Pazar Food Collective

A lot of hype here and while I liked the food it’s really expensive for what you get, portions are small and location is terrible, it’s easy to drive part this place without noticing, prices is the main factor keeping me away

If location had an 80% swing on this rating, it would score a pretty dismal 1 – 2 stars — good thing location means squat for me when it comes to reviewing places (although parking is a bit of a big deal). Set on a rather busy main road, Canterbury Rd, its pretty hard to imagine anything remotely close to good could exist here … WOW did I certainly eat my words.
Pazar Food Collective … since when has food this good appeared in such a random spot? I hate to admit this, but totally sinned — Gluttony was my friend on this one particular night. Each dish more delicious than the previous one … it was as though I had just come off the back of a 48hr famine and needed a massive intake of food — disgusting behaviour but OHMY incredible food. Standout dish — the roasted beetroot dip and the smoked labne — OH and the zucchini and herb balls with sumac yoghurt. I have been told by the colleague who recommended this place that we missed out on the MUST have dish — the pea salad !!
Despite the fact I could rave on and on about this food, shout out to the staff here (especially the chefs/​souz/​barstaff — all lovely folk ready to drop what they’er doing to answer a couple (or few) questions from patrons walking past the open kitchen !!!
Brilliant !!

A hidden gem well worth travelling to. Exceptional service. They took the time to explain dishes I could eat due my gluten intolerance. The scallop ceviche and lamb were ¹⁰⁄₁₀ dishes. The open kitchen added to the street style atmosphere.

The food was well presented & eclectic although nothing particularly exciting. The fitout is a mish mash of contemporary styles in the front and South American beach cantina at the back. We were forced into the set menu on the night and this was clearly explained to us upon booking so no complaints there but I would probably come back again to try some of the menu favorites that our friends have suggested

Not the best neighborhood, but who cares? The food we had rocked. There were shrimp tacos that tasted like the very ones you get from Mariscos Jalisco some 7500 miles away in east LA. It’s sort of a Turkish/​Mexican mash-​up of dishes. Scallop Agua chiles was impeccably fresh in a pureed green sauce was chimichuri like, or more pesto, hmmm… just damn good. Also a shredded zucchini cake that was fried and tasted amazing. Also had a dish that I can only describe as «lamb Carnitas» also amazing. I highly recommend this place! really good beverages as well… Ask for Atilla, tell him Jon from LA sent you… you won’t be disappointed.

Came back after some new dish-​sightings on their FB page and was delighted at some of the new additions. Tried the scallop ceviche verde… scallops, cucumber, avocado and coriander sitting in a citrusy salsa/​gazpacho. It was citrusy enough to lightly cure the scallops but not enough to taste acidic. We liked it so much we drank the salsa and almost licked our plate.
We ordered some of the oldies as well, like zucchini balls and smoked lamb. Oh the lamb! This is the 3^rd time I planned to get the chicken but ended up with the lamb after just one look… you temptress, you. It’s slow cooked, smoky, moist (moooist), fall-​off-​the-​bone goodness with all the trimmings, goes perfectly with their freshly baked bread/​pide and cold smoked labneh. Finished off the night with a churros ice cream sandwich. Yeah you heard me… Churros. Ice-​cream. Sandwich.
Booze wise, they’ve increased their beer selection by 100%…from 2 to 4! The additions are Sol and Lashes so I can’t really complain I guess. Depending on your group size and what you drink you’re probably looking at 40ish pp… tad pricey for Canterbury but you get what you paid for, if they were a couple of kms up the road it’d be considered a bargain.

A friend suggested this place to catch up for dinner. It was an interesting place as it of out of place on the main Canterbury Road where it’s an industrial and suburbia area but obviously very popular because it was half full when I got there at 6.30pm. By the time we left at 8.30pm it was full and there was a short line of people outside waiting to be seated. In terms of ambience, a really funky, modern yet homey sort of feel because of the open kitchen, wood fire oven in the middle of the place plus the drinks cart which I found out later that doubled to be the cash register area. There’s a really nice outdoor area in the back which I’m sure would be lovely in the summertime. There’s a mixed crowd here of families, couples and hipsters which is great. Now the food — it was a hit and miss. We ordered the Braised Eggplant dish (a fave of everyones — flavours were fantastic), LAHMACUN spiced beef Turkish flat pizza (so so dish — wouldn’t order again), wood fire lamb (the best dish of the night — it was tender in the inside and toasty on the outside) and the nachos dish (nice but nothing I’ve not had before). For 5 girls, it was quite a lot of food. I didn’t think the sangria had much alcohol in it. It was too sweet for my liking but hey, it’s a lovely drink with fruit and a nice beverage to go with the meal.
Overall, their service was pretty good. The waitresses were nice and friendly so definitely a positive for them.
Kind of funny though — my friends surprised me with a birthday cake and there was a cake charge in the bill at the end of the night. That surprised me. Maybe it was for storing the cake in their fridge or for the candle in the cake… not sure but it was the first time I’ve seen a place charge for patrons having a cake at their establishment. Maybe I’ve not out and about lately???
All in all, I would say a great place to head to if you’re out Canterbury way as it’s not the norm around the area and it’s very reasonable prices for what you get. Not sure if I would head back anytime soon though.

Pazar is absolutely AMAZING!!!
This is my first time being in Inner West area, and I felt kinda hopeless (no offense) when I saw all the dirty Asian restaurants near the train station. But thankfully, Unilocal took me to a nice place —Pazar.
As an American exchange student, I believe Mexican food = Taco Bell for my whole life, so I wasn’t expecting such a fancy bar-​ish diner.
The food is pretty awesome. We tried the $ 45/​ea patter of a bit of everything and it rocks. My favorite is beet root dip and the lamb& chicken pide.
Sangria tastes like heaven.
The dessert is also satisfying.
Best Mexican food experience ever!
I heard Pazar is moving to the city? A huge welcome and lots of thanks ;)

So I read all the reviews and was excited to have some Mexican. I was somewhat disappointed as this place is Turkish and hardly any Mexican on the menu.
The food was ok but nothing to rave about. I think the food is over priced for where and what it is!
A little disappointed and won’t be rushing back:(

This place is ridiculous… Ridiculously good!!!
I’ve tried many mexican establishments over Sydney. This is the only one that makes ‘Mexican Street food’ worth eating outside of Mexico.
The good: Everything. They marinate their meats then charcoal cook em… What more could you ask for? Perfectly cooked meat and fresh made tortillas (made right in front of you). This is quality Mexican Street food ‘foodie’ style…
The menu is ever changing. If your lucky enough to go the days they are serving the ‘Labna’ and corn chips or the charcoal chicken wings… Get them immediately… God i’m hungry…
The bad: It’s so good… it’s bad…
The ugly: This place deserves a better location…
Recommendation: Do it… before they go big…

La Lupita Al Carbon is char grilled Mexican heaven. My Mexican born friend who works here at the Canterbury road restaurant even says they are the best she’s had in Sydney.
These guys are only open two or sometimes three days a week because they also run catering and private functions with their food truck.
If you follow their Facebook page (Search La Lupita) you will see what days they are open in the Cover photo, as it differs each week. But get in quick ! They are not long for the Inner West and planning a move to ‘in-​house’ at the Basement in the city. Lucky for all you inner city folks, but much to one local’s and my own dismay. «It’s the end of an era» he said. And I’d only just discovered the place was not far from home.
The menu and billing is run like a yum cha and will be explained to you at the door. You’re given a sheet on which the chefs will stamp which food you take. Line up and get your freshly made tortilla from the tortilla making machine and choose from freshly chargrilled, in front of your very eyes, pork, wagyu beef or chicken or, If Mariana is there you might be lucky to get Char grilled veg.
Then move along the bench and choose your condiments. Habanero, Jalapeño salsas, Guacamole, Pickles, Red Cabbage, Raddish, Onion… there isnt a leaf «old el paso taco kit syle» of lettuce to be found. This aint no Tex-​Mex.
You can also have «Starters» which are bigger than the Tacos themselves, Frijoles: Beans and Queso Oaxaca and Elotes: Corn kernels with Corn chips and chilli lime salt on top. Very filling, very satisfying.
Or Char grilled Chicken wings with Chipotle cream sauce. I am yet to try these but they look amazing.
B.Y.O Alcohol, but they have soft drinks and what I think is non-​alcoholic Sangria available.
If you like to Party into the night or need somewhere to go after you go «Out out» La Lupita is open very late on the days they are trading and have funky bands you can dance to. It gets very busy and they have been known to sell out of tacos by 9pm.
We find if you pop in around 2pm, you can get served straight away, it’s perfect for what I like to call «Dunch» (Dinnerlunch… I stole that word from Pam from Archer, but Im sure she wont mind. In fact I reckon she’d be really into La Lupita too.)

This is such an awesome venue. It’s home to Al Carbon kitchen (soon to be on the road as a Sydney food truck). The food is amazing. I think we were all pretty impressed, and got to try a few different tacos. It’s a Pop up tacqueria and they host special events here, and allow people to rent the space. Not sure on all the details — but they are really responsive on social so tweet them for details. A must visit spot.