Malibu Sydney

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Marc and Marcella Aebi, known for opening some of Sydney’s best sandwich bars, are now to be found at Malibu in lower Surry Hills. This shoebox-sized shop is tucked down a little lane off Elizabeth Street (turn up at the Illustrated Man) with a couple of milk crates out the front and seating for about six (very small) people inside. At lunch time the line stretches the whole two metres out the door and onto the street. People come here for massive, delicious sandwiches and keep coming back, despite the less-than-friendly service. Marc or Marcella will make the sandwiches up in front of you: they grab a loaf of Vienna bread from Haberfield Bakery and roughly lop off a few inch-thick slices, layer it with whatever fillings you want, wrap the now precariously tall sandwich in foil and charge you a good price for it. Be warned – one sandwich is amply enough for two people, and at these prices it’s a steal.

The quality of the ingredients is a major component of the successful final product; and although it sounds simple the chicken schnitzel sandwich with mayo and lettuce just walks out the door. We’re talking bite-sized thigh fillets without a sinew in sight; crumbed, fried and resting on butter lettuce leaves the size of your hand and rocket you could fan yourself with. There’s something special in the house mayo as well – it has a greenish tinge that is curiously delicious. The salads have everything but the kitchen sink in them, and come stuffed into little Chinese noodle-style boxes: potato salad, coleslaw, roast vegies, gherkins, plus the principle fish, poultry or meat of your choosing. I eagerly await the addition of a friendly waitress and a decent-sized coffee machine, because food-wise this place has got the goods.

Sarah Theeboom