Surry Hills cafe It’s Recess offers old-school singers (and killer pythons) for all ages

The flavors of school shops and packed lunches abound at It’s Recess, a new takeaway sandwich cafe housed in the art deco-style Belgenny Building, just six steps from Rainbow Crossing in Taylor Square.

Neat containers of sliced ​​sandwiches, pastrami, BLT, chicken avo, curried egg or ham, cheese and pickle fillings visible through clear lids line a tall, refrigerated cabinet to the left.

Downstairs, cheese, melted tuna and “pesto chook” toast are packaged in brown paper bags, ready for the store’s sandwich press.

A jar of killer pythons sits on the front counter next to a display case filled with almonds, ham, cheese and simple croissants. Each long, flexible sucking snake in red, orange, yellow and green colors costs $1. To the left is a basket full of crisp varieties with shiny gold bags of barbecue-flavored Samboy chips (“The Flavor HITS You”).

On the back wall, above the busy open kitchen of this small shop, is a mural of hand-drawn illustrations from school days that bring back memories. A chatterbox, a paper airplane, a lunch box, a game of noughts and clubs, a sun hat with a chin strap and a coin with “Lunch Money” written above it.

Below, co-owners Clark Wenborn and Paddy Levy, along with their colleagues, are busy preparing, cutting, packaging and transporting freshly made sandwiches and salads to the refrigerated aisle and waiting customers.

The chicken and avocado sandwiches are running low, but Wenborn places a sign indicating more are on the way. At lunchtime, customers stream in, each studying the sandwiches, ordering a Mecca Bean coffee and selecting a killer python. Most of them talk to Wennborn and Levy.

Some stay and eat at the window counter or on the sidewalk seating, others head off to eat their sandwich in a park or at their desk.

Wenborn, Levy and co-founder Matt Wise opened It’s Recess in March. While working for a food company, they bonded over their love of sandwiches and the daily search for lunch options that weren’t huge, fancy, or wallet-busting.

“There’s definitely a sandwich boom in Sydney and I’m here for it,” says Wenborn. “Incredible, high quality, quite large sandwiches.”

“We have seen that no one is reaching out to this middle sector. People who want something not too fancy, with simple combinations that are well executed and at more affordable prices for an office lunch.”

With that in mind, prices at It’s Recess start at $8.90 for a toastie—get the rich, cheesy, crispy-but-gooey tuna melt—and go up to $11.90 for sliced ​​sandwiches. The Bella with house-roasted tomatoes, basil pesto, pickled zucchini and balsamic glaze is a winner.

All come in light but beautifully chewy sourdough slices from Infinity Bakery, which also supplies the pastries.

As a specialist shop for high-quality sandwiches, the salads are also excellent. Get the Chicken and Greens Salad with Pesto Dressing ($14.90) and experience a meal that isn’t just a huge clump of exotic lettuce with some poultry in the corner.

This salad is an unbridled, well-measured bonanza of free-range poached chicken, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, feta, pickled onions and pepitas.

There are also popular bacon and egg rolls and a delicate pea and avocado crostini that Levy created to use all of the produce throughout the week.

“There are no secrets or tricks here,” he says. “The food consists of simple classics and it is important for us to show the process so that we have a completely transparent, open kitchen.

“We’re constantly restocking sandwiches and salads throughout the day, just non-stop from morning until the end.”

There will also be yoghurt cups and gluten-free options, an expanded range of drinks and summer sandwiches are planned.

Wennborn and Levy are thrilled that their dream of such a business has become a reality and are amazed at the loyalty and love of local residents and workers.

“Every day a kid comes in and we make him a ham and cheese sandwich that he takes to school at Crown Street Public around the corner,” Levy says.

“And then there’s an 85- to 90-year-old who comes here every other day for cheese toast. Being able to provide something for everyone who comes in is pretty cool.”