The sandwich might be the most democratic food there is: wherever people needed to eat well on the move, they made one. The formula is simple: bread plus something to put in it, but every culture has left its own mark on it. A French baguette reinvented on a Ho Chi Minh City street corner. A fried potato cake tucked into a soft bun, bound for a Mumbai train platform. Spit-roasted meat folded into Turkish flatbread.
Food like this travels well, and Parramatta is where a lot of it landed, carried in and endlessly reinvented by the communities who made the neighbourhood home. That's why you'll find so many of the world's great sandwiches within a few streets of each other. We've lined up ten of Parramatta's best for you to eat your way through below.
1. Vietnam: Bánh Mì
Two food cultures in one roll: an airy, thin-crusted baguette, lighter and flakier than its French cousin, split and filled with pâté, pickled carrot and daikon, coriander, spring onion, chilli and grilled meat. Mê Bánh Mì’s a local favourite thanks to its pâté: a next-level, secret-ingredient recipe they won't let us print. You'll just have to taste it.
Try it: Mê Bánh Mì, Shop 3/52-60 George St, Parramatta.
"I got the recipe from the woman who taught me to cook, a very good chef, and she told me the secret for this pâté. It's just amazing; you must try it, and then you'll see." — Mê Bánh Mì.
2. Turkey: Kebab
The Turkish classic: seasoned meat char-grilled over charcoal, shaved off the spit and served rolled or ready to self-serve into flatbread with salad and sauce. Turkish street food as it's eaten in Istanbul, and exactly what you'll find over the coals at family-run Bosphorus, from charcoal shish to adana and iskender.
Try it: Bosphorus Turkish Street Food, 5 Footbridge Blvd, Marina Square, Wentworth Point.
3. Lebanon: Shawarma
Lebanon's take on the same idea, set apart by the marinade: warm spices, garlic and lemon soaked deep into the meat before it's slow-turned and carved into flatbread with toum, pickles and salad. Sahra by the River brings four decades of Lebanese cooking to theirs; order it for lunch in chicken or lamb.
Try it: Sahra by the River, 2/76 Phillip St, Parramatta.
4. India: Vada Pav
Mumbai's genius on a budget: a spiced potato fritter (vada) fried and tucked into a soft bun (pav) with chutneys, first sold to feed the city's mill workers. The Bombay-style version at Chatkazz is widely rated among the best in Sydney.
Try it: Chatkazz, Shop 4-6/14-20 Station St, Harris Park
5. USA: The Breakfast Bagel
New York runs on it: bacon, egg and cheese in a boiled bagel, wrapped in foil, eaten one-handed on the way to work. Brooklyn Bridge Deli brings that bodega ritual to Parramatta Square with The Ol' Dirty Bagel: bacon, egg, American cheese, beef patty and a hash brown.
Try it: Brooklyn Bridge Deli, 4/85 Macquarie St, Parramatta.
6. Italy & Australia: Deli Sandwich
The Italian deli tradition, Aussie-café style: mortadella, salami and turkey with rocket, tomato and pesto on sourdough. Maison stays true to the Italian tradition with a more-is-more approach to fillings, making it one high-performing order.
Try it: Maison, 417 Church St, North Parramatta.
7. Greece: Gyros
Greece's iconic street food: pork or chicken slow-roasted on a vertical spit, carved into warm pita with tomato, onion, tzatziki and a handful of chips tucked inside. Get it at family-run The Souvlucky Country, where the gyros pita is carved fresh to order in lamb, pork or chicken.
Try it: The Souvlucky Country, 316 Church St, Parramatta.
8. USA: Burger
Born in America and now everywhere, the burger's finest form is the smash: a ball of beef pressed thin on a scorching grill so the edges caramelise into a crisp, lacy crust. The best in the area is at Loaded Bros, whose OG stacks double smashed patties with grilled onion, pickles, American cheese and their signature Loaded Sauce.
Try it: Loaded Bros, 442 Church St, Parramatta.
9. Mexico: Quesadilla
Included by the definition of bread and a filling: a folded tortilla with melted cheese inside, griddled crisp. Lola's Table, a Filipino-Mexican bistro, fills its quesadilla with beef, chicken or mushroom and chipotle mayo.
Try it: Lola's Table, Shop 1/18 Footbridge Blvd, Wentworth Point.
10. Italy: Maritozzo
A soft Roman brioche filled with whipped cream, its name from Marito (husband), after suitors who once hid engagement rings inside to propose. At Doughkyo, a Japanese bakery in the European tradition, it gets bread gets a lighter Tokyo twist and comes in two flavours to try: mango and strawberry.
Try it: Doughkyo, Westfield Parramatta, 159-175 Church St, Parramatta.
