The real Vadapav in Sydney.

Vadapav (or vada pav) was born on Mumbai's Dadar station platform in the 1960s — a working-class snack invented by Ashok Vaidya to feed textile-mill workers on their way home. Today it's the city's most recognised street food, sold from thousands of stalls across Maharashtra.

The vada is a golf-ball of mashed potato spiced with mustard, garlic, ginger, green chilli and curry leaves, dipped in besan batter and deep-fried until crisp. It's slotted into a warm pav (soft square bun) with sweet tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney, and the signature lasun chutney — dry roasted garlic, coconut and red chilli powder.

Sydney's Maharashtrian community has grown fast, and most Indian restaurants stop at butter chicken and dosa. For anyone who grew up in Mumbai, Pune or Nashik, vadapav is home. That's why "Vadapav Sydney" and "Vadapav Parramatta" are among the most-searched Indian food terms in Western Sydney — and why we opened the city's first dedicated vadapav kitchen.

Potatoes are boiled and hand-mashed daily, spiced to a Mumbai recipe, coated in fresh besan batter and fried to order. Our pav is soft and buttery. Our garlic chutney is roasted in-house — no shortcuts. Order Vadapav online for pickup from 321 Church Street, Parramatta.