There are some pangs of hunger that only a Schnitzel can answer! For Australians, Schnitzels are a foodie favourite and in the Kings of the ‘Schnitty’ can be found in many of the Sydney hot spots.
Crumbed, crispy fillets, which are cooked to perfection, can easily be sourced in both pubs and restaurants who offer German specialities. They are created from Chicken, Pork, Lamb or Veal and are offered with a great variety of toppings, as well as inventive twists on the traditional dish.
There is an art to getting the relationship of the crumb and the meat perfect, so the coating sticks without falling off. The ultimate ripper is to have Schnitzels cooked through to perfection, with the correct seasoning, remaining juicy and tender yet still crunchy. If you choose a sauce or a topping for your Schnitzel, the quality is also the vital key to the relationship! As well as washing it down with a bevvy or two!
Here is the low down of the best spots in Sydney for a perfect Schnitty.
1. Una’s – King Size Schnitzels!
Where: 340 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
Cost: From $23
Details: (02) 9360 6885 http://www.unas.com.au/
The Low Down: –
Ask anyone to direct you to the best Schnitzel’s in Sydney and you will be pointed towards Una’s. Opened since 1960, it has been transformed into an Austrian and European restaurant with a schnitzel on the menu from as early as 7.30am!
There are several Schnitzels available. The Jäger Schnitzel with its mushroom sauce is famous for the hammering process creating an enormous piece of chicken, with even more surface area for the crispy fried crumb coating. Many choices including the Wiener, Gypsy and Vienna Schnitzels all include a crispy potato perfection of rösti potatoes, and a cabbage salad served on the side.
2. Goni’s Schnitzeleria – If you are incredibly hungry this is the place to be!
Where: 237 Rocky Point Rd, Ramsgate, NSW 2217
Cost: $26-38
Details: (02) 9529 4949 http://thegonisschnitzelria.com.au
The Low Down: –
Famous for the reputation of the biggest and best Schnitzels in town the service is friendly and fast in this busy no-frills eatery!
With the size of the Regular schnitzels being on the generous side, it is a mission to even finish one. The menu is distinctly international flavour, with customers having a choice of loaded toppings from Hawaiian, Mexican, Mediterranean, Aussie, Spanish, Greek, Tuscany and many more. Choices of Schnitzels from pork, chicken or even lamb. The ‘Jumbo’ on the menu, is a dish you can easily share for 2 people. You can get gluten-free Schnitzels for an additional fee of $4. They also offer the Uber Eats service which is very handy to know!
https://www.whereto.media/cityguide/sydney/2kg-schnitzels-gonis-schnitzelria/
3. Tommy’s Beer Café – go on a Tuesday night for the Schnitzel special!
Where: 123 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe NSW 2037
Cost: $15.90-29.90
Details: (02) 9660 6870 http://www.tommysbeercafe.com.au/
The Low Down: –
As a worthy contender for the heartiest Schnitzels in the area and with a great list of beers, Tommy’s Beer Café has it all. These juicy and tender Schnitzels and delicious draft beer, wine or 73% Absinthe are served by professional staff who make sure customers have a good time. Customers can feel relaxed in the homely atmosphere and cosy setting. There is a beer garden too, with large umbrellas for shade which is wonderful in the summer!
Everybody likes a generous portion of chicken schnitzel at a good price. On a Tuesday they have a special, the Hunter Schnitzel which is a heart-shaped crumbed chicken breast, served with mashed potatoes, side salad and mushroom sauce for just $15.90. On the regular menu is the Cheese Schnitzel for $21.90 and has crumbed Edam cheese on top. Then in Eastern European style, the Swiss Veal Schnitzel comprises of crumbed veal escallops topped with melted cheese and smoked ham. Octoberfest is a giant pork Schnitzel which is golden fried for $28.90.
For those who want to share, there is a mixed platter with Veal Schnitzel on mash, plus roasted duck on braised red cabbage and pork belly on sauerkraut for $29.90. The menu is German and Czech influences with apple strudels to finish off if you have room!
4. Munich Brauhaus – Smothered with Zany Blending’s!
Where: 33 Playfair & Argyle St, The Rocks, NSW 2000
Cost: $29.50
Details: (02) 9247 7785 http://www.thebavarians.com/venue/the-rocks-sydney/
The Low Down: –
For Schnitzel lovers Munich Brauhaus delivers! Their loaded schnitzels cannot be ignored but revelled in. They are generously loaded with sauces and toppings which create inspired blending of some of the world’s top dishes and flavour combinations. With a Schnitzel list of at least 12 strong choices, they include from Italian bursts with Mediterranean flavours of Napoli sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, olives and basil, to Mexican which features corn chip, chilli con carne, cheese, guacamole and sour cream. You could even eat the toppings separately to the Schnitzel, making them feel like a starter then a main, to enjoy both dishes!
It is like having two meals in one but if you really want Schnitzel stardom and you are very hungry, they offer the six-stack tower schnitzel called The Schnitzelmeister, served with four side dishes!
This well-loved Bavarian restaurant is housed in a heritage-listed stone building in The Rocks, offering authentic German food and German beer.
5. The Balmain Hotel – Try the Southern Fried Chicken Schnitzel!
Where: 72-76 Mullens St, Balmain NSW 2041
Cost: $18
Details: (02) 9810 7500 https://www.thebalmain.com/
The Low Down: –
The buzzing atmosphere at the lively Balmain Hotel in Sydney is easily one of the best spots in town and is the top place to get Southern Fried Chicken Schnitzel!
The Balmain Hotel’s Southern Style Schnitzel will have you dreaming of America’s deep south with a quirky Australian touch. This Classic Chicken Schnitzel is crisp crunchy and tastily spiced served with red cabbage slaw, fries and a choice of gravy or pepper sauce. You can branch out and order the savoury, Bavarian Style Schnitzel, a juicy, tenderised chicken breast, crumbed and fried with a topping of melted gruyère cheese and mustard underneath. The Schnitzel is also available naked- Portuguese style.
6. Bills – Unique Schnitzels!
Where: 359 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Cost: $26 -$33.50
Details: (02) 9360 4762 https://www.bills.com.au/surry-hills
The Low Down: –
A big step from the average chicken schnitzel the lunchtime menu at Bill’s offers ‘The Parmesan Chicken Schnitzel’ which is unique and healthy. Served with a side of coriander and fennel slaw, if you so wish, is just heavenly. On occasions, you can get a side of creamed corn as an alternative. The dinner option is the veal Schnitzel served with skordalia, a thick purée in Greek cuisine traditionally made by combining garlic with potatoes or liquid soaked stale bread and topped with anchovy caper dressing.
Bills have a great reputation for its good food and as well as Surry Hills, he has a restaurant, in Darlinghurst and Bondi Beach but best to book a table to avoid the queues!
7. The Unicorn Hotel – Chicken Cutlet Schnitzel is something Special!
Where: 106 Oxford Rd, Paddington, NSW 2021
Cost: $28
Details: (02) https://theunicornhotel.com.au/
The Low Down: –
As the home to one of the crispiest Schnitty’s in Sydney, the Chicken Schnitzel at the Unicorn Hotel is something super special! The chicken itself is a chicken cutlet, brined for 12 hours then crumbed in panko and deep fried. Sourced as a hormone free, Bannockburn chicken breast with wing attached, it is juicy on the inside and super crunchy on the outside. Served with silky mashed potatoes and delicious bottom of the pan gravy it is a real crowd pleaser.
The friendly unpretentious club serves up classic Aussie food. There is a dartboard, pool table and an old piano for the drunken sing -along too!
8. Maggie’s – If you have been once you will come back!
Where: 7/50 MacLeay St, Potts Point NSW 2011
Cost: $20-23
Details: (02) 9331 2226 https://www.maggiespottspoint.com.au/
The Low Down: –
With the emphasis on quality ingredients, Maggie’s at Potts Point is a place you will want to visit time and time again. Maggie’s is a genuine German and Austrian restaurant and as soon as you are seated you will be amazed at the surrounding bits and pieces, characteristic of German regions.
There is a range of Schnitzels to choose from and all are generously sized at a reasonable price, and are all pan fried to make a crispy crumb coating.
The Chicken Schnitzel is served with cabbage salad and their famous potato rösti with jaeger Sauce, which is a creamy mushroom gravy. The Chicken Schnitzel can also be served with ziguener (gypsy) sauce, which is a spicier tomato sauce with capsicum, onion, garlic and white wine. Both taste fantastic with a traditional Schnitzel. The Berner Schnitzel is grilled medallions of pork fillet with ham, cheese, pepper sauce, rösti potatoes and vegetables.
If you are there for lunch, they also serve a Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich with mozzarella and garlic mayo on toasted panini all for just $12.90,
Deliveroo can be arranged to deliver to Sydney’s Inner East but if you plan to go there you need to book the first table of the night ahead of time you will get 50% off the food bill for two to four diners.
9. Bill & Toni’s– Legendary Schnitzels with cheese!
Where: 72- 74 Stanley St, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
Cost: $19
Details: (02) 9360 4702 http://www.billandtonis.com.au
The Low Down: –
Famed as a go-to institution, Bill & Toni’s supersized Schnitzel with cheese is a level the humble Schnitzel is famed for. Located on Stanley Street in the middle of Sydney’s original Italian community in the ’50s, you can do as Italians do and eat on the curbside or cosy up in modest surroundings inside. Some recipes have stayed intact since the late 1960s.
Offering a range of Schnitzels as well as traditional Italian food means that if you do not know which to choose, you can have a combination plate with pasta on top or on the side of the hefty sized crisp chicken or veal Schnitzel.
You can enjoy Bill and Ton’s famous Schnitzels from your home or office as they deliver fresh from Uber eats. So, with a range of Schnitzel or combo to choose from everyone can be happy!
10. West Village – Popular on a Saturday Night
Where: 30 Terminus Street, Petersham, NSW 2049
Cost: $22
Phone: (02) 9569 4675
Details: https://www.westvillagesydney.com.au/
The Low Down: –
Previously known as The White Cockatoo, the old 130-year-old pub has had life breathed back into it when James Bodel and Locky Paech took it over in 2016. Their Modern Australian Pub Menu still has a Vienna Schnitzel on the menu and arrives as a sizeable, tender fillet of veal hammered flat, thinly crumbed and fried until golden brown and crunchy. The Schnitty is pan-fried in a zesty lemon and caper burnt butter, with parsley and lemon ladled over the top and German mashed potato on the side.
Always best to book ahead if you are planning to go on a Saturday night!