Mattina, Concord West

Let’s address the elephant in the room.

What the Hell is going on with Pauline Hanson?

Oh, right. The other elephant. I’m writing again!

A lot has changed since I last decided to put pen to paper fingers to keyboard for something that wasn’t to do with my actual job (yes, I am a salaryman as well as a celeryman, just a great crunchy vegetable).

Here’s everything that has changed since I reviewed in 2023.

• I got married
• Changed jobs 3x
• I renovated the downstairs bathroom
• I went to Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Taichung, Melbourne, Seoul, Adelaide, Port Vila, Queenstown and Chatswood a couple of times.

…Ok, not that much has changed.

You know what else hasn’t changed? My love for my local neighbourhood cafe, Mattina in Concord West:

In my view, Mattina in Concord West is the platonic ideal of your go-to-cafe. It does the staples incredibly well, consistently good coffee, nearby (I get my steps in but I don’t always want to trek Mount Kilimanjaro you know) and the staff is always nice, friendly and attentive.

Let’s have a look at some of those gun staples (not a staple gun, this isn’t Officeworks).

Your operations team and kitchen team clearly don’t have their stuff together if you don’t offer avocado on toast as a Sydney-based cafe. I don’t know how to talk about avocado on toast in 2026, is it worth telling you that the avocado was creamy and the toast toasted? Is that why you visit iFat (why do you visit iFat, I haven’t penned a single word in 3 years).

Ok, I got it. The freshness of the tomatoes (with a little bit of olive oil) really helps elevate it overall. It’s like getting bruschetta to start the day without wondering whether you pronounce it like brush-etta or brook-eta and potentially annoying an innocent Italian waiter. I almost always get a tonne of sides on the side because they’re not called under-the-plates are they?

The chicken sausage and egg roll is a household favourite. I love Martin’s potato rolls so much that I actually googled “who is Martin and how can I donate to his favourite charity/cause to show my gratitude?” Turns out Martin is the last name of Lloyd and Lois who crafted the recipe of the world’s favourite burger buns (Oh look, Isaac learned how to research). The pillowy roll encases a perfectly seasoned and cooked sausage patty, oozy egg and love that you can feel from head chef & founder Danny (hi Danny!).

Oh and the Mattina hash brown. I have to talk about this. It’s delicious. It’s crunchy, the potato is soft and fluffy and it’s seasoned oh-so-right. I have walked into Mattina, sat down and just ordered hash brown and coffee before. The staff were so concerned about my nutrition that they sent some fruit out as well because getting the right amount of fibre daily is tough.

Mattina’s menu is available all-day and everyday which is super handy if you’re an early riser that wants to start the day on the right foot with a tasty cheeseburger.

Or maybe an equally tasty chicken burger? With a side of handcut shoestring fries that are seasoned with I’m assuming the food equivalent of whatever the producers of the first NewJeans EP used (#NewJeansNeverDie).

Ok, time to go a bit more in-depth; not in-debt like the Lehman Brothers.

It’s the tang of the tomatoes, Mediterranean seasoning concert and the pop of a couple eggs working in harmony together that does it for me. Top it off with a cheeky beef sausage and we have a party happening that I’d actually RSVP and come on time for. And then you tell me stracciatella is going to get saucy with us too? Cancel my morning reformer pilates class because it is so on.

Do you remember that Epic Food YouTube channel where the hook was just saying f*ck it and adding bacon to everything? I’m 50% sure I saw them add bacon strips to a lawn mower once just because they could. No point, but f*ck it, let’s do it for the views.

The bacon in this toasted mushroom sandwich though? There is a point.

And the point is me pointing at this cheesy, moreish, mushroom and bacon toastie and declaring that he is him, this is it, and she is queen.

This is so underrated, I must admit I get everything I’ve posted above at least 2-3x more often than this little chicken sandwich but I’m so happy every time it’s on the table. A bit of freshness, less heavy and just an overall good time. I think it’s how my friends describe me after I’ve managed to sleep and have conducted a successful cut.

Here’s the TL;DR for everyone who hadn’t noticed I had stopped writing because they live actual lives:

• I’m back
• And I’ll always have Mattina’s back.

Mattina, Concord West

82 Queen St, Concord West NSW 2138

Opening hours

Day	Hours
Monday–Saturday	7am–3pm
Sunday	8am–3pm