The Two Wolves: Community Cantina is a cozy little bar serving great food in downtown Sydney, Australia. On top of being a Mexican restaurant, they are also a social enterprise restaurant which raises funds for disadvantaged communities both in Sydney and abroad. Let’s check out what the food joint has to offer.
Two wolves is located along Sydney Broadway Street just off Princes highway. Also, it is well connected with city buses and sits at Broadway just beside Victoria park. Moreover, if you require a reference landmark, it is located just across the street from Broadway Sydney mall. The mall is one of Sydney’s big shopping malls the area.
Welcome to a Wolf Den
To most passer-bys like myself, Two Wolves is a nice chill bar and Mexican restaurant managed by volunteers. When there, a notable sight are the beautiful and comical wall murals you find in the alleyway at Grafton lane on the back of the pub.
The bar has two entrances, one from the main road and the primary entrance. The other being a backdoor past the alley way hand painted murals on an adjacent street.
Background of Community Cantina and Cardoner Project
Two Wolves prides themselves as a community built among young adults as a volunteer team. It is more than a eatery and bar but also a volunteer-driven social enterprise. Also, it is a volunteering hub fueled by youth ideas that supports partner organizations via charitable means. They started The Cardoner Project as an initiative.
Furthermore, these organization can come from around the world and are predominantly within the Jesuit network. On that same note. The community does not discriminate against other religious or ethnic groups too. It has a very open atmosphere. The eatery claims to help excluded groups and welcomes all.
Moreover, despite the Cardoner Project having some religious emphasis, it does not distract or in-your face if you wish for a religiously neutral place to chill out over dinner. In this article, I shall however be touching more on what two wolves offers as an eatery restaurant.
Ambience and Food
Additionally, the bar has three floors, including a basement pub. The ground floor has large dining areas. The interior of the restaurant is sizable with the main seating area and bar on the ground floor. Here is where most diners hang out and dine. Also, you get individual tables as well as long benches suitable for large groups.
Moreover, there are also bar-side sitting. You get a selection craft beers as well as beer on the tap. Also, there is a secondary bar in the basement accessible via a side staircase. The bar has a very hipster style look, with several murals hanging from the interior walls and ceilings.
The restaurant serves a variety of Mexican food. Humorously, the hand-painted Mexican wall murals outside of the restaurant may give you a clue or two- it has a painting of two gray wolves wearing Mexican attire and shaking maracas. With the outlet being a bar. You order your food over the counter where they are subsequently served to you straight from the kitchen.
Guacamole fans rejoice
Moreover, their main food selections includes a choice of Tacos by the basket. Selections includes fish, vegetarian, chicken or pulled pork. All goes at $12 each. Or you can have a go at them all with a large $21 tasting plate which can feed 3-4 people. I will recommend the tacos, especially for sharing, they can serve 2 per dish, though in my case I could finish one myself.
In addition to their Taco staple are a selection of Burritos and Enchilada. Both being flour tortilla wraps stuffed with black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, chipotle mayo and heaped with generous servings of shredded cheese. They are more expensive at $16-18 a pop. Guacamole fans rejoice as it comes standard with all servings.
Additionally, burger choices includes Schnitzel (western or Mexican), pulled pork or Mexican snack pack. These will set you back about $16-17 a dish which comes with heaps of fries. You could recall the last place we visited with burgers and wolves was Singapore’s very own Wolf Burgers.
Dessert choices includes Churros or Empanada pastries, I found them pretty expensive at $11 each. Sides includes a selection of fries, chips (including nachos) and poppers.
Notably, I found the choice of Mexican cuisine rather odd for the bar. I would prefer a larger selection of regular bar food. Foods like burgers, steaks, grilled chicken or fish and chips will be perfectly fine with me. Their food selections are ok, but nothing too great to scream home about.
Take alook at their community walls
Furthermore, Two wolves is a social community, they do a variety of outreach programs through fundraisers to benefit the less fortunate. This is one through fundraisers, and community volunteer efforts around the world. On the walls in the restaurant, you can see variety of photos of their community efforts.
Here, you can find photos of their staff and community members involves in activities around the world. Examples include rebuilding a school in the Jesuit parish in Nepal, and engaging school-aged children in the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand. The social enterprise also funds orphanages and homes for street kids in Central Vietnam.
Moreover, if you wish to contribute to their humanitarian efforts, you can give a donation, buy their Two Wolves merchandise, or simply just dine at their restaurant. Their merchandise selection includes T-shirts or Tote shopping bags.
Friendly staff
The restaurant staff are friendly and approachable. Service is generally good. It was commendable that one of the staff members even went all the way out to search for an odd sized T-shirt size for me, going through each of their various storerooms when I offered to buy their merchandise.
Through chatting with the staff, I discovered that the bar also provides event spaces for hire. The event spaces and toilets are on the building upper floors.
All in all, Two wolves is excellent for a chow down after good shopping at the Broadway Sydney mall. You get friendly service, coupled with an affordable and hearty menu which is not overly expensive. The little joint ambience is conducive and a good place that houses meaningful conversation, good company and creative ideas. The bar opens till late from 12pm–12am, with shorter hours on Monday and closed on Sundays. All and all to get your Mexican food fix and for a good cause too.
Verdict:
Must Go! | Worth Trying | Shortlist Optionally | Should Avoid
The Two Wolves Community Cantina, Sydney
202 Broadway, Sydney NSW 2008, Australia
Opening Hours Tues to Sat: 12pm– 12am
Mondays: 4pm– 11pm
Closed on Sundays.
