-Submitted by Mia Marino, Abroad101’s Global Ambassador in Australia
Crown Street, in Surry Hills, resides quite close to where I intern and not only is it a great place to grab a trendy meal but also where you can give new life to great vintage clothing. Lined with restaurants, upscale grocers and heaps of vintage stores it is easy to get lost on Crown Street for an afternoon. Setting out from Elizabeth Street I walked up Campbell until reaching Robocog, a super quaint neighborhood restaurant just off Crown.
The menu at Robocog boasts an interesting mix of breakfast, sandwiches, salads and Mexican food. I settled on the chicken enchilada and was nothing but impressed.For $11.50 (pretty cheap as far as Australia goes) I was greeted by a huge enchiladas smothered in guacamole and salsa. The chicken was melt in your mouth and the enchilada sauce was perfectly spicy. The restaurant location itself is small and settled behind a white picket fence. The interior is decorated with robot toys and the whole place seemed to be family run. Robocog is the perfect place for a casual breakfast or lunch. Some menu highlights beyond the enchilada included a mixed green salad with fried haloumi cheese, an enormous chicken club sandwich anda bacon breakfast sandwich. After finishing up my delicious lunch I moved on to explore the nooks and crannies of the vintage shops on Crown.
Crown Street runs near Oxford Street and isn’t far from the CBD but offers a muchmore humble and quiet environment. Exploring the vintage shops reminded me of home in San Francisco where second hand stores and vintage shops run rampant. Among the largest of the shops was Zoo Vintage Emporium where anything could be found from funky platform shoes to plaid shirts to denim cut-off shorts. The prices weren’t too outrageous but did seem a little bit steep for run of the mill vintage apparel. Estate of Mind offered really unique pieces in which vintage was given new life with gem touches, updated hems and cool suggested piece offerings. I thought their window display was also really imaginative, sorry the photo doesn’t do it justice. Lastly, U-Turn offered super fresh shoes and accessories that could makeany outfit fresh. The three stores I mention are only a small taste of all that Crown Street has to offer.
I strongly encourage anyone visiting Sydney to spend an afternoon exploring all that Crown Street is. It holds a really special cultural spot in the heart of Sydney but doesn’t overwhelm you with the hustle and bustle of the CBD.