Review: Sydney kiosk’s steak sanger is made to a 40-year-old family recipe (2024)

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Pauly’s Deli, a five-month-old food kiosk within Greenway Wetherill Park in western Sydney, could be housing a food chain outlet offering a carbon copy takeaway menu familiar to all. But this shop deep within a retail complex offering fitness machines, barbecue products, baby accoutrements, bubble tea, fresh meat, alcohol, houses for sale, haberdashery, stationery, Service NSW and more is owned by one person, Pauly Davelis.

He, along with an entirely house-made Mediterranean-influenced menu, is the deli’s first drawcard. On a cold winter’s afternoon, knife-in-hand, cap-on-backwards and grin as wide as the sub roll he is concentrating on filling with curling layers of ham, salami, prosciutto, mortadella and provolone, Davelis helms the store with gusto and pride.

He is as welcoming and cheery as the aproned and smiling cartoon likeness of him twirling tongs or riding a scooter printed on merchandise on sale at the counter.

Davelis took over the kiosk space in January while managing his cousin’s shop next door, Macchina Forno. His menu, offering a broad range of sandwiches, subs, burgers, salads, hot snacks, desserts and drinks, comes from a vision of food shared with family and friends for decades. “It’s what we love and ate growing up,” he says. “Sitting at the family table and enjoying together, laughing and talking. It’s not fancy at all.

“It’s simple, quality, good wholesome food that might remind you of a nice memory. And food that I wanted people to be able to share.”

Today, the muscular Stallion sandwich, a weighty fiesta of layered ham, salami, prosciutto, mortadella, provolone, olive tapenade, pesto and sun-dried tomato in a soft and crunchy white sub roll is an ingredient-bursting testament to the homemade deli background of Davelis.

His Greek parents ran a deli-takeaway shop, Tregear Takeaway, near Mount Druitt for 35 years, a shop offering hamburgers, seafood, hot chips and a healthy lolly display. Davelis spent weekends and holidays working there, learning about food and cooking skills.

One of his favourite sandwiches on the Pauly’s Deli menu, the OG, a magnificent structure of scotch fillet steak, sweetly caramelised onions, tomato, lettuce, cheese, barbecue sauce and, oh what glory, beetroot, is a sandwich his father has made for 40 years.

“It has to be one of the first things he taught me when I was promoted to the grill,” he says.

Other standouts are the Pauly, a powerhouse of eight-hour brisket and wild mushrooms with chunky coleslaw and American cheese; the surprising Fish Manga, which reverberates with chubby prawns laced with honey and sweet chilli sauce, mixed chopped seafood, coleslaw and mayonnaise; and the GOAT, containing a doorstopper-sized chicken schnitzel topped with salad and sweet chilli and mayonnaise sauce.

“Everyone loves a nice schnitzel,” Davelis says. “With my version, I butterfly it myself, I marinate it for two days and then use panko crumbs. And I love the sauce.”

The other major drawcard is Pauly’s Deli’s Greek sweets. There can’t be many places where, metres from renewing your licence, buying a barbecue or collecting the dry cleaning, stacked tubs of lusciously creamy rice pudding or wobbly, custardy, syrup-doused galaktobouriko made by the shop-owner’s mum are waiting.

“They’re what I grew up on,” Davelis says. “Both are Greek sweet staples. Again, nothing fancy but very delicious.”

There are also rich, chewy and nutty brownies and mouth-widening rocky road, both made by Davelis’ sister. Wash these down with slushies (lychee and blue lemonade), Greek lattes, cold brew, Vietnamese iced coffee, fruity smoothies or Davelis’ protein shake mix.

“I also think our in-house brewed teas are great,” Davelis says. “We use tea leaves with no sugar, and use syrups to add sweetness. Passionfruit and lemon are my favourite.”

Davelis loves his shop, he loves contact with patrons and he keenly sets about creating new sandwiches when he has a second away from the tools.

“Talking to customers, trying new flavours, meeting people through what I do and them enjoying the food and being happy,” he says. “There is something different happening each day.”

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