From getting helpful tips on your Sunday roast to having an extra sausage thrown in after a good counter chat, it's always worth finding a quality butcher to supply the protein for your mid-week meals and weekend feasts.
Forget the deli section of the big supermarkets; we’re talking about the independent and family-owned butchers who put sustainable practices first and supply Sydney’s best restaurants, as well as the folks in their suburbs. Some are globally awarded for their sausages, and some personally know the farmers who produced the rumps, ribeyes and roasts that end up on your plate.
Here are Sydney’s best butchers right now.
Feather And Bone
8/10–14 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville and 270 Bronte Road, Waverley
Image credit: Feather and Bone | Instagram
Feather and Bone takes sustainable practice very seriously. That means only selling pasture-raised meat and poultry from regenerative farms, and using every part of the animal to avoid wastage; anything that doesn't go in the cabinet becomes bone broth, paté, sauces and ready-to-eat meals.
This is probably why big culinary names like Neil Perry, Kylie Kwong, and Luke Nguyen are all supplied by these guys. You can even book in for butchery or sausage making classes to better understand their entire process and get more connected to the products you consume. For special occasions, they can even hire you a spit to feed a crowd with one of their lambs, pigs, or select cuts to slowly cook over charcoal.
Victor Churchill
132 Queen Street, Woollahra
Image credit: Victor Churchill | Facebook
The Victor Churchill name carries some weight in Australia’s butcher game. Owned and operated since 2009 by Anthony Puharich and his father Victor, a Croatian-born, fourth-generation butcher (both of whom also established Sydney’s Vic’s Meats—more on that later), the Queen Street shop first opened its doors in 1876 as Churchill’s Butcher.
From the shop’s jaw-dropping design including a dry-ageing room, charcuterie counter and stunning seasonal window displays to the traditional one-shouldered aprons worn by the experienced butchers and fine cuts from producers including Stone Axe Fullblood Wagyu, Rangers Valley and O'Conner Beef—luxury and quality define Victor Churchill. The late, great Anthony Bourdain once described the Woollahra location as “the most beautiful butcher shop in the world."
Ardi’s Block To Grill
579 Crown Street, Surry Hills and 220a Clovelly Road, Randwick
Image credit: Ardi's Block To Grill | Instagram
Run by Ardi Edgu and his family, Ardi’s Block to Grill is a Sydney butcher and restaurant with some serious class, from its produce and service to the bowtie getups behind the counter. Ardi's been in the butcher game over 35 years, and wants to preserve traditional butcher values like quality, sustainability and consistency.
"Block to grill" means you can stop in for a quick meatball sub or butcher's burger, take home roast meats and sides for dinner, order a glass of wine and watch your chosen cut broken down on the butcher’s block before being thrown on the grill, or choose from the display case to take home premium cuts of meat and ready-to-go eats like lasagne, barbecue skewers, and pies.
Whole Beast Butchery
368 Illawarra Road, Marrickville
Image credit: Whole Beast Butchery | Instagram
As the name suggests, this Illawarra Road butcher doesn’t care for wastage. Head in to Whole Beast Butchery for “whole carcass artisan butchery performed the old school way." That means walking in to choose your dinner from butcher/owner Marcus Papadopoulo, with whole carcasses of beef, pork, and lamb cut to order.
You’ll also find advice on any kind of cook and perfect house-made additions like preserves, pickles, pâté, and black pudding. Keep an eye out for their products around town at your favourite eateries, popping up in snag or charcuterie form on loads of local menus.
Haverick Meats
13–15 Green Street, Banksmeadow
Image credit: Haverick Meats | Instagram
It doesn't get better than quality meat at wholesale prices, which Haverick Meat provides to Sydneysiders through their online store and retail cool room which opens on Saturdays only, between 8am and 1pm.
Started back in 1963, the business supplies plenty of restaurants, and you can shop premium meats spanning dry-aged Wagyu, pasture-fed lamb, free-range poultry and exotic game.
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Vic’s
50-60 Bank Street, Pyrmont; Shop B-005, Chatswood Chase; and Shop 1-1026, Bondi Junction
Image credit: Vic's | Supplied
Vic’s needs no introduction across the Sydney food landscape, as Anthony Puharich has established himself as one of the best-known wholesalers in town, a leading provider to big names of the Sydney restaurant scene, and an elite Sydney butcher.
You’ll find a huge range online, with everything from Stone Axe Full-Blood Wagyu to Black Pearl caviar and artisan cheese and butter but, if you can, we highly recommend visiting in person at the original Pyrmont location where you can browse the butcher cabinet or grab a feed from the smokehouse menu of burgers, brisket, platters and wings. There's also a Vic's butcher in Chatswood Chase, and a fresh Bondi Junction store with a huge selection of heat-and-eat goodies like Wagyu cheeseburger spring rolls, house-made wagyu beef lasagna and rich Bolognese for easy dinners.
Black Forest Smokehouse
148 Victoria Road, Marrickville
With four generations of butchers behind them, the Deignan family-owned Black Forest Smokehouse is a favourite among Inner West locals and Australia-wide restaurants alike.
Their main game is pork—they process over 13 tonnes a week—but they carry beef, poultry and their own smoked smallgoods too. The massive purpose-built facility is open to the public 6am–3pm, Monday–Friday.
Australian Meat Emporium
29–31 O'Riordan Street, Alexandria
Image credit: Australian Meat Emporium | Facebook
If the saying goes "quality over quantity", Australian Meat Emporium’s response is ‘why not both?’ This Sydney butcher shop is a giant cold room (it's the largest fresh meat market in town), with coats offered on entry so you don’t freeze. As well as premium beef, lamb, pork, poultry, offal, mince and sausages, they stock deli goods, sauces and BBQ equipment. The master butchers can portion and package your picks to your liking, and
The Meat Emporium is conveniently located next door to the giant bottle shop Liquor Emporium, so you can really stock up for your weekend BBQ or boozy Sunday roast.
Joe Papandrea Quality Meats
1183-1187 The Horsley Drive, Wetherill Park
Image credit: Joe Papandrea Quality Meats | Instagram
You can't put a price on the guidance of expert staff at the butcher's counter, and the team at Joe Papandrea Quality Meats can steer you through their range of beef, pork, poultry, goats, rabbits, game, and traditional Continental cuts. Their sausages made to a secret family recipe are some of the best in Sydney, and they've been doing the rounds in Western Sydney for over 50 years.
The butcher is open seven days, and the family also does burgers, grilled meats, salads and sides at Son of a Butcher next door.
Hudson Meats
450-476 Miller Street, Cammeray and 900 Military Road, Mosman
When Hudson Meats opened in 2007, it did so with some serious pedigree under the ownership of Colin Holt, a three-time, two-hatted chef at his former restaurant Bistro Pavé.
With partner Jeff Winfield, Holt brought a high-quality deli back to his local community, working directly with farmers to source high-quality, pasture-raised meats. Hudson Meats offers everything from pasture-raised beef, lamb, pork and veal to deli meats and barbecue-ready packs. If you know exactly what you're after, you can shop online for delivery or pick-up too.
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Main image credit: Vic's | Supplied
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