The article looks at 'Flyover Fritterie', Sydney’s Redfern-based vegetarian Indian eatery founded by Gunjan Aylawadi, rooted in Indian street food culture, the menu centres chaat, pakoras, daal khichri, pav bhaji and playful crossovers like jaffles and burgers. It also highlights the restaurant’s now-viral besan laddoo soft serve and spiced drinks programme, positioning Flyover as a vibrant, contemporary take on the joy and informality of India’s street-side food traditions.
At Regent Street in Redfern, Sydney, you may catch wafts of spiced herbs, chai and hot crispy ‘bhajis’ in the evenings, because you’ve stumbled upon Sydney’s popular vegetarian hangout, Flyover Fritterie. Starting as a tiny takeaway joint tucked into a CBD laneway in 2019, this spot has grown into a two-level Redfern staple that’s equal parts Indian street snack bar, chai shop, and experimental kitchen — and it’s becoming one of the most talked-about places for bold, inventive flavours in town.
Behind the place is artist-turned-restaurateur Gunjan Aylawadi, who opened Flyover out of a love for Indian food culture and the people behind it. Born in Delhi and trained as a computer science engineer, Aylawadi moved around the world with her family before landing in Sydney and turning her passion for veggie cooking and art into this colourful eatery. Her aim has always been to bring the joy of honest, no-nonsense Indian street food to Sydney while celebrating the unsung cooks she grew up around in India — the folks under the overpasses (flyovers) serving up crisps, chutneys and chai to anyone passing by.
At Flyover, the menu is loaded with plenty of chaat — the tangy, crunchy, colourful snacks that define Indian street food culture — but with an Aussie twist. You can order mixed onion and cabbage pakoras, tofu or paneer fritters, sabudana vada (tapioca pearls mashed into a pattie), corn bhel puri piled with puffed rice and grilled corn, or seasonal greens chaat dressed in mint and tamarind. Big-flavoured mains like coconut lime daal khichri, black daal slow-cooked for 48 hours, and pav bhaji get their own section alongside fun jaffles where dosa and peanut chutneys meet veggie fillings. Aloo tikki burgers, tandoori paneer momos and broccoli ‘wings’ round out the spread.
Flyover’s dessert program is also the talk of the town. Their iconic besan laddoo soft serve, topped by crushed nuts, was an accidental discovery made by some leftover 'besan ka sheera' the kitchen had. Now it’s their most viral offering. Along with that, there’s the rose cardamom-spiked kheer with almonds and rose petals, and a rotating ‘cake slice of the week.’ You’ll find spiced drinks inspired by traditional Indian flavours, chai-spiked cocktails, filter coffee martinis and more, making it as much a place for drinks with friends as it is for dinner.
With a flavour-forward menu full of good eats that surprise a few times over, Flyover Fritterie is a place that’s easy to keep returning to, for its joyful celebration of India’s street food culture.
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