Toastettes is a cafe based in the inner west of Sydney. The cafe is located on Stanmore Road in Stanmore with a pink graffiti exterior. Toastettes does one main item: jaffles or toasties in a range of filling from sweet to savoury!
I have driven past Toastettes so many times and noticed it because the exterior is very eye catching and if there's something I love it's toasties or jaffles. Then one day Monica texted me a pic of her cheese toastie gfrom there and I put it on my list.
I woke up very early on a Sunday. My brain won't let me sleep when I have to be somewhere early. We were supposed to be celebrating Mr NQN's sister's birthday this Sunday but shortly after waking up I received a text from her. She had the flu and we had to postpone.
"Should we get toasties?" I suggest to Mr NQN as soon as he woke up. We combine it with a visit to Sydney Park with Teddy and Milo and arrive at Toastettes around 10:45am. I've already stalked their tiktok and Instagram to see what's available. There is a large range of toastie combinations available with menus with selections for vegetarian and meat eaters or you can add or subtract things to the selections too.
The owner of Toastettes is Ian Kouis who prior to this was a real estate agent and ran a kiosk at Addison Road Markets. Five years ago he started Toastettes. "I was always surprised that no one had opened a toastie shop, I mean look how many burger joints there are!" he says. The flavour fillings for his toasties are inspired by the Greek food that his family has always eaten (his grandparents migrated from Greece). "I also love the classic Aussie flavours I remember having on camping trips as a kid," says Ian. Another point of difference is that they bake all of the bread for their toasties in-house every day.
Ian chose Stanmore for a couple of reasons, "I only started with a little money I had saved up so King Street and Enmore Road were out of my range. Plus I love having the park next door and families all around. I always love having parents and their kids around. I know how hard it is as a parent to find something your children want to eat that isn’t ridiculously unhealthy. Plus I have great visibility on Stanmore Road and you can’t miss my shop with the big mural on the front!" says Ian. The colourful mural is by a friend of his whose graffiti name is Fried Onion Ring. Come 11am the cafe will be full with people taking a spot in the queue or grabbing a table.
I start with the most popular toastie: the lamb ragu. There are a few lamb toasties available from lamb and rosemary and lamb and greens but the lamb ragu is what he recommends so I go with that. He piles a lot of filling in each toastie and they are all made fresh to order. The lamb ragu is so utterly moreish with a soft and oozy lamb and tomato filing and three types of cheeses (tasty, mozzarella and ricotta). I can see why this is so popular and I finish the entire half myself. Also each toastie comes in a little cardboard pouch so that it transports well if you don't finish it all.
Ian explains that whenever someone orders a lamb ragu toastie they always follow it with a Sally and once I take a bite I see why. It is very tasty because what could go wrong with cheese and bacon but then it is drizzled in maple syrup and then powdered sugar so it's kind of close to dessert so I think with the two toasties it would be like having a main and then a dessert.
The pesto chicken is actually a green one with smoked chicken, English spinach, silverbeet dill, shallots and parsley. It's green and healthy and tasty, the peas give it some real texture although neither of us really taste the chicken in amongst the mix.
The lamington is of the specials not on the menu. It's another dessert toastie made with melted golden rough chocolate, marshmallows and coconut. The marshmallows melt inside the toastie so that they are melty and gooey. If you love S'mores this is for you.
We slide close our toasties as we can't finish them and take them with us to snack on later in the day. But not before the two little dogs get a tiny smidge of cheese and lamb.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like jaffles of toasties? Do you have a favourite filling?
This meal was independently paid for.
Toastettes
120 Stanmore Road, Stanmore, NSW
Phone: 0417 862 784
Monday to Friday 7:30 am–2:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday 8 am–2 pm
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