Marrickville Archives - Adventure, baby!

A cosy, retro cafe in Marrickville, Petty Cash has become a go-to for inventive vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes in Sydney’s inner west.

Petty Cash is a low-key spot, located directly across the road from the playground in leafy Enmore Park. As such it’s a great spot for families to dine in or pick up some take away and eat it in the park.

We dined in and enjoyed the vintage, mismatched chairs, tables and crockery. The cafe has a slightly hippy feel to it and is a bit disorganised. This either adds to its charm or can be irritating, depending on how hangry you are.

Petty Cash is a popular spot with locals, and the Sunday we visit it’s packed with diners. We nab a table inside but there’s a long line at the counter to order food. We’ve arrived at rush hour and the cafe is hectic.

As a vegetarian I find cafes that cater to vegan and vegetarians hard to find. I loved the menu at Petty Cash as I could eat almost everything on the menu. I would have liked to have seen a kids’ menu as well.

We chose the Big Brekkie with free range eggs on toast + avocado, tomato, hash brown, haloumi and house beans ($17.90), pumpkin & ricotta lasagne with burnt rosemary butter and salad ($17.90) and the free-range eggs on toast ($9.90).

When ordering at the counter we weren’t given a number or asked where we were sitting, so I was curious to see how our meals would find us. I was pleasantly surprised to see they they did find their way to us very quickly – the servers asked the person who took the order where to send the meals. What an incredible memory!

The playground across the road has some shade cloth over parts of the equipment, and a really cool space ship climbing structure. There are plenty of trees for shade and wide grassy spaces for running around. There are public restrooms at the nearby aquatic centre.

Petty Cash Cafe
68 Victoria Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
Hours: Daily 7:30am–3:30pm
Phone: (02) 9557 2377
Prices: $$
Online: facebook.com/Petty-Cash-Cafe

More things to do in Sydney

Find a list of the best things to do in Sydney with kids here.

Find things to do in Sydney for free here.

Get a list of the best kid-friendly beaches in Sydney.

Find the best animal experiences in Sydney here.

Visit the best kid-friendly restaurants in Sydney here.

Find the best high teas in Sydney here.

Head to one of the best museums in Sydney here.

Check out things to do in Sydney on a rainy day here.

Enjoy one of the best ocean pools in Sydney here.

First time visiting Sydney? Get tips for first time visitors to Sydney here.

Sydney’s been dry and dusty for far too long, so we thought we’d take the first rainy day we got as an excuse to saunter over to Marrickville for some fabulous Pho. Marrickville is known for its Vietnamese food, so we knew we’d find something delicious – the trick was finding a kid-friendly restaurant, and walking by Thuy Huong sold us: it was full of kids!

Thuy Huong is a small place, especially when full, which it was on the rainy Sunday we were there. There’s no room for prams and space between tables is limited and I didn’t see a highchair. Baby Lukas was the youngest kid there, but there were at least a dozen children ranging from 2-8 years who were just so into their brightly coloured, steaming plates of food, so we knew this restaurant would be suitable for kids.

We ordered the standard Beef Pho ($8) with vegetarian rice paper rolls ($6) with peanut sauce. The food came quickly (a plus when you have a squirming almost- toddler) and smelled heavenly.

Delicious beef pho ($8). Photo by Emily Staresina.

vegetarian rice paper rolls with peanut sauce ($6). Photo by Emily Staresina

Though he was the youngest by a couple years, Baby Lukas also got into his food, slurping his vermicelli noodles and broth like a champion. We thought it was pretty good too. Lunch came with the standard tea you’d expect at most Vietnamese places.

Baby Lukas learning the fine art that is eating noodles off of chopsticks. Photo by Emily Staresina.

You can't get much more into your pho. Photo by Emily Staresina. — You can’t get much more into your pho. Photo by Emily Staresina.

Last bite: If you’re in the mood for Pho that the kids will also love, walk no further than Thuy Huong.

Highchairs: No.
Stroller storage: Limited. If you don’t need one, don’t bring one.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No, but kids won’t starve

Thuy Huong
304 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville
Phone: (02) 9558 4023
Hours: Mon-Sun 8am-10pm
Get Directions

Marrickville

Sydney Restaurants: Petty Cash Cafe, Marrickville, Australia

Thuy Huong: Kid-Friendly restaurants, Marrickville, Sydney