Watson Takeaway is a classic. Photo: James Day.
There’s something nostalgic about a takeaway shop. It conjures up memories of lazy Friday night dinners, or pooling spare change with mates in high school for paper-wrapped hot chips.
These casual shopfronts send the savoury scent of chicken salt wafting around suburban shopping centres all over Canberra. Follow your nose and revisit a few favourites with us …
Watson Takeaway, Watson
This family-owned business has been a Watson stalwart for decades.
The Castrisos family had owned the shop since 1988 until owner Con Castrisos sold it in 2007, but he just couldn’t stay away! He came back after a brief stint down the coast, bought back the business and it looks like he’s here to stay.
This classic takeaway serves chips, fish, burgers and pizzas, as well as salads and sweets. Try the Greco pizza: fetta, olives and tomato.
This gourmet takeaway serves great potato scallops. Photo: Mt Ainslie Canteen.
Mt Ainslie Canteen, Ainslie
Billing themselves as a ‘gourmet’ takeaway, Mt Ainslie Canteen is right at home at the thoroughly gourmet Ainslie Shops.
The Portuguese chicken burger is a local favourite (hello, peri peri sauce!) and the tradies roll has surely fuelled most of the worksites in the Inner North.
A popular choice is their loaded hot chip snack packs. Try the southern fried schnitzel on chips with jalapeños and chipotle mayo, or load up potato scallops with sauces. Some even say they have the best potato scallop in town: what do you reckon?
Ant from Little Theo’s knows all his regulars. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Little Theo’s, Kambah
Little Theo’s has been feeding Kambah locals since 1979.
Current owner Ant has been behind the counter for over a decade and has built up a strong rapport with their regulars.
The team ferments their pizza dough for 72 hours to create a top-notch crust; they batter all their fried items in-house, and their Papa Burger is considered by some to be the best in town.
They even have their own secret Little Theo’s salt to rival even chicken salt.
She may be humble but the art of live-fire cooking is at it’s best at Charcoal Rooster. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Charcoal Rooster, Braddon
A proper old-school charcoal grill is the centrepiece of Braddon’s Charcoal Rooster, tucked away on Iowanna Street. They roast between 20 and 50 chickens a day at Charcoal Rooster, with each spit taking around two hours to cook. It’s a labour of love, and a real artform. Cooking with charcoal and live fire takes a lot of practice to make sure the heat is not too hot (burnt outside, raw inside) or cold.
Sporting a vintage sign and on the other side of Haig Park from trendy Lonsdale Street, it would have been far too easy for this charming store to become a relic but there has been a boost of popularity from gym-bros looking to protein max!
Whether you’re in it for the gains or just for the taste, Charcoal Rooster has you covered.
Don’t miss the house-made pineapple rings at Han’s Fry. Photo: Han’s Fry/Facebook.
Han’s Fry, Forde
The staff at this takeaway in the far reaches of Gungahlin sure know their way around a deep fryer.
The fish and chips are crisp, the portions are big and the service is friendly. Their burgers aren’t fancy, but hey, you don’t always need a fancy burger. Sometimes you just need a good burger. They make a giant schnitzel burger and a burger stuffed with potato scallops and bacon. I can feel my arteries closing just thinking about it.
They make everything fresh to order and are particularly proud of their fried pineapple rings.
There’s no coffee at Chapman Cafe, but there’s a ripper old school pizza menu. Photo: Chapman Cafe/Chapman.
Chapman Cafe, Chapman
Canvassing opinions in the office, I received a passionate pitch for Chapman Cafe. A proper community takeaway, you’ll find the kids from the neighbouring school manning the till and folks from neighbouring shops wandering in for a lunchtime feed. The pizzas here are topped with a properly thick layer of ingredients. It would probably make an Italian pizzaiolo cry but that’s how they do pizza in Chapman, baby.
Worth noting that despite the cafe moniker, they don’t actually make coffee.
These are just a few places we love: shout out your favourite suburban takeaway in the comments and they might just feature in a future article!
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
