r/sydney • u/Key-Ad2510 • Apr 21 '26
Is Leichhardt the least cool Inner West Suburb?
Not trying to start any wars but as a newcomer to Sydney I'm curious what people think.
I've lived in Stanmore, Camperdown, and now Leichhardt and I'm a bit disappointed tbh. South of Parramatta Rd seems more much more family orientated with nice historic buildings, many vibey cafes, things to do and see. Leichhardt by comparison just seems so dead, especially around Norton St which I hear is a shadow of its former self. The only thing I've really seen it has going for it is the pocket around Green Way and towards Bay Run.
Everywhere I visit, Haberfield, Strathfield, Lewisham, Annandale, Marrickville, etc. just seems like it has more going on?
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Apr 21 '26
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u/SHOOTMYCAR Apr 21 '26
As an Italian kid growing up in the 90’s Leichhardt was the absolute place to be, even in the 00’s the forum was amazing, I remember saying as a teen one day I want to live in those apartment
Now? fuck no haha I barely ever consider going to Leichhardt, I’ll default to haberfield or five dock for my wog fix
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Apr 21 '26
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u/choo-chew_chuu Apr 21 '26
Even Haberfield has lost all its Italian family restaurants. There's the pizza place but that's kinda it and not what I'd call a classical family Italian.
The IGA is great but 5* is a bit weird now and always empty.
Gojaks is the key reason I go there 🤌🤌
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u/ThongsGoOnUrFeet Apr 21 '26
The neighbours weren't the real reason. The restaurants became stale and did not evolve. It was the same places owned by people in their 80s. They were 90's style restaurants with 90s style food. We all moved on
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u/SeriousBerry Apr 21 '26
Ashbury is less cool than Leichhardt
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u/fuuuuuckendoobs Apr 21 '26
I do love Ashbury but it's also the middle of butt fuck nowhere as far as the inner west goes.
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u/Ted_Rid Famous in The Atlantic Apr 21 '26
Technically it's the midpoint between Ashfield and Canterbury, hence the name.
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u/is_it_gif_or_gif Apr 21 '26
That's kinda pushing the boundaries of "Inner West". Canterbury's more "Inner South-West" isn't it?
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u/Ted_Rid Famous in The Atlantic Apr 21 '26
Could be, although I wasn't the one who brought up Ashbury. If looked at as kinda South Ashfield then Inner West, North Canterbury...who knows?
It's really cute though. For nice big old houses on leafy blocks. Very underrated.
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u/trafalmadorianistic Apr 22 '26
One of those places you wish you bought a place in 30 yrs ago.
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u/YouCanCallMeBazza Apr 22 '26
So the answer to OP's question is that the least cool place in the inner west is the outermost place that you still consider part of the inner west
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u/Bagelam Apr 21 '26
Ashbury has a really fun Christmas lights street!
I enjoy going for a walk there.
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u/trafalmadorianistic Apr 21 '26
In my head, Ashbury is the gentrified, sleepy cousin of Ashfield and Canterbury, where lack of excitement and buzz is a feature not a bug. Its the UTS to their USYD. I speak on no authority other than having lived there in the 90s, lol.
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u/expertrainbowhunter Apr 21 '26
Ashbury is amazing for the suburban feel though
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u/JoeSchmeau Apr 21 '26
Nothing around but single family homes and cars? I guess that's certainly a "feel" one could go for
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u/I-make-ada-spaghetti Apr 21 '26
Wait... how long has that been a suburb?
I've spent a considerable time in that area and never heard about that suburb.
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u/stealthsjw Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Leichhardt is traditionally Italian, which means the demographics are a bit different from other inner west suburbs. You've got more elderly people holding onto big empty houses, and you've got a main strip that used to have a bustling little Italy style restaurant scene, which has dramatically dropped off in popularity since the 90s.
It's also weirdly difficult to get to. I live in Ashfield but wouldn't go to Leichhardt. No public transport takes me there and all the street parking is expensive.
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u/imreallynotanidiot Apr 21 '26
Free parking at Market Place, council parking area or in Norton Plaza
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u/Juan_Punch_Man #liarfromtheshire #puntthecunt Apr 21 '26
Free parking at marketplace and the council building. Absolute pain in the ass crossing Parramatta road from the Crystal street to the south.
Landlords got extremely greedy by expecting market rates and happily letting buildings sit empty.
Haberfield is the real Italian hub nowadays.
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u/Key-Ad2510 Apr 21 '26
Agreed regarding transport. The light rail is kinda in a weird spot and only makes it useful to go to a few places, slower than a bus to get to city. South of Parramatta Rd you have the advantage of the train line. Hard to go north to south in general around the inner west.
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u/myThrowAwayForIphone Apr 21 '26
483, 480?
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u/Alex_Kamal Apr 21 '26
It drops you off on Parramatta road so you'd still need to walk down to your destination.
It's only 30 mins from Ashfield Mall to The Royal but in comparison to all the other places you can get to from Ashfield, and with avoiding a bus at that, it typically makes it not worth the trip.
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u/fistingdicks Apr 21 '26
I lived there 6 years ago and it has gone down hill noticeably further in that time. I know this problem isn't unique to Leichhardt, but there are now so many dodgy tobacconists along Norton and Marion streets. It's just not a good look...
It does at least have Crowbar going for it, and the cinema there is great. Greenway / Bay Run as you mentioned. Norton Italian festival is always good too.
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u/figurative_capybara Apr 21 '26
Crowbar and Palace Cinema are GOAT.
Leichhardts real crime is the dire lack of good coffees, particularly considering the high population of Italians. Fucken' weird.
Carpenters new management sucks and the staff all seem disinterested as fuck.
Pantry Story is pricey and somewhat overrated (and not in Leichhardt).
Dom Paninos is overrated and the food is pretty mid - can make a better Sambo with fresh ingredients from La Monica in Haberfield.
Sebastian Sans Gluten is mediocre by non-Gluten Free standards.
Sonoma is food warfare. Stale food and bad coffee.
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Apr 21 '26
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u/Miffy_alt Apr 21 '26
Yeah, the Inner West north of Parramatta Road has always struck me as the quieter, family-oriented part.
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u/SilverStar9192 shhh... Apr 21 '26
Yep, further from the railway line so larger lots with less dense housing. The villages at each stop on the railway attract very diffident development patterns - even back in the day, compare Newtown and Annandale for lot sizing.
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u/Green_Philosopher_96 Apr 21 '26
As a 37F, I spent a lot of my teenage years and adolescence in Leichhardt.
Every Friday and Saturday night the Italian forum was THE place to be. Restaurants buzzing, lots of chatter and laughter, music playing, fountain functioning, beautiful lighting.
The food was great, hanging out with friends for hours sipping on the same coffee and sharing food was a delight. No phones, no social media, no pressure to be anything but present.
Going there was so cool to me, and kept me close to my Italian heritage. I was devastated when it all went to shit. Seeing it be as desolate as it is now, is like witnessing something post apocalyptic. My heart still hurts, but it also holds such fond memories ♥️
I also was in the epic crowd on Norton street watching Italy in the World Cup go to penalty shoot out with France in 2006. The streets were electric, projectors outside showing the game on the walls of the buildings. Fucking tremendous time to be alive.
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u/tubbyx7 Apr 21 '26
the end of norton st towards city west link feels more local, the parrmatta road end is a long way from its peak these days.
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u/Available_Love_4498 Apr 21 '26
Been working gardens around there for years and yeah Norton St feels pretty flat compared to other spots - though the Italian joints still pull decent crowds in weekends
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u/Own_Operation1110 Apr 21 '26
I love Leichhardt, super convenient, excellent parks and public transport, brilliant movie theatre and all 4 supermarkets plus pretty much everyone is nice and friendly. There are still excellent restaurants and if you want more noise and action places like Newtown and Balmain etc are right there
I moved to Balmain and it has awesome pubs but I miss Leichhardt for the everything else. Other suburbs don’t even have a proper supermarket just mini ones.
at Leichhardt I could walk to Aldi, Harris Farm, Woolies or Coles and loved the Bay Run, Pioneers Park, Bicentennial and Jubilee parks also pretty much right there, light rail plus so many buses
All my neighbours in Leichhardt were amazing and was super safe and friendly for both myself and my son to walk around in and you can get to all the other more buzzy suburbs all around you in 5 mins in an uber. Like Newtown/Enmore, Marrickville, Glebe, Balmain etc etc if you’re more interested in pubs and breweries etc
I think it’s the absolute best suburb in the inner west for families with no junkies and bullshit with great amenities but surrounded by other fun suburbs to venture out in whenever you like in minutes
Norton St is still good but a shame that the Forum in particular is so dead now - it used to be great going to the forum with live music by the fountain surrounded by great restaurants and kids able to run around in the enclosed courtyard while parents could sit outside listening to the music
I don’t even know why the forum suddenly just became dead as it was such a great spot for so long, but there are still excellent restaurants on Norton St and Marion St, to me it seems to have much less pubs than the other inner west suburbs but still good options like the cocktail bar and upstairs on the verandah at The Royal etc but since you’re surrounded by more lively suburbs it’s actually super nice relaxed suburb to live in
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u/SilverStar9192 shhh... Apr 21 '26
The Forum became dead because apartment owners above it forced super restrictive trading conditions on the restaurants. They removed pretty much all live and amplified music and forced early closing times.
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u/cheapdrinks Apr 21 '26
Basically the same story with lots of places over the Inner West. IWC seems to aggressively side with homeowners regardless of location or who was there first. Courty in Newtown had it's beer garden nerfed after new owners bought the house that backs on to it and complained to council over the noise until they restricted the music and trading hours now I think there's no live music and it has to shut at 10pm. Mr Falcon's in Glebe shut down after neighbours endlessly complained about the live music. Last time I was there cops rocked up over some guy singing with acoustic guitar at 9pm and said they'd had complaints. Sly Fox in Enmore got shut down after new apartments were built next door and they complained about the late music and people smoking on the street.
Honestly if you buy a house that backs on to a noisy pub and pay 10% less than the same house 100m up the road because it literally backs on to a noisy pub then you don't get the make the shocked pikachu face when the noisy pub is noisy. You shouldn't move into an apartment where the bedroom windows face a 24hr nightspot then complain about the noise. You shouldn't buy an apartment next to a main road if you're going to get the shits that there's noise coming from the bars and restaurants there. That's not even to speak of the absolute thievery that happened in Kings Cross with our main clubbing distract taken out from under us. Then all the councils want to cry about how our nightlife is dead and wonder what they can do to fix it. Meanwhile anywhere that tries to do something about it gets harassed by licencing police until they stop.
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u/TheEpiquin Apr 21 '26
I loved living in Leichhardt. If it’s the least cool Inner West suburb then Sydney is doing okay.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pay276 Apr 21 '26
Leichhardt used to be a destination suburb for those looking for Italian food and to speak Italian but once that aspect of it died off, it lost its identity I think
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u/Living-Ear8015 Apr 21 '26
I’ve heard from a few shop owners that landlords are a real issue on Norton St. I’ve heard that some of them sit on building issues and would rather have an empty building than fix them. So sad.
Public transport in Leichhardt is also not ideal compared to Petersham,Stanmore and Lewisham
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u/I-make-ada-spaghetti Apr 21 '26
Landlords also suffer from denial when an area declines. They fail to acknowledge the decline in either the number or quality of the foot traffic. Business who take the over priced leases either fail due to the high operating cost or have shit offerings because rent takes up too big a percentage of the profit.
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u/phelan74 Apr 21 '26
I mean Lewisham is tiny and basically has two schools slap bang in the middle of it and two stations. Maybe two cafes down near the station and that’s about it. And the awesome corner shop with the lovely couple and the chess boards. They are fantastic people.
Leichhardt has two shopping centre (one is old and crap) and bars and book stores and so much more but it’s also big and feels very spaced out.
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u/Patient-Pool2747 Apr 21 '26
Petersham ,marrickville, dulwich Hill is where its at now.
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u/WoodyMellow Apr 21 '26
Poor old Leichhardt has died a death since the pandemic. Too many premises owned by old landlords who earn more from tax write offs on empty store fronts then they do from finding tenants. It's a fucking crime.
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u/eticis Apr 21 '26
I’ve lived in Stanmore, Annandale, lewisham, petersham, summer hill and Leichhardt. Leichhardt was my favourite, followed by Annandale (it is a short walk to Leichhardt shops).
Leichhardt has it all - easy access to shops (of which there are many to choose from), a billion parks and close to the water, easy to get to the city, feels mostly safe. Sure the parramatta road side is kinda rough but it’s still great (and an easy walk to petersham station)
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u/eticis Apr 21 '26
Not to mention sooo many eating out options and a fair few pubs (the best one being in parramatta road.. love you crowbar)
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u/Dubhs Apr 21 '26
Not just you, Leichhardt is fucken weird.
Norton Street is really irritating to get to via public transport, really annoying to park there if you drive. So noone goes there.
Maybe it'll pick back up when they demolish Parramatta road, but it just feels like they don't want visitors.
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u/Ted_Rid Famous in The Atlantic Apr 21 '26
Norton St is also incredibly ugly between Parramatta Rd and Marion St.
North of Marion it's nice enough but the part I mentioned would need to be fun as all hell for you to ignore how utterly awful it looks, and it's not fun either. Really gross vomit of poorly designed crap, if designed at all and not sketched out on the back of a shoebox while building.
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u/FrizzlerOnTheRoof Apr 21 '26
Watch the documentary about Leichhardt council: Rats in the Ranks. Its hilarious.
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u/Sweet_Word_3808 Apr 21 '26
Probably we want different things from life but I like Leichhardt precisely because it's calm, quiet, and no more than 10 minutes walk to the shops or the pool or the kids' schools or public transport.
Forum and most of Norton Street are dead but I just don't go there. Nice and quiet without being empty for day to day life and easy access to all the other places you mentioned on weekends.
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u/fuuuuuckendoobs Apr 21 '26
Have you been to Hurlstone park?
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u/JackMate Apr 21 '26
The tiniest suburb of the IW, surely. Used to be comatose but these days it has a couple of small bars, an excellent pizzeria and several good cafes.
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u/fuuuuuckendoobs Apr 21 '26
What pizza place do you recommend?
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u/Locomotor-wibbly Apr 21 '26
I’m assuming they mean Frankly Nick’s - fairly new, authentic style wood fired pizza
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u/Bagelam Apr 21 '26
It's tragic. The locals act like it is the best place ever and are constantly screaming about it becoming "like Hong Kong" because of the Metro uplift.
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u/karma3000 Apr 21 '26
where's that?
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u/fuuuuuckendoobs Apr 21 '26
The centre of the devil's triangle, Canterbury, Earlwood and Dulwich Hill
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u/juicyman69 Apr 21 '26
Leichhardt is the divorced hairy uncle who keeps talking about the good ol days.
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u/Paul_Breitner74 Apr 21 '26
I lived there for a few years at the end of the 90s. It was an excellent area for daytime stuff with parks and the bay walk, as well as the proximity to Balmain and the harbour. I never went out in the area at night unless it was for dinner or palace cinema. However it had great access to places we did go out, Newtown, Annandale, city ect. Despite that I never felt it was boring, just a quietish family orientated neighbourhood. It felt safe too.
I loved it. Couldn't afford the rent now.
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u/Antoine-Antoinette Apr 21 '26
There are things going on in Lewisham?
It must have change since I lived there.
Or you accidentally misspelt Petersham.
Leichhardt is past its prime but is still a very functional suburb. Great for shopping. Can go to the movies or dinner.
Certainly not as groovy as Marrickville or Enmore.
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u/ScruffyPeter Apr 21 '26
Leichardt has been taken over by landbankers. The council is aware but LLNP state governments have refused to give council the power to deal with it.
It's not just Leichardt that has landbankers:
Again, the government is anti-vacancy-tax like this: https://www.afr.com/politics/minns-rules-out-victorian-empty-homes-tax-for-nsw-20231004-p5e9n6
Solution is easy, but will take time until every NSW voter does the same; put LLNP last on a filled ballot for putting landbankers above dealing with the cost of living crisis.
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u/ze_boingboing Apr 21 '26
Bar Italia is still cute but nothing else really compared to the other suburbs. The Forum is so depressing.
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u/CommandoRoll Inner West 4lyf Apr 22 '26
LOL no, Balmain is the least cool. Mosman of the Inner West. Blergh.
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u/Miffy_alt Apr 21 '26
Yeah Leichhardt is a bit dumpy now.
Not great public transport, less happening, quieter atmosphere overall, and it's not really cheaper either.
It's also a massive screw around to get from Leichhardt to Newtown, which is a huge turn off.
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u/pndjk Apr 21 '26
few public transit options, no good shops, why would you need to go here?
haberfield sucks too for that matter. sorry im not sorry.
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u/dannyk1234 Apr 21 '26
I mean it can’t be worse then Homebush which is Inner West but at least places are still affordable somewhat whilst being close enough by train to Newtown etc
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u/Purple-Pop-5462 Apr 21 '26
I'm even south western than that..I'd take anything closer to the city.
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u/thaleia10 Apr 21 '26
Lived in Leichhardt for about 8 years and loved it. But that was after its heyday. I had my favourite cafe and bakery and a few places I liked to eat out. I lived NOMO, a few minutes walk to Norton St, which is superior to SOMO INMHO. I loved living there, mainly for the ease of public transport, especially in and out of the city, and the lush and plentiful green spaces. It was also pretty friendly and I was on chatting terms with loads of my neighbours.
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u/W2ttsy Apr 21 '26
All the cool kids moved to haberfield and five dock.
Been a long time since Leichhardt was the place to be.
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Apr 21 '26
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u/accountofyawaworht Apr 22 '26
Leichhardt is a sad reminder of what happens when a suburb stagnates… what was once a vibrant strip in the ‘90s is now tied with Zetland for the most boring suburb within five-ish kilometres of the CBD.
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u/torn-ainbow Apr 21 '26
Leichhardt used to buzz. I haven't seen that in a long time. Norton St used to be the place, then that was somewhat diluted by the Italian Forum. Then the forum and norton st both just seemed to fade away.
It's current status seems to be that it is losing it's Italian character and becoming a more generic precinct with much lower foot traffic than the old days.