CAFE ORATNEK - REDFERN, SYDNEY

Cafe Oratnek
4 Pitt St
Redfern, Sydney

A beautiful old terrace house in the middle of Redfern is the setting for this lovely eatery we visited for lunch. It has a leafy outdoor seating area with lavender-fringed gardens stocked with fresh herbs.

It was a beautiful day and although very new, the place was full of people. Inside, the décor was rustic and charming with rough cement walls and simple wooden tables.

We were greeted by the General Manager Daryl Russell, who showed us to our table and explained the dishes on the menu. The selection was very interesting and Japanese influenced, with some hot dishes, salads and “sandwiches” which were more substantial than you might expect.

Oratnek’s head chef Kenny Takayama is a former head chef of Bill’s at Darlinghurst , so we were eager to test the water here at his very own place.

The katsu pork fillet sandwich was a popular choice.

However, we decided on the Japanese fried chicken with house kimuchi and mayo. Who doesn't like fried chicken!

It was in fact a soft roll stuffed with delicious crispy chicken and the kimuchi  (a pickled cabbage slaw) was a very tasty addition.

To drink, Dame K ordered the homemade ginger beer with rhubarb and Dame M had the homemade lemonade. They were really fresh and not too sweet.

We both liked the look and sound of the spicy pork-stuffed chicken wings so we eagerly ordered these.

The lovely golden wings arrived served with crispy chips and a tangy and rich chunky chilli jam dipping sauce. 

The wings were wonderful and the unique pork filling was so moist and very tasty. 

As well as all these goodies we also had the miso bbq boneless beef short rib san choy bow.

The beef rib meat was so tender and deliciously marinated and it just fell apart as we scooped it on to the lettuce cups with piles of fresh salad and coriander dip.

It was a pleasure getting our hands dirty as we tucked into these!

 A few serviettes later we were ready for something sweet.

The use of green tea (matcha) has been gaining popularity in the dining scene and it was a feature of the desserts on offer here.

We chose a matcha lamington and a matcha cream puff to go with a good coffee and a pot of tea.



Both desserts were impressive. The lamington cake was very soft and moist inside and the cream puff was made with a choux style pastry and homemade sweet matcha filling. Light and delicious!

Café Oratnek is open every day for breakfast and lunch. Its not surprising this place is so popular even though it’s not in a high traffic area. Patrons obviously know about it and seek it out. These Dames are planning to go back to sample the lovely brekky menu in the near future.

Those Dames, who review for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of Cafe Oratnek.  Big thanks to both Daryl and Kenny for their hospitality.