Find out where to kickstart your St Patrick’s Day festivities this year with this addictive Irish comfort food.
Updated ,first published
When you think of traditional Irish food, your mind may conjure up a wholesome and hearty stew served with some comforting colcannon. However, the humble spice bag has been taking Sydney by storm lately, and the hype is only growing.
Born in Irish Chinese takeaway shops, the holy trinity of hot chips, fried chicken and a classic Irish “curry sauce” combine with sauteed capsicum and onion to make a dish that is best served with a pint of Guinness with mates, or equally, curled up on the couch the morning after. If you’re keen to try one this St Patrick’s Day, or any time of the year, here’s where to get your spice bag fix.
Shea’s, Clovelly
Longstanding Irish bar and restaurant Shea’s serves a spice bag that’s heavy on the buttermilk fried chicken, accompanying a deep, rich sauce coating long, thin chips. They also inject some wok hei (meaning “breath of the wok”) into their spice bag by wok-tossing the ingredients instead of doing them in a bag or a bowl. Shea’s spice bag is normally $26, but every Tuesday their spice bags and 4 in 1s (a curry rice dish) are only $20.
211 Clovelly Road, Clovelly, sheas.com.au
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The Mercantile Hotel, Sydney
The historic Irish pub in the heart of The Rocks serves a range of Irish classics, including a generous spice bag using thick-cut chips and a McDonnells curry sauce, thickened with extra butter. It’s going for $26 and could easily feed two. While the heritage pub is undergoing renovations, the Merc has popped up four doors down the road in a terrace aptly named 4 Doors Down.
35 George Street, The Rocks, themercantilehotel.com.au
Big Dave’s Chipper, Maroubra
This old-school spot that serves Irish fast-food favourites and imported Irish snacks has quite the name for its spice bag. It’s the favourite of Irish chef Colin Fassnidge, and has been enjoyed by Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy and British social media personality “Big John” Fisher. The ginormous serving is $20, and the perfect share meal to head down to the beach with.
779 Anzac Parade, Maroubra, instagram.com/bigdaveschipper
Taphouse Sydney, Darlinghurst
Straying from its normal menu of Cantonese classics, this buzzy pub has made its elevated take on the spice bag, featuring wok-fried vegetables, house-made curry sauce and crisp salt-and-pepper chicken for $26. From Saturday, March 14 until Tuesday, March 17, you can enjoy its spice bag with $12 pints of Guinness, or check out their $34 banquet that features a big serving of McDonnells curry sauce for dipping.
122 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst, taphousesydney.com.au
Paddy Chans, Kensington and Newtown
If you want to try a spice bag that is as close as possible to what it’s like in Ireland, look no further than this cheap and cheerful chain. Thick-cut chips and fried chicken balls are accompanied by the biggest serving of sauce found on this list. Its classic curry sauce is mild, and you can also choose other sauces like satay, sweet and sour, black bean or sweet chilli. The regular spice box is $21.50 and generously portioned, making it one of the best-value renditions in Sydney. If it’s good enough for Irish actor Paul Mescal, it’s good enough for us.
Various locations, instagram.com/paddy.chans
Friend in Hand Hotel, Glebe
Here it is, Sydney’s best spice bag deal. While the spice bags at some venues in Sydney creep past the $25 mark, you can get the good stuff for $18 on Monday nights at this old neighbourhood pub. Normally, the Friend in Hand’s spice bag is $22.90, which is still great value for the bag bursting with crisp chicken and chips. The $18 will also be available this St Patrick’s Day this Tuesday, March 17th, as well as $10 pints of Guinness.
58 Cowper Street, Glebe, friendinhand.com.au
Bondi Grand Hotel, Bondi Junction
Irish influencer Riona Magee (@belfastfoodiegirl) has deemed the spice bag at this Irish pub the most authentic spice bag in Sydney. Like Shea’s, they add some extra heat by wok tossing all the chips, chicken and capsicum together at the end. It’s $26, and you can try one for yourself on Tuesday, March 17th at its annual St Patrick’s festival.
89 Ebley Street, Bondi Junction, thegrandbondijunction.com.au
Sydney Park Hotel, Newtown
Down on the south end of King Street, the Sydney Park Hotel is serving their classic spice bag with classic curry sauce for $25. If you prefer a side of chicken and chips with your sauce instead of the other way around, the best menu hack here is that you can order extra sauce for $2. Not only can you add it to your spice bag, but you can add it to any other main on the pub’s menu.
631 King Street, Newtown, sydneyparkhotel.com.au
The Green Room Broadway, Chippendale
Sydney’s newest addition to the Irish food scene is this bright-green pokie-free pub on Broadway’s main drag. This spice bag won an epic 32-part Reddit series where one Redditor set out to rate every spice bag they could find in Sydney. It’s easy to see why it won, with its gigantic, crunchy pieces of chicken alongside an appropriately large amount of smooth curry sauce. It costs $21, but if you visit on a Tuesday, you can try it for $20 with a $10 pint of Guinness.
166-170 Broadway, Chippendale, greenroombroadway.com
The Chippo Hotel, Chippendale
Vegans aren’t left out of the spice bag fun at Australia’s first 100 per cent vegan pub. The Chippo’s plant-based spice bag has all the crunch and flavour as the original. Mama B’s “fried chick’n” spice bag is $19, and replaces chicken with crispy morsels of seitan, a meat substitute made of gluten.
87-91 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale, thechippohotel.com.au
Isabel Cant – Isabel is a social media editor for Good Food. Prior to joining Good Food, Isabel worked as a freelance journalist. She was also previously a social media producer for Endemol Shine Australia, working on MasterChef Australia and Dessert Masters.
