Fratelli Famous and The Bavarian, Penrith

I'm a fan of Fratelli Fresh. Their pizzas and pastas are consistently done well. How I wished that they had branches out in Sydney's West.

Apple cider - nice and crisped!

Bubble berry cocktail - vodka, cranberry juice, sparkling wine, strawberries

It's like the heavens heard my yearning as news of Fratelli Famous along with The Bavarian opening in Penrith broke out! You'll find both restaurants at Westfield's street level dining district. You can order dishes from either restaurants and sit wherever you want. The Bavarian has a contemporary tavern/dive bar type interior whilst Fratelli Famous has a modern bistro setting. Thanks to an invitation from the Rockpool Dining Group, we were able to sample some of their food offerings.

The Bavarian

  

Haus made pretzels and butter

This place is basically the rebranded Bavarian Bier Cafe. Expect all the Bavarian Bier Cafe classics and more! They also have 17 brews on tap! We started with their pretzels and butter ($4.75). The lightly salted pretzels were crusty on the outside and fluffy inside. Along with butter, it was the perfect starter.

Best of Bavaria tasting platter

So that we can try all the meaty goodness The Bavarian has to offer, we opted for The best of Bavaria tasting platter ($65). It was a massive party of tasty proteins and crackling along with sides of mashed potato, baked potato scallops, sauerkraut and sauces sauces. The cracklings on their roasted pork belly and pork knuckles were just divine. The smoked pork belly was tender and packed with a lot of flavour from the dry rub. The sausages are as tasty as I remember it to be from previous visits specially the cheese filled sausage. The schnitzel coating needed a little more crisped factor to it but flavour-wise, it was on point.

Fratelli Famous

This establishment is a brother restaurant to the amazing Fratelli Fresh. Unlike Fratelli Fresh, Fratelli Famous is more pizza based with a focus on a "build your own pizza" menu. Basically, you can have the classics or whatever pizza flavour tickles your fancy!

Margherita pizza

We opted for a Margherita pizza ($15) with extra buffalo mozzarella. It may not be an adventurous pizza, but in my opinion, a restaurant's pizza is tested as to how well they can execute a Margherita a.k.a. the OG pizza. It did not disappoint! The base is made of sourdough with cultured yeast made in-house. Every ingredient was highlighted from the base that was thin, soft and slightly crisped to the fresh tomato sauce that was not overly sweet. Then you have the nice milky flavoured mozzarella and the beautiful aromatics and sweetness from the basil.

Nutella pizza

We also had their nutella pizza! Loads of nutella and fresh strawberries on their signature sourdough base. Need I say more?

The service was fast and staff members were friendly and attentive. Check them out next time you're in Penrith!

Ramen Raff was invited by the Rockpool Dining Group as a guest of Fratelli Famous and The Bavarian Penrith.

Fratelli Famous and The Bavarian Penrith

Dine on Riley St

Westfield Penrith

585 High Street

Penrith NSW

Opening hours:

Monday to Sunday 11am to 11:59pm

Burger Head, Penrith

Attention Western Sydney and fellow burger geeks! There's going to be a new kid in town and it looks very promising! It's been announced that Tim Rosenstrauss (ex Master), Richard Borg (ex Momofuku Seibo), Josh DeLuca (ex Quay Restaurant) will soon unveil their burger haven called Burger Head.

It will be the latest joint to hit the Western Sydney burger scene. The Burger Head will open at Henry Street in Penrith in a few weeks time with the usual burger menu suspects that includes mash, fried chicken, and milkshakes plus items like puffed pork crackling, craft beers and cocktails. Fortunately, they had a stall at Penrith's first Aussie Night Markets earlier this evening where they showcased samples of what to expect from The Burger Head. I was able to try their burgers and it is mind blowing stuff folks! Expect nothing less of excellent.

You can keep it simple and have fries with your burger. But I took it to the next level by ordering puffed pork. It is basically spiced puffed pork ($5) crackling that's flavoursome, crisped and airy.

Cheeseburger

Bacon cheeseburger

Their cheeseburger ($10) is off the chainz!! Smashed beef patty, pickles, American cheese and a creamy house secret sauce in a lightly toasted milk bun. Their own juicy patty blend was cooked medium rare and had a perfect caramelised crust that gave it super extra umami. The meat was slightly coarsely minced which kept pockets of amazing meat juice. Just like shake shack's! It is simple, perfect and executed freakin' well! You can easily handle it with one hand and have a drink in the other. You need to get this with extra bacon ($4). It was crispy and smoky!

Fried chicken burger

The fried chicken burger ($14) had lettuce, sauce and coated chicken patty. The coating had crispy edges and the tender thigh meat was juicy and flavoursome. The spices used was the highlight! 

Shroom and kale burger

Last but not least was the shroom and kale burger ($14). This is possibly the best veggie burger I have come across to date. The combination of the smoked mushrooms and kale with the daikon cabbage slaw was sensational! So packed with umami!

Roasted white chocolate milkshake

Also, I flashed it all down with roasted white chocolate milkshake($15). Loved the nutty and caramel flavours!

I can't wait to try the rest of their creations when the shop opens! Follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

The Burger Head

Shop 17, 98 Henry Street

Penrith NSW

Hux Grill, Penrith

Since I was a kid I've had nothing but love for food. Yep, sounds cliché and all but I'm just keeping it real. I gotta admit, Masterchef Australia did boost my food obsession. There was so much brilliance that came out of that show including season three finalist Jay Huxley. 

Jay Huxley

Jay took matters into his own hands and made his dreams come true.  Born from his passion for cooking and hard work were Hux Bistro Canley Vale and Hux Grill Roseville. Then two months ago Hux Grill Penrith opened to join the Hux empire line-up. The place is casual and non-pretentious with a bistro feel. Hux Grill is situated on Henry Street and it serves up some of the tastiest BBQ meats that Sydney has to offer. That was more than enough reason for me to gather my BBQ-loving team and pay Hux a visit. Here's what we had:

Twice-cooked pork belly

We were given a complimentary entrée of twice-cooked pork belly and apple (normally $14). It consisted of cubes of glorious twice-cooked pork belly, and julienned apple drizzled with some sweet caramelised reduction sauce. The pork belly was crisped on the outside with meat that was extremely tender and flavoursome. The sweet and sour crisp flavour of the apple went perfectly with the pork like they were the best of friends. I highly recommend this!

Beef short ribs

Lamb ribs

Their ribs (with chips and salad or creamy mash and vegetables) were off the hook too! We tried the lamb ribs ($29 one and half rack) and beef short ribs ($33 approx. 1kg). Both ribs were glazed and smothered with their sweet and tangy housemade BBQ sauce. The meat was extremely tender for boths ribs that it fell off the bones easily. Loved the caramelised bits too. The mash in particular was creamy and fluffy.

1.3kg Cape Bryon Tomahawk

A first trip to a Hux joint ain't complete without their signature 1.3kg Cape Byron Tomahawk ($99). It was a delicious monster steak that's good for two to four people. Besides being massive, the actual meat was tender, flavoursome and juicy fatty! It definitely lives up to all the raving reviews. It also comes with 3 sides of your choice.

Hux cheeseburger

Last but not least is their super legit Hux cheeseburger ($18 with a choice of chips or onion rings). There are places that get the cheeseburger wrong but NOT at Hux Grill! Jay keeps it real and classic with beef patty, nicely melted American cheese, pickles, onion, ketchup, and mustard in a soft sweet milk bun. The highlight in this cheeseburger is the grilled Wagyu beef patty that's very juicy and awesomely tasty. This burger was full of umami, sweet, tangy and zingy flavours. It is one of the best cheeseburgers I've had! Extra points for using milk bun, which held the burger very well.

Hux Grill has all the criterias ticked for an amazing grill and steakhouse restaurant: Perfectly cooked meats, large servings, and excellent service. Plus their cheeseburger is outstanding! Props to Jay for an awesome job with Hux Grill Penrith. If you're in the area for a feed, it would be a MIS-STEAK not to visit Hux. 

Hux Grill Penrith

80 Henry Street

Penrith NSW

Phone: (02) 47225141

Website: jayhuxley.com

Hours:

Dinner: Monday to Sunday from 5:30pm until late.

Lunch: Tuesday to Sunday 12:00pm to 3:00pm