Sydney is made up of a rich and eclectic collection of businesses owned or operated by our refugee community—serving up vegan Palestinian sweets, Iraqi shortbread, Rohingya curries, and Syrian breakfast buffets, just to name a few.
Refugee Week kicks off this Sunday 18 June—it’s a time to both celebrate the contribution of refugees to Australian society and learn more about the ongoing issues faced by our refugee community. Marjorie Tenchavez, founder of Welcome Merchant, a Sydney-based social enterprise dedicated to providing support and connection to refugee-powered businesses across Australia, says that we must ensure our allyship is genuine and far-reaching beyond just one week of recognition.
"As we celebrate Refugee Week, it's important to remember that real allyship is about empowering these refugee entrepreneurs through buying their products and telling everyone about their products far and wide. Yes, we CAN support them beyond Refugee Week".
To help you find those businesses and put your money where it really counts, here are just a few of our favourite restaurants, cafes, and takeaway shops owned and powered by Sydney’s refugee and asylum seeker community.
Al Bastan Date and Sweets
Online
This family-owned business creates delectable snacks that you can feel good about eating. These Middle Eastern sweets are made from premium-quality dates and are all-natural, gluten-free, and vegan. The assortment of goodies on offer includes packs of pistachio, sesame, or coconut balls for just $9 each and mixed snack plates in various sizes. Everything ships nationally—check out the range here.
Afandi Cafe
Bankstown
This Bankstown cafe originally began as a takeaway shop, and is a local favourite. Try what’s been voted as the best Palestinian knafeh in Sydney, and you’ll understand why. Pair your knafeh with authentic Arabic coffee brewed over sand (a method that infuses the coffee with a rich, deep taste) and enjoy the welcoming atmosphere that Afandi is known for. To find out more, check out Afandi’s Instagram and Facebook.
Kabul Social
CBD
Kabul Social is a restaurant with a mission. Using the “universal love language of food”, the team aims to provide a connection between their patrons in Sydney and families who need support in Kabul. Their charity partners include Plate it Forward, supporting community members who are suffering food insecurity in Sydney, and Mahboba’s Promise, an organisation that provides women and girls in Afghanistan with essential healthcare, education, and shelter at a grassroots level. Each meal bought is two meals donated—one in Sydney, and one in Afghanistan. The mouthwatering menu includes chicken, eggplant, and pumpkin kabuli as well as lamb kebabs. Find out more about this incredible establishment here.
Great Silkroad Uyghur Restaurant
Ashfield
This family-run business offers authentic Uyghur cuisine, including an assortment of lamb, chicken, vegetarian and noodle dishes served in generous portions. If you can’t make it to the restaurant, catering, and delivery are also conveniently offered. Indulge in delicious food this refugee week while celebrating the resilience of the Uyghur community. Check out Great Silkroad Uyghur on Instagram.
Parliament On King
Newtown
More than just a cafe, catering company, and bookshop, Parliament On King is a home and a place of education, training refugees in hospitality work. With no hospitality experience, owners Ravi and Della Prasad decided to open the Newtown cafe out of their own living room back in 2013. Today, the successful social enterprise is a staple of the King Street community. So much so that the team began "The Soup Of Human Kindness" during the pandemic with a pay-what-you-can soup kitchen on weekends and meal deliveries to the city’s homeless.
Khamsa Cafe
Newtown
Inspired by owner Sarah Shaweesh’s Palestinian heritage and the countries she lived in before coming to Australia, Khamsa Cafe strives to progressively showcase Middle Eastern culture and share a plant-based philosophy. Originally running a catering company that sold vegan cakes, Shaweesh opened her vegan cafe in 2019. There you’ll find Turkish coffee, vegan shawarma, plenty of vegan sweet treats, and the crowd favourite Jerusalem bowl, made with cauliflower, quinoa, baba ghanoush, and Fattoush salad.
Al-Awael Restaurant
Fairfield Heights
Opened in 2016, Al-Awael is an Iraqi restaurant serving the community in the heart of Fairfield Heights. With a mix of Middle Eastern comfort food and modern Australian, the family-owned restaurant is dishing up plenty that’ll please. Whether you order classic shawarma with beef, all the trimmings, and Iraqi bread, or a plate of Iraqi quzi (a slow-roasted lamb dish) served with rice, toasted almond, soup, and lamb neck—you really can’t miss.
Colombo Social
Enmore
If you’re looking for one of the best Sri Lankan cuisine offerings in Sydney—head straight to Colombo Social. Aside from blending contemporary cooking techniques and Amma’s (Mum’s) cookbook, the Enmore restaurant also provides employment and training for asylum seekers. With a menu meant for sharing and plenty of cocktails on offer, you can tuck into curries and share plates like curry soft shell crab tacos—knowing that with each meal ordered, Colombo Social donates one to an asylum seeker in need.
Zeenat Afghan Restaurant
Merrylands
If you’re wandering Sydney’s West with a serious appetite and a hankering for traditional Afghan food, make a beeline for Zeenat Afghan Restaurant. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, make sure to order a bowl of the sheer yakh, which translates into English as “cold milk”—an Afghan sweet rice ice cream packed full of flavour.
Khaybar Restaurant
Auburn
Auburn’s Khaybar Restaurant aims to do one thing: bring traditional Afghan cuisine to Sydney through generations of family cooking. One look at owner and executive chef Mujtaba Ashrafi’s menu should tell you everything you need to know about this delicious spot's authenticity. Start with an appetiser of mantu (steamed dumplings filled with chopped lamb, herbs, and onions served with yoghurt) and move on to the crowd-favourite lamb qaboli pallaw (slow-cooked shank served with browned basmati rice, carrots, raisins, almonds, and pistachios). Make sure you leave space for desserts like baklava or sherpera (an Afghan sweet made with milk, rose water cardamom, walnut, and pistachio).
Yummy Yummy Knafeh
Lakemba
If you’ve tried knafeh before, a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with kataifi (spun pastry), soaked in a sweet sugar syrup, and layered with cheese, clotted cream, and nuts—you’re going to like this Palestinian dessert shop. The name really says it all. Owner Mohammed Wahib’s Yummy Yummy Knafeh is only open Friday through Sunday, so make sure you buy a little extra and stock up for the week. Keep your eyes on the shop’s Instagram for specials popping up like 1kg of knafeh for just $20. *Drool*.
Zac’s Great Food
Bella Vista
Sometimes there’s no point mucking around with a name. And Zac’s Great Food, an Afghani-Australian restaurant located in Bella Vista, certainly walks the walk. Operated by Afghan refugees Zac and Malalai Zikria, the eatery’s enormous menu offers everything from chicken schnitty to traditional Afghan curries. From shared biryani and qabli pilaf (a slow-cooked lamb dish with rice, almonds, pistachio, carrots, and sultanas) to kebab platters and chapli karayee (an Afghan big brekkie with all the trimmings)—navigating your choices is a delicious endeavour.
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Image credit: Zac's Great Food, Afandi Cafe, Kabul Social, Yummy Yummy Knafeh, Colombo Social, Khamsa Cafe, Zac's Great Food