ARTARMON | SYDNEY A-Z

Tony Ilbery
Jun 19
4 min read

The Sydney A–Z challenge is simple. One Sydney suburb for every letter of the alphabet. Every day out follows the same loose plan: a coffee, a meal, a drink and seeing where the day takes me.

Artarmon was the first stop on the list.

Still on crutches recovering from tendon surgery, a good mate offered to get me out of the house for a few hours, so this was the perfect time to start the suburb journey. Brett was very happy to go with the flow, so with no grand plan, I jumped onto google in the car on the way there.

Zucchero Caffe for coffee because I’d read that it was also a taproom for a brewery. My scrolling found Island Hopper Brewery but no address, no opening hours, just a Google Maps pin that pointed to the café. It made absolutely no sense, how could a cafe only open for breakfast and lunch, 7am - 2.30pm, also be a brewery taproom?

Curiosity won.

Island Hopper Brewery Taproom at Zucchero Caffe Artarmon

We grabbed a coffee and, while waiting, I noticed a tiny stand wedged between a display counter and the service area, with four beer taps and the Island Hopper name. It wasn’t a taproom at all, just a local mirco craft brewery quietly pouring through the café.

When the waitress brought our coffees over I asked about it.

“Oh, it’s just a local beer we stock.”

I asked how you order, do you have tasting paddles? She smiled, “No… but I can let you try them if you’d like.”

Perfect.

One by one she returned with four tiny tasting glasses, each holding a different Island Hopper beer. This wasn’t a formal tastings, just generous hospitality. The beers were good, but discovering something completely unexpected was even better.

Feeling slightly guilty after trying four beers without ordering one, I bought a pecan tart to take home (it was pretty damn delicious)

Hoo & Tu’s Kitchen was just around the corner, as I limped up the hill on my crutches, from the outside it looked like one of those tiny neighbourhood spots that could be easily overlooked. Their lunch special was simple, choose any three dishes for $59, with steamed rice included.

Easy decision.

We ordered the Peking pork cutlet, Three Cup King Prawns and half a poached free-range chicken. The biggest surprise was the chicken arriving cold. I’d never had poached chicken served that way before, but it was beautifully tender. The standout, though, was the Peking Pork Cutlet.

Peking Pork Cutlet Hoo and Tus Chinese Restaurant Artarmon

The food was very good. The hospitality was better.

Cindy managed the floor and her husband Chef Wayne in the kitchen, both came to visit at different times and to check in, introduced themselves, ask where we were from and whether we’d been there before. There was nothing rehearsed about it, they simply wanted to meet the new guys who’d walked into their restaurant for lunch.

When we left, my strongest memory wasn’t actually the food. It was the two of them and wanting to come back, simply to show support for this little restaurant that felt more like sitting in their home, and to try the typhoon chicken I saw arrive on the table next to us.

The Artarmon Tennis Centre was on the way to the final stop, I hadn’t been there for years, otis where i first learnt to play tennis as a kid during school holiday camps with Scott Riley. Over the next decade I played, worked and even coached for Scott tennis centres expended across Sydney. Years later, in my late 20’s I returned to Artarmon Districts Tennis Club to play a few more years of comp tennis.

Some places change so much you barely recognise them. Tennis courts don’t. 40 years since my first time there, its still three courts. A clubhouse. A fence. If anything, they just seem smaller than you remember.

We drove into the car park, looked around for a minute or two and drove out again. That was enough. The memories were still there.

The final stop was Depot Brewery, a full brewery this time.

I worked my way through a tasting paddle of Pale Ale, XPA, Hazy Pale before finishing on the Roger That Double IPA, which was good enough to immediately order another.

Still on crutches, walking back and forth to the bathroom wasn’t ideal, although I did have one small victory. For the first time in my life, I was legitimately entitled to use the accessible toilet. There’s an irony I never thought I’d appreciate.

A couple of beers later it was time to head home. Artarmon delivered exactly what I’d hoped it would. A good coffee. A memorable lunch. A few unexpected discoveries. And a beer to finish the afternoon.

One suburb down!

Twenty-five to go!