Pub Life Kitchen

A few years ago, in any debate on the best burger in Sydney, Pub Life Kitchen (PLK) always got a mention. When it closed in 2017, it left a massive vacuum in Sydney's burger scene. Thankfully, in 2021, owner Jovan Curic resurrected PLK.

At the original PLK, the burgers were so popular that Curic employed a full-time butcher to dry-age meat. This time, though, Curic doesn't want the burgers to get all the attention. Curic is honouring his Balkan heritage and has put some classic Serbian dishes on the menu.

There’s his take on cevapi, a caseless grilled sausage, served with pickled onions, mustard and potatoes. There’s also pasulj – a white-bean stew with cold-smoked pork hock. And fittingly, considering it’s in Ultimo’s Lord Wolseley Hotel, the pub classics are all covered. There’s chicken schnitzel, chicken parma, and rump steak and chips. Curic is all about working with local producers. The burrata topping toast is by Vannella, fresh pasta comes from Fabbrica, smoked pecorino and parsley sausages are by LP’s Quality Meats, and the grass-fed beef for the OG burger is dry-aged at Marrickville’s Whole Beast Butchery.

When he first decided to bring back PLK, Curic wasn’t even going to do burgers, but his wife objected. We're glad she did. There won’t be burger specials, but Curic has resurrected two of the best: the TLC fried-chicken burger with double cheese, pickles and green sriracha mayonnaise, and the OG dry-aged beef burger with cheese, pickles, tomato, lettuce, and roasted garlic and lime mayonnaise.