Good Ways Deli is Redfern’s newest cafe-deli-bakery situation. With a nostalgic palette of Aussie Colourbond green and a neat menu filled with top-tier sangas and CWA-style bakery treats, this is the sort of sunny corner spot you dream of stumbling across while roaming around on the weekend.
Behind Good Ways Deli is chef-baker Jordan McKenzie (whose resume casually ticks off Cornersmith, Cho Cho San, the Orana Sydney pop-up, and Small Talk Coffee) and Tom Pye of Coffee Supreme.
The duo has taken over a former Lebanese sweet shop on Cooper Street, adding warm timber accents for a homey feel, as well as shelves filled with deli goods and slick green merch (hooray for cute cafe merch!). Then, there's a green felt menu of five hero sandwiches and one fortnightly special, a cabinet of country-style bakery treats made fresh daily, and the sweet scent of great coffee too.
Here, sandwiches are a cut above the rest, to say the least. Made with housemade wattle-seed-permeated ciabattas—in the AM, go for the breakfast roll with hot butter, fermented potato, egg salad, and onion jam. Or, cure that hangover with a perfected cheese and apple toastie with Maffra mature cheddar, pickled apple, and mayo. Get fresh with a next-level salad sanga packed out with beetroot, carrot, sprouts, cheddar cheese, broadleaf rocket, mayo, and a lick of mushroom pâté.
There's also a kangaroo saucisson sandwich and, finally, a standout kangaroo mortadella sando with hot butter, white onion, and rocket. The kangaroo mortadella has been made especially for the Good Ways crew by Marcus Papadopoulo of Marrickville’s Whole Beast Butchery.
“Using kangaroo from an environmental or sustainability perspective just makes sense. Supply chains have come a long way and the quality of the product is great,” says McKenzie.
As for the sweet treats—slabs of rhubarb-jam lamingtons, Vegemite scrolls, gluten-free wattleseed brownies, and Anzac biscuits are all on the agenda, each created by McKenzie and Good Ways baker, Greer Rochford.
To drink, it's fresh Coffee Supreme coffee alongside a list of nostalgic favourites: housemade sodas, thickshackes, hot choccies, tea, and chai.
While the corner shop space is largely kitted out for takeaway right now, there is space at the bar if you want to hang about and watch the world go by—and outdoor seating is on the way too, perfect for catching a little winter sunshine.
For more info on Good Ways Deli, including opening hours, head over here.
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Image credit: Nikki To