It was a cold, winter’s night and the wind was blowing gusts and people in any direction at whim. The rain pelted down and it felt like it could almost snow.
“It’s just like the other day when I was in Johannesburg” I muttered to myself. It was literally two days before this that I was watching snow flakes fall on my eyelashes and down to the ground in South Africa (I can’t wait to share those stories with you!). Smitten by the country itself, I gathered Mr NQN, Louise and Viggo to see whether they would be interested in some South African food.
I’ve often said that Sydney has such a variety of restaurants that you could eat from pretty much any country in the world here any night of the week. And when I first heard of Lucky Tsotsi, my ears perked up as I was told that it was a South African restaurant, a cuisine that isn’t very common here.
First things first, what is a tsotsi? It’s slang for thug or thief. And a Shebeen? It’s a makeshift unlicensed bar or shack, said to be part of African township life. I must have picked up a South African accent along the way because as soon as I walk in they ask if I’m from South Africa. I answer no, but offer up some slang that I learned during my time there including lekker (meaning nice) and now now (some time in the future). Add a few “ya yas” and you’re almost there! 
Upside down chickens and sharks
People are friendly here. As I am waiting for Mr NQN, Louise & Viggo, two South African gentlemen start talking to me and invite me to sit at their table. Alan is from Cape Town and Derek from Zimbabwe and they tell me that they’ve come here a few times, lured by the authenticity. Which brings me to the decor: inside the walls are made of corrugated iron and recycled timber. A smattering of South African signs and license plates adorn the walls as are clocks that show the times throughout the region. The signs read prices with cheeky notes like “not in Rand” and the menu is dotted with words like “lekker.”
I had purposely waited until I had returned from South Africa to visit Lucky Tsotsi so that I could see how it compared to food there. The menu and drinks are all served at the bar and upstairs is the restaurant area. Viggo has a Windhoek beer, one that he enjoys immensely for the strong hops flavour and Louise has a glass of South African white wine.
Sipho’s Durban Samoosas with lamb $9.90
The food comes out quickly-I mean really quickly! Durban is an area rich in Indian cuisine and the samoosas are filled with lamb and are deep fried until crispy on the outside with a soft, flavoursome filling inside. They come with a minted yogurt and a Mrs Balls chutney (which coincidentally, I have in my fridge).
Inkosi chicken wings $11.90 for 6
I do love a good chicken wing and these fall straight from the bone and had a tingly spiciness to them that appeals to Mr NQN and I.
Oom Karel’s African platter $19.90
The African platter had a range of sliced Biltong which has the flavour of coriander seeds. This is made for them at a nearby butchers. The platter also comes with dry wors or dried sausage which is chewy and some spiced dried corn which is addictive as well as some dried fruit and nuts.
Bakgat Bunny Chow $15.90
I was interested to see how they would do Bunny Chow. When we were in Durban with chef Neil Perry, “Bunny chow!” became somewhat of a chant for all of us but especially Neil who was eager to try the local offering. And in Durban, whilst the curries were nice, they were served in hollowed out government white bread which soaked up all the sauce and became wet. Here, it’s served in a small cob loaf that does a better job containing the mild curry sauce and soft chicken pieces and I prefer the bunny chow here than the one in Durban as the bread suited it better.
Jo Burger Boerewors Sliders $14.90
The boerewor sliders are essentially two fat sausages encased in a small bun with onions, tomato sauce and mustard on top.
Meneer’s ribs pork $19.90 half rack
Served on a bed of chips, the pork ribs came with what was described as a “lekker barbecue sauce” which was tangy and full of flavour. The ribs were soft and fell off the bone easily and this was a favourite at the table with the boys particularly liking these.
Samp and beans $8.90
Said to be a favourite dish of Nelson Mandela, the traditional dish of samp (cracked hominy or grits) and beans is flavoured with onion, tomato and capsicum. It’s mild tasting and pure comfort food and I find myself drawn to this dish over and over again.
Lorena Maria’s 1/2 Mozambique chicken $16.90
We were a bit full by the time this arrived. Whilst it was good and the peri peri chicken tender, I still compared it to the butterflied Mozambique chicken I had in Durban which came with a gorgeous tangy sauce and I preferred that one because of the sauce.
Malva pudding $7.90
Louise enquired about dessert as there was none on the menu. The South African classics keep coming with Malva pudding which is a baked pudding with a sweet syrup-much like a sticky date pudding without the dates or aromatics added to it. Here, it is soft and moist and served with two scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Koeksusters $8.50
Koeksusters are also called “cook sisters” and are sweet, syrupy donut types of sweets that are thick and soak up much of the syrup. They’re denser and thicker than regular donuts and a bite into them reminds us of those Indian jelabi sweets.
From left to right: Springbok, Sowetan Long Drop and African Apple shooters $7 each
And no night in South Africa is complete without a springbok or two! The one on the left is a springbok and it is a double layer shooter which has a bottom layer of peppermint liqueur and a top layer of Amarula liqueur which is similar to Baileys creme liqueur with the flavour coming from the Marula fruit. There’s a little too much peppermint in these whereas the ones I had in South Africa had a bit more Amarula and downing one was like a liquid Mint Pattie. This one was more pepperminty. We also tried the Sowetan Long Drop (not the nicest name admittedly, we suppose referring to long drop toilets) and has chocolate and banana liqueur and the African Apple which was tart and a bit medicinal.
There’s a little South African joke on their facebook wall-explained by Louise’s friend by text below when she enquired what “Vleis-book” meant
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried South African food? And after you visit a country, are you more inclined to seek out food from that country?
Lucky Tsotsi
245 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Tel: +61 (02) 8354 1306
Open Tuesday to Thursday 5pm-midnight; Friday & Saturday 3pm-midnight; Sunday 12pm-10pm
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51 Comments | Add your own
I have never tried So African food, but I really need to! I have a friend who is going there in Sept., I will have to ask her to look for an English cookbook for me….
Love those sausage sliders!!
I’ve only tried North African food in Morocco. The dishes you presented look quite tasty. I imagine they are all flavourful cooking with aromatic spices as the Moroccan’s do.
Did you find the food cooked to death? In Morocco they still employ the age old techniques before proper refrigeration and food storage.
I’ve been living in Sydney for 2 years and I so regret not going to this place. Looks awesome.
What colourful looking food. I love the presentation with the faux newspaper. As pretty as the shots are, I don’t think I would swap my wine for them. Love the little sliders. Looking forward to reading all about your visit to SA xx
Wow,, from S A that look absolute like the real thing,,, enjoy the SA food as it is,,, from a very Proud SAfrican in Pretoria Gauteng,,,, just wTch those numberplates,,, the Malva Poeding, the koeksisters,,, eat you hearts out Ozzies,,
Oh, this food is so exciting to me and this is exactly the kind of restaurant I love to stumble upon! What a find!
The last time I had anything SA was some boerewors tossed on the barbie by a South African friend while in Dubai. I also like bobotie. And absolutely yes, I ALWAYS seek out the most authentic food I can find–usually not the fanciest.
Wow this place looks awesome! Love the look of those wings and I am hanging to read about your Sth African trip!
The food looks lovely but I don’t like saucy food being served on newspaper- you can’t lick the plate
I’d love to visit Africa one day, it’s on my to-do list!
Great review!! I LOVE Bunny Chow!! There is this great place in Baulkham Hills called Durban Dish that does the best bunny chow. Its nothing fancy at all, its really cheap but the flavours, oh man Amazing! My South African brother in law comes to sydney from melbourne for bunny chow when he’s feeling home sick. Finding South African food is so hard in Sydney. I’m looking forward to trying the bunny chow from this place and comparing them!
There are so many things here that i have never tried before but i am particularly interested in trying out that african platter…it looks very crunchy and nutty…that’s what i like! Hehe
No and yes. Even though I haven’t been to South Africa I would LOVE to visit Lucky Tsotsi !
Lorraine, whatever Bagkat Bunny Chow it is, it looks very delicious to me. I’ve had Mozambique chicken before, and love it: that sauce it comes in is marvelous!
Oh that Inkosi chicken wings looks amazing! Actually, everything looks great
such unusual dishes
Another exciting country’s food though your unique view!
When visiting another country, think is the YEARNING to return that has me seek out recipes from that country, TRUE!
With quite a number of South Africans in Australia, one would think the cuisine would be more readily available to experience and see!
Perhaps it is only true to the food explorer in me!
OMG, Lorraine: ALL of this is SO lekker [Germans have almost the same word 'lecker' as the Afrikaans to mean 'moreish'!]. I love the place, I absolutely love the food! Altho’ I have never been to South Africa, I began cooking that absolutely delightful fusion food in my twenties! My Gemini nature: a little bit of various kinds of African, a little bit German, a whole lot of Dutch plus the delight of the incoming culture of the Indian workers!! +++ ! And, of course, whenever I have been to a new country, the recipes follow me home – one of the main reasons for travelling, isn’t it
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I don’t understand that African platter…
Lorraine – you may decide to publish this or not. I mean it most sincerely as information for those who do not know.
One of the best interviews you have done so far was with Anthony Bourdain: one can still click onto that in your column here.
In the eastern Australian states a new series began last night on free-to-air GEM. It was on the tragedy of/in Nicaragua. I had tears in my eyes almost throughout, altho’ I was well aware of the situation there.
Some of your readers across the world may already have seen this. For all others, if you belong to the human race, try to ‘catch up’ or look for this particular episode when it appears on your TV.
I have always LIKED AB and the food pictures he has depicted. After seeing tears in his eyes last night and listening to him talk, I fully RESPECT the guy. Oh yes, if you are only after food, there are very interesting bits of that in the episode also. Thank you for reading!
To Eha – I found last night’s presentation on Nicaragua upsetting. Anthony is an amazing man and has journeyed extensively sharing his love of food and it was an eye opening take on this country. However, visiting poor countries can only help their economy. Nevertheless, we do like to seek out food from countries to which we have travelled and this South African restaurant looks intriguing. I particularly love the image of the Inkosi chicken wings. Would like a more involved description of the African Platter … what a different and authentic dining experience. I trust your South African expedition was enjoyable and look forward to reading more about this.
Nope I’ve never tried South African food. I tend to stay away from the food of a country I’ve been for a little while. When we got back from our honeymoon on Thailand I didn’t eat Thai for 2 months.
@ Merryn – I found last night upsetting also: why did I take time out and asked Lorraine to publish otherwise? I believe all of us who love food and find such pleasure in blogs like Lorraine’s have to know and understand that but a small fraction of the world can and do enjoy the beauty, richness and cultural experience of what we read. Let us be oh so grateful for what we can share – let us however never forget how many innocent children never have the privilege of having a full belly! I believe Anthony Bourdain last night {Oz time] showed his understanding and humanity when he talked about his daughter back home! Perhaps all of us, in some small way, can enjoy our foodie talks but still try and make a difference in sharing some of what we have . . .
Vleis, vlies and more vleis with only a bowl of prison food for vegetarians? And wow, if you only get one for $8.50, it must be the world’s most expensive koeksister!
Rob, there are two koeksusters in the bowl
I lol’ed at the part when you mentioned you were a bit full by the time the Mozambique chicken arrived, after all those yum-looking making me drool (excuse me for the word) food, it kinda makes me jealous that you still have space for quite some more. Great post.
I also love South African food! I go there for work a couple of times a year and eat as much biltong and boerewors as I can. the little boerewors sliders look cute. I also love their malva pudding and koeksuster. So you follow @cooksister on twitter? That’s what she’s named after hehehe. Anyway, one of my fave SA dishes is the bobotie but it’s hard to find even in SA as it’s just the most casual “cook at home” dish so restauarnts dont all sell it. Any chance this place had bobotie??
I can’t believe I have never tried this wonderful cuisine before
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Wow everything is so interesting here! I’ve never seen or had South African food before!
To me lol it’s like a mixture of middle eastern and mexican food hehe
I’d love to try!
Whenever I go travelling, I always eat where the locals do even if it can be a little scary at times ~
WOW south african food sounds very exotic! I’ve never heard of a south african restaurant here in NZ! I always love trying different countries cuisines. I dont travel that much but whenever I come back from malaysia I love to go to the malaysian restaurants here!
Yes! South African food is great, I was lucky enough to spend 4 weeks in South Africa, Zambia and Botswana and I loved it. I do tend to seek cuisines of countries I’ve been to and I also try to gather recipes of the dishes I liked in each place I’ve been to. Malva pudding is delicious, I would try this place purely for the Malva pudding! Drool…!
It all looks delicious, but have never tried such food myself.
I love this post of yours, seeing that I am South African. Oh and “koeksisters” are directly translated as “cake sisters”. There is also another version called “koesisters” which is a Malayan version of the “koeksister” (South African cuisine, especially Afrikaans cuisine, has a lot of Malayan influence. And yes, I love our traditional food, but seeing that I am a pescatarian it is often hard to truly appreciate it! My favourites: Bobotie made with good vegetarian mince “meat”, bokkoms (basically a very salty fish biltong) and a good seafood potjiekos (which is similiar to a hot-pot made in a heavy black steel pot. It usually cooks for hours, often overnight).
If I may, the bunny chow name is Bakgat. (not Bagkat) The g is pronounced in a gutteral way (as if you have someting stuck in the back of your throught and you need to clear it !!!). It is an Afrikaans slang word meaning (roughly translated) Freeking good!
I think Lucky Tsotsi is amaizing and would suggest that everyone go there.
Dear Lorraine,
That Mozambique chicken looks like the stand out dish to me altho Bunny Chow and Jo Burgers look good too.
My sister and her husband love this place!
I visited South Africa some years ago on a press trip. We got treated to some delicious meals – but I didn’t find most of it that different to home. There were a lot of things there that made me sad, but a lot of wonderfulness as well.
Hi Viv! Oh yes you’re right-thanks for letting me know about the spelling
South African has been one of those cuisines i’ve been wanting to try for ages but can never find a good restaurant. Thanks for sharing, might finally be able to tick it off my list now!
South African has been one of those cuisines L’ve been wanting to try for ages but can never find a good restaurant. Looks like I might finally be able to tick it off my list now!
bill tong is delish! but then again most jerkies are. Here in Melbournes east, we have “the South African shop” located in Templestowe. Where you can get some condiments and strange Sth African sweets.
Many many years ago, my wife, son and i went to Sth Africa to do the whole safari thing, but for me the locals were more memorable and easy to get along with.
we stay in beautiful sandtown and dine at Montego bay and some butchers place. they say “real food” comes from the villages cook buy the locals.
Thanks for this post Lorraine. I’m in almost total ignorance about South African food, but you’ve helped remedy that a little.
I’ve never had African food before but it’s been a cuisine that I’ve been meaning to try! Glad you posted this up, I’m more tempted to seek some restaurants out in Melbourne now.
Oooh, that platter looks like my idea of a good time! Fruit and nuts and biltong and snack-type dinner, hurrah!
I grew up in Cape Town and have been living in Sydney for 7 years – this is the food we have every time we visit SA again and at often here at home! You mentioned you recently visited SA – have you/are you going to write any posts about your trip? Would love to read about it!
Hi Mel! I sure will, I’m just editing them now and can’t wait to share them with you
Cape Town is a spectacularly beautiful place to grow up!
I’ve never tried South African food but it looks really interesting! This would be a fun restaurant to visit because it gives you a whole new and unique experience!
Thanks for coming to visit! Looking forward to welcoming anyone who wants to come along and share some African street food.
I remember eating Pronutro which was like a cold porrdige of Oats, Corn and rice which comes in a number of interesting flavours including golden syrup pancake flavor. I think there are stockists here in Australia and I must track it down. Bunny Chows were also one of my favorites over there. They generally were available in lamb, chicken or veg. I must try Lucky Tsotsi’s version.
Billtong, love it! we have “the South African Shop” in Templestowe (Melbourne)
we travelled to South Africa, did the whole safari thing and stayed in beautiful Sandton. dine at Montego bay and the Butcher Shop, in Mandela square it twas a good, yas!
The food looks delightful. I love your camera angles Lorraine. I have had some experience with South African food, but nothing quite this extensive. I have heard Ethopian food is amazing too, never had it though. It’s interesting how great their cuisine is, but lack of resources make it difficult for the rest of the world to know some great food, culture and heritage.
I’m one of your SA followers. Loved reading this! My favourite SA dish has to me melktert (milk tart). Yum!
I went to see on Friday night – I was waiting for people to show up – I ordered the chips – they were old and cold and overcooked and overpiced. Did not bother after that… Nah !!! Nah !!!
Thanks for representing Mzanzi ( south Africa ) as a South African i’ll give a 10 you did it right:)
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