Recommend Cream Tonkosu Ramen, rich bone broth, fragrant and not greasy, it is better than other places, really made with care! The edges of the char siu are slightly charred, and paired with a perfect soft-boiled egg, it is simply a soul combination! Black chashu soy ramen soup base is made from fish and chicken, and the taste is very delicious. Jazushi 145 Devonshire St, Surry Hills read more

Pre-coronavirus lockdown, I had some delicious food at Oratnek. The highlight for me was the sauteed mixed umami mushrooms with miso, butter, goat cheese and lemon balm. Such amazing flavors! The pork katsu sandwich and omu rice were delicious in a classic style. The pork was thick yet extremely tender. Would definitely recommend this restaurant!! read more

Overtime at Oratnek - Omu rice, pork katsu sandwich, and wild mushroom on toast with poached egg - Japanese Near Me - Redfern, NSW

What a stellar spot Cafe Oratnek is. Between their excellent service, quaint little atmosphere, and excellent food, I think I may have a new favorite breakfast spot in the area. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? Cafe Oratnek is the definition of quaint given it's really just a converted house, but they back up that vibe with fast and friendly service. You can have a seat indoors or out and the atmosphere is as conducive to a chat as it is a study session. Star Granted. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? I was warned that the 'Thick Bacon and Egg Roll' was "massive", and the server certainly delivered on that promise. This was a massive breakfast sandwich, and for only $12.00 a bargain. Star Granted. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? This was a sensational breakfast sandwich. Between the thick cut bacon, the spicy eggplant and the tangy mustard all sandwiched between fresh bread, my only regret was that I didn't have enough time to check out the lunch menu that's as highly reviewed as everything else on the menu. Excellent. Dual Stars Granted. Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could? Without a doubt. Star Granted. read more

Overtime at Oratnek - Thick Bacon and Egg Roll: $12.00 - Japanese Near Me - Redfern, NSW

If you brave the quiet lanes and small streets of Redfern, you'll stumble across this little gem of a cafe. A foodie friend had brought up this place every time we planned our brunches so when I got there, I had high expectations. Firstly - I wouldn't blame you if you thought this was someone's house - there is exterior seating but there's a real home kind of vibe to this place. The staff are also super nice and friendly, nothing like some smiles along with your food. As I sat down, heaps of people were ordering take away coffee, so they seem to do their caffeine pretty well (I can also vouch for that, my flat white was just so velvety smooth on the top and yum). The food is instagram worthy. I mean, green tea tiramisu?? A heck to the yes! Swap the chocolate flavours for green tea and the tiramisu is still a winning sweet dessert. I've heard the green tea lamingtons are also really good too. We of course had to get the Pork Katsu sandwich, which didn't disappoint in presentation or taste - super crispy batter and perfectly cooked pork. The mustard was also a nice subtle flavour hit. We also went for the cold green tea (it's a theme as you can guess!) soba noodles with a beetroot puree and veggies - definitely one for the vegetarians, interesting flavour combinations. Good dish but I think I would have liked it more if there was meat in it, but that's just me. I'd definitely recommend this place to anyone who hasn't been. This cafe is officially on my 'To Return To' list! read more

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Yes, it's the cafe with a difficult name to pronounce. Where did they get that name? ... you asked. It's actually the chef Kentaro "Kenny" Takayama first name spelt backwards. I knew this after I researched more about the chef behind this Japanese fusion cafe. Kenny Takayama is an ex-head chef from Bills at Darlinghurst. So I knew I was in good hands. Located on Pitt Street, Redfern, Cafe Oratnek looks just like any other old-style terrace house in that neighbourhood with the difference of a fork signage in front of the house. The interior is clean with white tiles and retro chairs. I knew they're known for their Pork Katsu Sandwich, but something caught my eyes, so instead I ordered Karaage Chicken sandwich with house cured Kimchi and mayo. The sandwich was good, the chicken was well cooked. Now, I'm not a big fan of kimchi, but I get the combination of these two. The salty Karaage goes perfectly with the tang of kimchi. Maybe it's just me, but I found the whole thing too salty. For dessert I had the Matcha Tiramisu. This elegant and decadent dessert has a bold matcha flavour but not overpowering combined with creamy and soft texture of mascarpone. Not just that, the relaxed atmosphere and attentive staff will make you want to come back to this place again. Well played! read more

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Nestled within a suburban street lies the wonderful Cafe Ortanek. Its about a 10 minute walk from central station. The Cafe is incredibly cute and very homely and inviting. Cafe Ortanek is a cafe being run by former Bills restaurant chef Kenatro. Hence the name which is his spelt backwards, clever right ;). The cafe is asian fusion and offers breakfast and lunch options with a twist. I got here on a Sunday at approximately midday and it was buzzing with people. We didn't have to wait very long but by the time we were seated the line had significantly grown. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Breakfast and lunch were both available to order. I decided to go with lunch. The main speciality of lunch is their sandwiches. The options included fried chicken, pork or omlette. I decided on the Omlette sandwich which was an omlette wrapped with seaweed and served with a miso flavoured mayo. The flavouring was really good. Bread was soft and fluffy and the mayo worked in well with the egg. I chose a side of cauliflower fried with tumeric. Once again simple and beautiful. Washed it all down with a matcha latte. After all that I was pretty full but they offer a range of desserts too inside such as matcha tirramusu, matcha muffins and few other sweet treats. Definetly would return to try other things from the menu. Good addition to the area. read more

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Afternoon tea time calls for some matcha goodness! Got the matcha lamington and the matcha latte. I am a mild matcha lover. That means if it has a nice hint of matcha i like it. If it has too much, it tends to be too bitter for my palate and i dont get to enjoy it! Table service with indoor and outdoor tables. Food came out reasonably quick prob coz it was items already ready to go. Loved the lamington, sponge was nice and fluffy and the matcha was soaked round the edges but a most subtle flavour. Overall, great first time visit! read more

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Wow the matcha is strong here. Ordered a soy matcha latte and the staff asked if I'd like sugar. Usually I don't like them too sweet but had a feeling I'd be needing it and the staff confirmed I would so I asked for just one. Haha fail, I needed to add a bit more myself after the first sip. Liked it though, it was strong and definitely didn't have the "fishy" taste or was overly sweet like other 'green tea lattes'. Perhaps start with one sugar and if need be you can add some more yourself. Also tried the okonomiyaki without the cheese and it was a good little dish. Presented nicely and great crispy elements. Probably a good thing the cheese was absent though, it may have been a bit too heavy/oily with it and the fried little balls. They also have a bunch of matcha goodies like lamingtons and donuts etc which looked very tempting and would make a great sweet treat after brunch/lunch. read more

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Cute cafe in Redfern with Asian fusion flavour. Everything on the breakfast and lunch menus sounded delicious from the matcha french toast to the pork katsu sandwich to the fried chicken sandwich... to the desserts at the counter including matcha cream puffs and matcha lamingtons. So much yum. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of a new year health week so opted for the shabu shabu pork salad with cucumber, rocket, seaweed and tofu. Best salad I've had in a long time so much so I didn't get food envy of my friends' french toast or katsu sandwich. I also had a peach and mint iced tea which was refreshing and not too sweet. I will definitely return during an unhealthier week to enjoy the desserts and french toast. The only downside was that the waitstaff were more than unsubtle in trying to get us to leave at the end given the line of people outside... read more

Overtime at Oratnek - Japanese Near Me - Redfern, NSW

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Location = 5 star Food = 3 star If you want to "meet for a coffee and chat" on a sunny day this spot can't be beat. A home converted to cafe is a great location paired with average food. Their signature sandwich is the tonkatsu pork which imho underwhelms. Your mileage may vary and it's worth a visit for the vibe. read more

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A funky cafe with an Asian influence. If you like matcha green tea, this is the place to go. Matcha latte, Matcha French toast, matcha tiramisu and green tea were exceptionally done. Looks good and tastes good. I ordered the soft shell burger with wasabi tartare. Came with chips on the side. The crab was very crunchy and I love the sauce! The spicy tangy taste compliments well in the burger. If you go on weekend, you may have to wait a bit for a table. read more

Overtime at Oratnek - Matcha tiramisu, green tea and chai latte - Japanese Near Me - Redfern, NSW

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Great new cafe that just opened up in Redfern headed by the former head chef of Bill's. The stars here are their sandwiches, with the main ones being the pork Katsu and Japanese fried chicken. Obviously...I ate both. Takeaway for the sandwiches is $10 on weekdays and $12 otherwise.... The pork Katsu was great, but a little heavy on mustard. If you like mustard you will love this sandwich, if you can take it or leave it like me, you will still enjoy this sandwich because the pork is so good. The Japanese fried chicken with kimchi mayo was pretty good as well...the chicken is tender and portions are decent too. Would gladly order both again...and will definitely be back to try the rest of their menu. read more

Overtime at Oratnek - Pork Katsu sandwich - Japanese Near Me - Redfern, NSW

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Newly open, the name is the owners name backwards. Maybe he didn't want people to think it was Japanese? And from the menu, it's clearly not! Edamame beans mixed with my smashed peas was about as Japanese as it gets. Apparently the chef is formerly Bills chief egg maker. The transition has apparently been seamless. The coffee was good and service was friendly and quick. There is the option of sitting in or out. Serving bloody Mary's for brekkie makes this a very summer go to! Formerly the Fern, this redfern cafe has a new lease on life! Open for breakfast and lunch, let's see if summer brings a dinner menu! read more

Overtime at Oratnek - House baked beans,egg & toast. $14 - Japanese Near Me - Redfern, NSW

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Since they opened last year, I have been to Oratnek many times for brunch and always impressed with their tasty meals and yummy desserts. This time I went there in the evening to have dinner, which they have started recently. The diner is only for a course menu. ($55 pp.) It has started with a lovely soft shell crab rice burger and grilled chicken with miso flavor. Then, I had the scallop & spring pea salad I loved the most. This salad had a great combination of three flavors, the sweetness from the scallop, the sourness of the grapefruit and the spiciness of wasabi sauce. The main dish was a beefsteak with beetroot sauce served with Japanese mixed rice. The beef was simply awesome, but it might be more interesting if they had more twists in its flavor, just like the wasabi sauce for the salad. Lastly, I cannot help without mentioning the dessert was such a nice surprise. The roasted apple came with tea crumbles and creamy custard. It was just amazing. I really loved the idea of serving a nice diner at casual but cozy atmosphere of a pretty café. You can see their "West meets Japan" style in all dishes they serve. That's so unique and they are succeeding in presenting it. read more

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Really came here for the tea and a chicken kimchi burger that they stopped providing when I got there. I didn't wanna waste the trip, and my family said I had to have the tea. The tea and fries were great! I was pleased with it. The servers were also good. The cakes and soft shell crab burger were disgusting. I forced myself to finish the burger, and we only had 1 bite of the 2 matcha desserts we ordered. Presentation of the dishes looked great. I am a baker, so I have a general idea of what something should taste like. The costs were too expensive for everything. If I only had the tea and fries, I would have given a 4-5 Star review. But since I was let down from the other things, I was very disappointed. Would I come back? Only for the fries and tea. Maybe my next visit to Sydney I'll try it again and update my review. read more

You will appreciate this place if you enjoy being belittled by a mustached hipster prick giving you a condescending stare through his tortoise shell glasses. The food was interesting enough despite being a little bit 'different' for breakfast. Cold boiled chicken and the flavours of a Vietnamese roll is not what I expected from my order albeit good overall. The service was actually atrocious, our waiter was the kind of insufferable hipster jerk with some unwarranted sense of entitlement and elitism that makes you cringe with every word they utter. Everything about him was disingenuous. Management should really focus on getting that guy to work on his attitude. Our overall experience was ruined by this guy and we will NEVER go back. We don't enjoy being belittled and condescended during our weekend breakfast. read more

Should we call this... Japanese interpretation of western comfort food? My two-inch-thick, juicy, pork katsu sandwich was (as suggested on the menu) worth the wait. Pretty good katsu like Suzuya's. Egg on the omurice was slightly fluffy and the fried rice was pretty good, but $19 for standard omurice is really, really expensive. Though the novelty of it is probably worth trying once for aussie clientele. Only unlucky downside was that we sat outside on early Friday afternoon... and a garbage truck passed right in front of us through the narrow alley next to the cafe. Good thing we already finished our food. XD read more

Cafe Oratnek is an awesome new coffee shop in Redfern/Surry Hills! At first glance, they seem like they have a hipster vibe that doesn't translate into any sort of interesting menu, but from the matcha muffins and lamingtons to the matcha pancakes to the chutney they serve with toast to the poached chicken salad for brekky...they have my vote! Pea butter is new for me but also delicious. The only reason I dock one star is because they use sooo much matcha powder in their Green Tea Lattes that it's probably equivalent to about 3-4 cups of coffee, which if you are sensitive to caffeine like me you will definitely notice! Ask for a weak if you need to :) read more

Some trivia- the name of the cafe is the owner's name spelt backwards: Kentaro - butchered and served reverse into a grotesque and very-not-roll-off-the-tongue "Oratnek". What were they thinking? A few things we tried: x Okonomiyaki $16.00 x Matcha Thickshake $7.00 x Affogato $6.50 x Croque Madame $16.00 Came here twice and yup, this place is 110% overhyped. I think people just love the idea that the cafe is a little house amongst other little houses that is oh.so.cute in its own glory. Each visit was with a large group, and each time we were disappointed with our mains. I'd only come here for the desserts which were quite unique- Matcha Lamington? Oh yeh. read more

One of the best Asian fusion brunch place in Sydney. The restaurant serves salad, sandwich, dessert with a hint of Japanese influence. The katsu chicken sandwich is a must here! The place gets pretty busy so come early... The matcha tiramisu is a very good desert choice. read more

The pork katsu sandwich seems to be the craze here but I opted for the salt and pepper soft shell crab burger and I was not disappointed. The burger bun was soft, the crab crispy with succulent meat (that didn't have that slightly too fishy taste that you sometimes get with soft shell crab). The mayo was the Japanese style egg mayonnaise (excuse my ignorance of the real name) and there was just enough flavour in the chili jam. A real pleasure to eat. I had the rhubarb ginger beer, and whilst the spherical ice cube was nice the drink itself was underwhelming. I finished the meal off with a pot of earl grey tea, which was nicely presented with a tealight warmer underneath. Service wise; the first waiter was a little too intense not giving us much time to consider our options and then seemingly avoided us after we said we needed more time. Fortunately the second waiter struck the right balance and even offered to move us from the stool table to the proper table which was great. A tip, if it's raining, don't sit outside underneath the awning - it doesn't look like it copes well with heavy downpours. read more

Love this Japanese fusion cafe & they started to open for dinner on Thursday and Friday nights since last week. A set menu of 6 courses for $55 is phenomenal value for the generous amount of food you get. Love the crispy soft shell crab, perfectly seared scallops & delicious miso marinated chicken. Little things like presentation, amount of char & dressing can be improved. Service is super friendly & efficient & the best thing is a humble looking baked Fuji apple filled with cream cheese, vanilla ice cream, matcha crumble & anglaise. A perfect ending! read more

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Awesome food with a great, shaded courtyard. Had the calamari salad on the waiter's recommendation - excellent Asian influenced fare.

This place is awesome - in a little house in Redfern and has outdoor and indoor seating. There's heating outside if you need it. Staff and warm and inviting and made you feel welcome and took our coffee orders straight away. We both had a chai latte which was a nice one. They do also have matcha lattes for those of you that like them. Other drinks on offer include freshly squeezed juices and thickshakes. The food is Japanese inspired and breakfast options have things like spicy miso pork, flaked crab with ponzu, miso buttered mushrooms on toast as well as regular breakfast staples like banana bread, poached eggs or a croque Madame. The lunches have another roller toast cauliflower, poached chicken and green tea noodles, sandwiches (katsu, pulled chicken or edamame falafel) and new spring menu. There is pork belly, okonomiyaki fritters, spicy beef burrito or a soft shell crab burger. Such interesting options. The fries with Aomori, pink Murray salt looked amazing too. My mum and I shared the pork katsu sandwich - especially fried for you, on fresh white bread with cabbage, Japanese bbq sauce and mustard. Absolutely delicious! We also got the really interesting okonomiyaki fritters which was a generous plating of 8 fritters; very fresh, made with cabbage, corn, zucchini, kimchi, cheese and Napoli sauce - also very tasty!! Loved the lunch we had. In also got the matcha lamington - so fresh and looked amazing read more

Great menu selection - tried the soft shell crab burger and it was not a disappointment. The berry iced tea was also refreshing! Definitely going there again for other recommended items. read more

It's a Japanese fusion cafe. First impression was good and welcoming. The menu is not the typical Surry Hills cafe menu. Lots of interesting fusion options. Enjoyed the Pork sandwich. Would return again. read more

Nice food/price but service is way too long and food got cold. Didn't want to turn the outdoor heaters on as well. Not a very good experience after all. read more