The Two Wolves Community Cantina, Chippendale

Eating in the name of helping others? It puts a whole new spin on putting your money where your mouth is. Eat and drink at The Two Wolves in Chippendale, and all profits from this social enterprise go toward disadvantaged communities around the world. At the moment, these include providing education and building assistance to primary schools in Huay Tong, Northern Thailand near Myanmar, improving the nutrition and education of pre-school children in the remote village of Tipling, Nepal, and helping the Saint Vincent Diem orphanage for disabled children in Huong Phuong, Central Thailand.


The alleyway entrance to The Two Wolves

The Two Wolves has taken up residence on the corner of Broadway and City Road, a space that was once home to the English, Scottish and Australasian Bank. There's a massive doorway on the Broadway side but Two Wolves makes you enter via the dodgy alleyway next to the Lansdowne Hotel. Maybe it's a nod to hip Melbourne laneways but it also gives you about 60 seconds to clear your head, reset your mind and mull over your life choices until now.


Bright and colourful flags and travel trinkets inside The Two Wolves

And lo and behold, The Two Wolves is not the dodgy crack den you may have envisaged but a bright and colourful space that feels halfway between a youth hostel and a university bar.

This is the latest initiative by The Cardoner Project, a not-for-profit program founded by Father David Braithwaite that offers volunteer opportunities for students in Australia and around the world.


Food menu

The food menu is short and sweet, running from a Vietnamese pork noodle salad to vegetarian dahl to what is allegedly the recipe for Pope Francis' favourite empanadas. Many of the dishes drawn from the people they have encountered in their volunteer projects - Sister Hien works at the orphanage in Hanoi - and with nothing over $11, the prices are ideal for the uni student neighbourhood.


Drinks menu

Beer and cocktails come at uni student special prices too. They also do smoothies, shakes and juices.


Cider and the $14 student jug of beer 

You should be able to get three or four beers out of the student jug of beer. If you look young and scruffy enough, they'll presume you're a student and won't even ask for a student ID.


Mango dacquiri $10

Cocktails range from $10-$15. The mango dacquiri is a budget-friendly number at $10 but it's a little light on the alcohol.


Spiced chicken and slaw soft shell tacos $10

A tenner scores you two spiced chicken and slaw soft shell tacos, crammed into a clever taco holder contraption. It's a no-nonsense affair of grilled chicken, shredded cabbage and lashings of mildly spiced mayonnaise.


Korean fried chicken $11

Korean fried chicken offers up a serve of crunchy wingettes glazed with sweet chilli alongside a huge mound of rice. The carbs and deep-fried protein combo definitely has a uni student vibe, designed to fill hungry stomachs.


Wedges $5

Wedges, the national uni student staple, are yours for five bucks. It's a simple bowl of fried potatoes, without the fuss of sweet chilli sauce or sour cream.


Sister Hien's bun thit nuong pork and rice noodle salad $10

The connection to Sister Hien's bun thit nuong pork and rice noodle salad may be sentimental, but there's probably a few ingredient swaps here. There's not nearly enough nuoc cham fish sauce dressing, and the rice noodles are cold and hard clumps at the bottom of the too-small bowl, but there's still plenty of bright and zingy salad and herbs to put a smile on your face. A few tweaks on this dish could easily make this a crowd favourite.


Dahl with roasted cauliflower and eggplant $10

But when it comes to humble simplicity, the vegetarian dahl plate wins every time. It's one of the most filling dishes on the menu, a huge ladle of spiced dahl, deep fried cauliflower florets, sticky deep fried eggplant and a small onion bhaji surrounding a dome of basmati rice. The green lentil dahl is terrifically good, the lentils just cooked so they still have some bite, and spiced with an expert hand so you get multiple layerings of flavour that ebb and swell with every mouthful.


Bellarmine mess $6

We find room for dessert and are glad we did. The Bellarmine mess (named after Bellarmine House, the Jesuit uni student accommodation house above the cantina) is a whopper, especially at only $6. It's a huge meringue quenelle that's been cracked open, filled with cream and then covered in what tastes like chai spice marinated berries.

There's also a rhubarb fool (stewed rhubarb with honey yoghurt) and affogato (vanilla, chocolate or coffee gelato with Single Origin espresso), each costing a mere $5.


Menus


And the meaning behind the name The Two Wolves? It's reputed that the Jesuit forefathers not only provided for their own, but had enough to feed the wild wolves as well.

In the long term, The Two Wolves hopes to offer employment and training for long-term unemployed, open to all ages and faiths. They also plan to expand their opening hours to breakfasts as well as weekends. 

The Two Wolves Community Cantina Bar and Restaurant
202 Broadway, Chippendale, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8039 3595

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 11am–11pm


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