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Sunday, June 01, 2014

Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury

Lebanese pizza, saj, haloumi pie and spinach pie at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury

Lunch for less than a fiver? You bet. Load up on Lebanese pizza, pies and breads at this Canterbury secret, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bakery tucked into an alcove of shops on Canterbury Road.

The locals are in on it. There’s a passing parade of tradies, mums, school kids and hungry teens traipsing through here all day. On-site parking is a bonus too. The ovens start cranking way before dawn with the shop open from 5.30am – perfect for early risers and the really late stumblers home.

Saj breads cooking on the saj griddle at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Saj breads cooking on the saj griddle

Head straight for the saj, a thin flatbread stretched out to about 30cm wide that’s cooked on a domed griddle called a – you guessed it – saj. The simplest version is cheap and delicious, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled generously with za’atar, a mix of dried oregano, thyme, salt and sesame seeds. It’ll set you back a mere three bucks but we recommend you go for broke and get it with the lot. The army of women huddled in the kitchen at the back will roll it up with fresh tomato slices, black olives, mint leaves and a slather of yoghurt for $4.50.

Saj and oregano pizza wraps with yoghurt, olive, tomato and mint at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Yoghurt, olive, tomato and mint in saj $4.50 and oregano pizza $4

Oregano pizzas and saj at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Oregano pizza $1.50 and saj $3

But let’s say you only managed to scrounge $1.50 from the back of the sofa. That’s cool too. You can still score yourself a plain oregano pizza, smaller in size and made with a slightly thicker dough but still ridiculously tasty.

Oregano pizza at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Oregano pizza $1.50

Meat and cheese pizza at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Meat and cheese pizza $5

You can add all kinds of olive, onion, mint, yoghurt, cheese and tomato variations to your saj or oregano pizzas for a couple more coins. The meat pizza comes with a thin layer of spicy lamb mince.

Sojouk and long cheese pizza at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Sojouk and long cheese pizza $5.50 

Haloumi pies, spinach pies, cheese and spinach pies and meat pizzas at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Haloumi, spinach and cheese & spinach pies ready to go

Don’t forget the pies, either. They’re a hold-all affair of dough wrapped around a filling – kinda like a pizza pocket, Lebanese-style. The haloumi cheese pie is a firm favourite with its squeaky middle but if you want stretchier cheese, go for the mozzarella version.

Spinach and cheese pie, haloumi pie, kishk pie and mozzarella pie at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Spinach and cheese pie $4; haloumi pie $4; kishk pie $4.50 and mozzarella cheese pie $4

There are a handful of tables inside and out, but most people are here for takeaway. Grab a bottle of salted yoghurt drink from the fridge and you’ll still have change from a tenner.

Saj with yoghurt, olive, tomato and mint; sojouk and long cheese pizza; and ayran yoghurt drink at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Saj with yoghurt, olive, tomato and mint $4.50 and sojouk and long cheese pizza $5.50 with ayran yoghurt drink

Stretchy cheese inside the haloumi cheese pie at Charlie's Pizza, Canterbury
Haloumi cheese pie $4 

Charlie's Pizzeria and Bakery, Canterbury


Charlie's Pizzeria and Bakery on Urbanspoon

Charlie's Pizzeria and Bakery
Shop 3, 99-105 Canterbury Road, Canterbury
Tel: +61 (02) 9789 1600

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 5.30am - 3pm
Sunday 5.30am - 2pm


This article appeared in the May 2014 issue of Time Out Sydney in my monthly Food & Drink column Eat This! [Read online

Read more of my Time Out Sydney reviews

21 comments:

  1. Oooohh the carbs!! That is dangerous on a Sunday morning!

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  2. Being gluten intolerant it is hard to stop me in my tracks with wheaty food as my mind blocks it as I know I cannot eat it. And then you posted a picture of a HALOUMI PIE! I am going to struggle getting that out of my mind all day! lol

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  3. Now that's a big stack ol' pizzas right there chaald. Totally feeling you on the haloumi cheese pie - all gooey with them breakaway strings of cheese

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  4. It's so hard to find lunch under $10 let alone $5 so this seems like such a bargain!

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  5. What great prices and the pizzas look good! I wouldn't mind a slice of the oregano piza!

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  6. I love places like this. Call me a tight-ass, but pulling out ten bucks and walking away with a heap of food is a win/win in my books.

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  7. That looks so good! I love cheep and cheerful places like that. And Za'atar pizza is one of my favourite things to eat, ever! YUM!

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  8. Wow, great find, Helen! Thanks for reviewing each type and giving tips on which are the best ones!

    Julie
    Gourmet Getaways

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  9. I love these kind of places. There a few around Kogarah but I had no idea they make up the saj breads with tasty fillings. Does seem hard to turn down and a great find Helen

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  10. mmmm yum!! so cheap and you can even use their pizza bases and add your own toppings to make a super awesome pizza at home!

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  11. ive lived in the area for so long and didnt know it existed! im so going there now!

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  12. Oh wow this looks so good. A bit of a travel for me, but i might try it out the next time I'm in Cantebury

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  13. So many things to love about a pizza for a fiver! What an incredible find and I'm definitely tempted to go all out on those amazing Dukkah & oregano pizza's.

    Looks incredible!

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  14. awwww. . i remember you took me to this place for breakfast!
    Oregano pizza ftw!

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  15. What a refreshing and satisfying way to begin the day!sounds awesome and gorgeously, meltingly gooey-yummo!

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  16. woahhh this looks so tasty and at such a reasonable price :D So impressed haha

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  17. woahhh this looks so tasty and at such a reasonable price :D So impressed haha

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  18. Oh my! I am definitely stopping by this weekend, I need that haloumi cheese pie.

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  19. Lebanese pizza places are THE best value! We have one near us. This one looks just as good.

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  20. Carb central, but OMG give me some of that haloumi pie!

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  21. I had to blink twice when I looked at those prices. Surely they made a mistake! What a bargain.

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