Let the good times roll: Where to find 10 of Sydney’s best sausage rolls

For many Sydney cafes and bakeries, sausage rolls play second fiddle to their pies. Relegated to the countertop warmer, the pastry is often thin and soft; the filling bland and lukewarm.

But then there are the places that give snagger rolls their due – taking buttery, flaky and moreish pastry you’ll happily wear down your front and wrapping it around thoughtful and delicious fillings that are sure to satisfy on a cold winter’s day.

Tuga Pastries

There’s a rotating selection of sausage rolls on the blackboard every day at Tuga, from the classic pork and fennel to the more unusual spanakopita. Good Food’s pick of the bunch is the chicken siu mai sausage roll ($9), stuffed with chicken mince, ginger, garlic, spring onion and soy. It’s heated to order, so the house-made puff pastry remains crisp, light and golden.

Shop 10, 112 McEvoy Street, Alexandria; shop 6, 231 Clovelly Road, Clovelly, tugapastries.com.au

Little West

You’ll need to head to Haberfield before 11am to get your hands on one of Little West’s smoked brisket sausage rolls ($10) as they often sell out. These hefty rolls contain house-smoked beef brisket, native spices and butter puff pastry, and are served with house-made bush tomato sauce for an extra punch of flavour. You can grab one to-go, but it might be nice to stay awhile at this charming little inner-west cafe.

Shop 2, 53-55 Waratah Street, Haberfield, little-west.com.au

Anything but Humble

The team behind social enterprise cafe Kabul Social opened a second Anything but Humble outlet in Greenwood Plaza this month, offering three types of sausage roll. Good Food’s pick is the lamb chapli ($10), based on the popular Afghan street food kebab. It features minced lamb, onion, green chilli, capsicum and coriander seeds, and pairs well with house-made sauces such as seeni sambol (caramelised onion relish). But the spicy beetroot and cheeseburger sausage rolls also have their admirers.

Greenwood Plaza, 36 Blue Street, North Sydney; shop 2, 133-137 Mitchell Road, Alexandria, anythingbuthumble.com.au

Feather and Bone

Feather and Bone’s sausage rolls come with a social conscience. All the meat used comes from pasture-raised animals grown on regenerative farms (a particularly rare feat for pork). Plus, they taste fantastic. There’s pork and fennel; lamb and rosemary; and beef and kimchi, each rolled in butter puff pastry. They’re available freshly baked at the Waverley store ($9), or in cook-at-home packs ($32 for four) at both stores.

Shop 8, 10-14 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville; 270 Bronte Road, Waverley, featherandbone.com.au

Freshwater Brewing Company

If you’re taking yourself on a tour of Brookvale’s great breweries, make sure to stop at Freshwater Brewing Company’s chic warehouse conversion to fuel up on one of the biggest sausage rolls on this list. It’s made of pork mince (from Swallow Rock in the Hawkesbury), seasoned with cumin, harissa and fennel, then served with mustard, pickles and a house-made tomato sauce ($15). With 14 beers on tap (including the creamy dark lager Thunder Bock and the piney IPA Green Room), there are plenty of pairing options available.

4 Powells Road, Brookvale, freshwaterbrewing.com.au

Bakerie

It’s not hard to see why the sausage roll at this popular neighbourhood bakery attracts a queue. But it’s worth jumping in line. It takes three days, two bakers and one chef to make these babies. The process begins with mixing the puff dough, using high-protein Laucke flour. On the second day, exactly 55 layers of puff pastry are laminated and rested. And on the third, they’re rolled around locally sourced ingredients. Currently, the fillings are either classic beef or pork and sage ($6.90 each).

773 Pacific Highway, Gordon, bakeriegordon.com

Good Ways Deli

Good Ways Deli co-owner Jordan McKenzie draws on fond childhood memories of snacking on sausage rolls at the school canteen after soccer, then gives them the full Aussie treatment. The meaty option is sweet and tangy, featuring lean kangaroo meat from Marrickville’s Whole Beast Butchery, cut with pork fat and seasoned with Vegemite and Japanese curry powder ($9). The vegie option (also $9), is made with Warrigal greens from Bush to Bowl, blanched and mixed with butter and ricotta.

20 Cooper Street, Redfern; 81 Buckland Street, Alexandria, goodwaysdeli.com.au

Bourke Street Bakery

“Only a fool would turn down a Bourke Street Bakery sausage roll,” celebrity chef Nigella Lawson once said in an Instagram post. The pork and fennel sausage roll has been pleasing punters since its debut almost two decades ago. It features a punchy mixture of Vic’s Meats pork, fennel and garlic bundled into puff pastry made with Pepe Saya butter. They’re $7.50 in-store, or $20 for cook-at-home three packs. Can’t manage a whole roll? There’s also a smaller version for just $3 a pop.

Various locations, bourkestreetbakery.com.au

Rollers Bakehouse

The sausage roll at Rollers is wrapped in the bakery’s signature buttery, flaky croissant dough, so you know it’s going to be good. Founder James Sideris wanted it to be classic, approachable and high quality, so the dough swaddles pork and veal mince, “a good combination of lean and high-fat protein” ($12). But keep an eye on socials – the creative bakehouse has been known to switch things up with sausage roll fillings such as Greek lamb (with a side of tzatziki) and Chinese duck and hoisin sauce.

17 Rialto Lane, Manly, rollersbakehouse.com

Self Raised Bread Shoppe

Tender, juicy lamb kofta is rolled in golden, puff pastry to make a stunning sausage roll ($10) at Self Raised Bread Shoppe, a relative newcomer on the Carlton scene. Sal Sanan and siblings Amani and Hussein Rachid opened the bakery/cafe in February, and it has continued to draw weekend crowds ever since. While you’re there, pick up a hoagie 2.0 (a cheesy, meaty double-hander on pillowy ciabatta) and a slice of sponge cake piled high with fresh cream and berries.

45 Jubilee Avenue, Carlton, selfraised.com.au