1. Chicken and salad sambo at Splash
    Photograph: Supplied/Splash
  2. A delicious looking sandwich on white bread
    Photograph: Alice Ellis for Time Out | Fish sandwich
  3. A hand holding a chicken schnitzel burger
    Photograph: Alice Ellis for Time Out | Chicken schnitzel burger
  4. A golden fried piece of fish on white bread
    Photograph: Alice Ellis for Time Out | Fish sandwich
  5. A hamburger with egg in a container on a picnic blanket
    Photograph: Alice Ellis for Time Out | Bradman burger
  6. A chicken burger on a table with a lap pool in the background
    Photograph: Alice Ellis for Time Out | Chicken schnitzel burger

Review

Splash

5 out of 5 stars
With chip butties, salad sambos, killer pythons and creamy milkshakes, Petersham’s newest poolside café has nostalgia splashed all over it
  • Restaurants | Cafés
  • price 1 of 4
  • Petersham
  • Recommended
Alice Ellis
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Time Out says

The vibe

Summery and fun, as the name suggests! The team behind some of Sydney’s best cafés, Soulmate in Newtown and Superfreak in Marrickville, are behind this kiosk-like café at the Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre, which is in the glorious Petersham Park. If you’re going for a swim, you can order from the Fanny Durack side and eat on the grass or at one of the poolside tables (that’s what I do!); otherwise, there’s also indoor café seating on the park side, or they’ll lend you a picnic blanket. I’m an Inner Westie, so in my ’hood there’s nothing else quite like ordering up a fish sambo and eating it under an umbrella to a soundtrack of happy kids splashing around in bright aquamarine water.

The food

Drawing inspo from Aussie kiosks and milk bars from “the good old days”, Splash’s menu is absolutely jam-packed with picks that will satisfy your hunger for nostalgia (as well as a good feed). Our favourite thing we’ve had is the fish sandwich – it’s a huge fillet of golden-crumbed fish with slices of tomato and beetroot, onion, iceberg lettuce, American cheese and a creamy, dill-forward “Splash sauce” on thick-cut, spongy white bread (the type of bread you loved as a kid). The fish fillet is so big, the bread slices can’t contain it, so panko-crumbed perfection spills out the sides. We’ve also had the chip butty, packed with crunchy, golden chips (also on thick white bread) – of course we add curry sauce, which tastes a bit like a sauce Granny would make if she's whipping up some curried egg. The "Bradman burger" is also a winner – and old Don would approve, it’s piled high with salad (yes, beetroot) and a fried egg, as well as an Angus beef patty and all the usual trimmimgs.

The drink

Splash serves up elevated, modern takes on milk bar classics – there are milkshakes, fresh juices, and a Splice shake (with pineapple, ice-cream, lime syrup and coconut milk). We love their cold-coffee selection: a black cold brew served with loads of ice; their ace iced latte; and their oat milk cold brew that’s jazzed up with maple and a little cinnamon. 

Time Out tip

If you want to pair your butty with a splash in the pool, you’ll need to go during the warmer months. Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre closes for the winter (in summer 2024-2025, the swim season wraps up on April 30). That doesn’t mean you can’t still head over to Splash and eat on the park side. 

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Details

Address
2A Station St
Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre, Petersham
Sydney
2049
Price:
$
Opening hours:
Mon-Sun 6:30am-3pm
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