The Yeeros Shop, Marrickville

Marrickville might be changing but I hope The Yeeros Shop never leaves. Regarded as a institution by long-serving locals, The Yeeros Shop is said to be one Sydney's first, well, yeeros shops, opening in 1976. Not much has changed since then. They still hand-cut the potato chips and potato scallops. They still wrap your takeaway in giant packages of butchers paper. You'll still find a huddle of elderly Greek men at the tables up the back, slowly picking at plates of lamb yeeros while they catch up.

Sydney might be in the midst of a new wave of yeeros shops - all fancy subway tiles and children's play areas and communal tables - but you can't create those childhood flashbacks of the local takeaway still serving up takeaway chips to school kids generations later.


Slicing lamb yeeros off the spit

There are four vertical spits at The Yeeros Shop, slowly rotating with either chicken, lamb or beef. They use an electric knife to shave off thin slices, caught in a metal pan that is then transferred to the counter.


Hand-cut chips ready for double-frying

Every local high school has fond memories of the chips here. The potatoes are hand-cut so you get all kinds of deliciously gnarled edges. The chips are cooked once and allowed to cool, then fried again for maximum fluffiness.


Fresh spit of lamb yeeros

We happened to visit just as they were starting a fresh spit of lamb yeeros. The mountain of fresh lamb fillets stacked on top of one another is a wondrous sight.


Lamb yeeros with hand-cut chips $15


There's no question we're going to order the lamb yeeros with chips. I love that it comes on vintage plate straight from the 1970s. I remember eating off these at my grandma's house. The lamb is succulent and smoky, with so many crispy charred bits where the lamb fat has rendered.

The chips aren't the super crunchy kind but a little soft in parts without feeling greasy. Ask for tomato sauce at the counter and they'll give you a whole saucer of it for free. None of that packet stuff for 30c a pop.


Hand-cut potato scallops 90c

They hand-cut the potato scallops too, dipped in batter and then deep-fried until golden. A generous shake of salt is mandatory.


Inside the potato scallop

Crunchy shell. Fluffy potato centre. And that crunch of salt against your lips that takes you straight back to childhood.


Lamb souvlaki and chicken souvlaki $4 each

We're warned there'll be a 10-15 minute wait for the souvlaki, but that's just a welcome reassurance that these will be cooked fresh to order. We get the lamb souvlaki and the chicken souvlaki. They're both terrifically juicy. The chicken souvlaki is particularly juicy.


Small tabouli salad $4.80

We get our greens in the form of tabouli. You can tell it's also hand-chopped, bright and fresh with no signs of sogginess. It's not overladen with bulgur either, but resplendent with parsley, tomato and red onion.


Crispy fatty lamb yeeros

Can we stare at that lamb yeeros again? Classic goodness.






The Yeeros Shop
431 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9559 1167

Open daily 10.30am-12am


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