German food in Cabramatta..?
Yes, that’s right!
Far from the hustle and bustle of John St, the main strip of Cabramatta, lies a German-Austrian Club which has been established since the mid-50s as there was a large influx of Europeans immigrants to this and surrounding suburbs after the war (it was only until after the Vietnam war that a second influx of immigrants came flowing in to shape what Cabra remains of today). As far as I know, the German-Austrian Club has been responsible for holding one of the biggest Oktoberfest celebrations in Sydney for the last 40 years. For the last 4 or so years, I’ve attended the celebrations at Fairfield Showground but when I found that there was an actual restaurant in the club serving authentic German food I knew I had to go here when I needed to get a German fix outside of the Oktoberfest celebration period.
Ant and I visited this restaurant a few years back (pre-blog times) and we’ve enjoyed it. I decided to take my girlfriends here for a night of catching up and to actually show them that a German restaurant exists in Cabra! There are two dining sections where we can eat; the small, intimate restaurant or the big bier hall. We chose to dine in the bier hall that night because there were a lot more people eating there and also The Royal Wedding was shown on the large overhead projector. At the end of the night we found out that some of the items were in fact cheaper because we dined in the bier hall. Sweet! So it wasn’t a bad idea after all..
Drinks are ordered and billed separately to the restaurant, a friendly bartender comes up to your table and looks after your beverages whilst the restaurant wait staff look after your food.
We started the night with Langosh ($6.50), a Hungarian deep fried flat bread rubbed with copious amounts of garlic and accompanied with sour cream. The bread comes out piping hot and we quickly dig in. Crispy on the outside and warm and fluffy on the inside. I knew I had to save room for what’s to come but I couldn’t help but scoff a couple pieces of this delicious bread down.
With plenty of choices on the menu the choose from (pork knuckle, goulash, steak, different types of schnitzels etc), half of the girls decide to have the chicken schnitzel ($23.50) which was served with a cold potato salad, cabbage and some tomato and lettuce. The serving sizes were huge! There had to be at least about 500g of schnitzel on the plate! The schnitzel was nicely crumbed and the meat wasn’t dried out. The girls enjoyed this dish thoroughly and even had some left over to take home for the next day! Germans.. They definitely don’t hold back with their generous servings!
This was the dish I had during my first visit with Ant, so I decided to repay a visit to the Gypsy platter ($26.00) which included a piece of pork fillet, 2 pieces of schnitzel, crumbed mushroom and a Krainer Wurst (kransky) to top it all off. Oh there were some fries, cabbage and a small salad of lettuce and tomatoes too!
To tackle this monster, I started from the top and made my way down, making sure the skewer kept all the food intact. The highlight of this dish was the crumbed mushroom, a gigantic field mushroom was crumbed and deep fried resulting in an uber juicy piece of mushroom which I pretty much inhaled down delightfully. Determined to finish off the entire plate (well all the protein at least) I was certain that I would’ve finish it but with a sip of DAB beer before my final bites I was defeated (damn beer filling me up!) – all that was left was half a schnitzel! I was extremely surprised that they didn’t serve their meals with sauerkraut (there was an option to pay extra for it though), instead the cabbage was coated with a mayonnaise similar to coleslaw.
Amongst our table that night was a vegetarian. Being pretty sure she’d probably wouldn’t have that many options on the menu to choose from we were very surprised at how accommodating the staff were towards her. The chef had put together a very generous platter of a vegetables for her along with some spatzel; German noodles similar to pasta, which wasn’t available on the menu. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the dish but I managed to sneak in some braised red cabbage and man.. it was so good! So everyone was happy that night.
I would definitely have to come back to try out more of the menu, especially the Rindsroulade ($23.50); a German dish of rolled up pan-fried beef which has been rolled up with gherkins, olives and mustard. Apparently a hit with the oldies and the youngsters aren’t fond of it; but I’m just extremely curious. I was also tempted to try the generous serving of apple strudel for $5 but had to back off when I was told it was to be served with a huge scoop of ice cream and no one wanted to help me with it.
Oh make sure you sign yourself into the club before entering the restaurant (even if you are not with a member).
Wow never thought I’d see bratwurst served amongst the pho at Cabra! I love these sorts of places – you just sit down, have a big drink, a huge meal, and get well taken care of in a relaxed environment! That shnitzel dish is humungous though!!!
omg. The serving is HUGE there. 🙂 Hey I like the idea of the deep-fried bread!
I love eating at this place! I have to say hands down one of the best places in Sydney to get German food.
Last year I went to Fairfield Showgrounds looking Oktoberfest, but sadly it isn’t held there anymore. Instead it is held at the club. We had an awesome afternoon. It was packed with a fantastic vibe. We drank and ate ourselves silly. We even bought funky hats to wear to get in to the mood. Will be going again this year.
Holy moly – that gypsy platter is scary!
Oh my! Was that gypsy platter meant to be for a family of gypsies?? HUGE! I’m surprised too that no sauerkraut included in the price… perhaps they fear it might scare people off still. Now I want schnitzel (again – had last night).
I need to tackle that tower of fried goodness! What a serving!
I can’t believe i didn’t know about this sooner!! how is there a German restaurant in cabramatta… please take me there!
I can’t believe that you nearly got the whole way through the Gypsy Platter. It looks HUUUUGGGGEEEEE!!!
I’ve always driven past that and have wanted to try it, i think it is time soon!
I’m not sure if I could even get to that mushroom at the bottom! A vegetarian in a German restaurant?? Sauerkraut with lots of beer and pickled onions 🙂
Wow, the first thing that caught my eye was the large serving portion besides the attractive display of the food 🙂
The deep fried bread looks a little similar to the Asian fried crullers; only this was larger in size. It is nice to see German restaurants sprouting all over the world, and uniquely, they don’t come in large numbers, making them exclusive 🙂
That gypsy platter is mammoth! I do love the Germans for their generousity lol!
Ah, I’ve driven past this place so many times! Will definitely have to visit now – totally LOVE the look of that Langosh!
Trisha: Yeah! Who would’ve though that there’ll be German food in Cabra! But it’s the good stuff too! Sadly there are no bratwurst here though.. (I really need to find myself a place in Sydney that serves it though)
Anhsfoodblog: My mouth waters at the thought of it
Aimee: Nice! I have a hankering to go eat time I go to the gym nearby lol
Sara: Last year was the first time that they decided to not hold it at Fairfield Showground. There was a little bit of an outrage but it’s only because of the people who spoil it for others and get rowdy at the event. But I can imagine that holding the event in a more contained and intimate environment would have been awesome. I think I need to check out the celebrations this year as well..
Tina: Scary at first but oh so delicious! 🙂
Martyna: Sauerkraut and red cabbage are the things I love with German food.. I don’t know how people can’t like it too. Oh well… More for me!
Pete: Mmmm fried goodness…
Isis-Rae: We’ll go next time you’re in the hood! 🙂
Richard Elliot: lol You are talking about me afterall.. Bottomless stomach! :p It’s not too bad.. The meat pieces are quite thin.
Tommy: I think it’s time too..
Chopinandmysaucepan: Psst.. The mushroom is on the top underneath the kransky 🙂 Yeah I know.. Those were my initial thoughts too but from memory they gave her broccoli, red cabbage, potato salad, white cabbage slaw, and a few other items, it filled an entire plate and she was full!
Christy: That’s what makes this place fantastic! Huge servings!! And yes, the Langoush is similar to the Asian fried bread but I think this version is slightly yummier 🙂
Nic: You and me both!
Jen: I think it’s the best form of garlic bread out there… Mmmm so tasty!
That Gypsy platter is incredible! I’ve never seen anything quite like it before! :O
Why haven’t I heard of this place til now. Maybe I’ll have my brother with me when I visit this place and try that huge gypsy platter. I could to take home any left over but I would love just to sit and enjoy this entire meal with a beer. Thanks for the information here. Cheers!
You have got me salivating! I now want to go to the german club here in canberra and get me some schnitzel!
Lorraine: It is indeed a wonderful sight and I’m lucky that I don’t have to travel too far to get it too 🙂
Jenn Brigole: Not a problem! The atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxing and very friendly so you won’t have the feeling that someone is trying to push you out of the restaurant. If the weather is warmer, there is an outdoor area although I’m not 100% sure whether or not you can eat there because it’s at the front of the club. But it’s a nice casual setting to have a nice German beer (plenty of options here) 🙂
Susan: German food is the greatest! I hope you get your fix 🙂
A scary amount of food for the decent prices charged, especially that whopping Gypsy Platter – enough food for two!
the only time Germans seem relaxed is when they are at a beer bar eating! haha. the food looks colossally delicious by the way
Wow! This is my kind of place. Beer and all things deep fried, such a great mix!
Reason number 659 to visit cabra soon 😉
Mademoiselle délicieuse: Yes scary but good indeed since I live relatively close. It’s bad because my gym is pretty much opposite to the restaurant so I do get tempted sometimes.. :p
Hannah: I find Germans very friendly.. But maybe that’s because they are always full of bier 🙂
Gianna: HAHA Gotta get down here quick smart! Come down for the Oktoberfest sometime, the atmosphere is awesome!
Ooooh, I’ve been there! Got a bit lost trying to find it, but MAN the food was good. I don’t think I’d be game enough to try the Gypsey platter though!
*Gypsy 🙂
JasmyneTea: It’s fantastic here! Ant and I went last night, had the langosh, an entree, 2 mains and a desserts which costed us about $70! Bargain! The gypsy platter isn’t that terrifying.. I think one would be able to finish it off if that’s only what they’ve ordered.
WOW! This sounds amazing and it’s just in Cabra! I am sooo going there soon.
Raff: Awesome! Let me know how you go 🙂
It’s called Spätzle! You can pan-frying it with onions und cheese, too. The Germans have some really good hidden gems in their food culture! And the breads in the german-austrian-swiss region are ones of the best in the world.
MinMin: Yes I love discovering hidden gems of a cuisine, I had the German beef roulade, flavours were nice but the one I had was a little on the dry side.. But oh the bread! I can still remember having fresh pretzels in Heidelberg, Germany. The simple pleasures 🙂