Chicken & Pig

Being a restaurant, Pizza e Mozzarella Bar never opens before midday. After three years or so, owners Natalie Albany, Peter De Marco, Phillip Tropeano and Tom Bubner realised they were wasting a damn useful resource – two hulking wood-fired ovens.

Chicken & Pig is their solution. In the morning, the team loads joints of pork and chicken in the ovens. Before the lunch rush hits, they’re carried 150 metres down Pirie Street and dished up at this aqua-walled, one-of-a-kind takeaway shop.

There’s always a queue. Always. Thankfully, it moves fast due to the simple offerings. Choose between a roll or salad, pay upfront, then shuffle past the display of vibrant heirloom vegetables, crisp greens and condiments, pointing at what you’d like. The smoky, slow-roasted pork and chicken is carved to order at the end, crowning boxes of salad or jaw-breaking crusty rolls. Just try to resist the pork when you see the thick layer of perfect crackling peeking out from under foil.

There’s no seating inside, just a large communal table on the footpath. Regardless of the weather, you’ll probably find yourself rushing to sit down and get stuck in. Whoever said, “The first bite is with the eye” likely had visual food such as Chicken & Pig’s in mind.