'Walking down this street is a fascinating cultural experience. You'll never guess where it is'

Sydney readers stick with me. Everyone else just follow along as normal.

I spent a weekend in Cabramatta.

My home base for the visit was Cabravale Club Resort which, for the first 100 years of its life, was known as Cabravale Diggers. But last year with a re-imagined club and hefty renovation budget came a new name.

If your idea of going to the local club is Grandpa's old "Rissole" you need to get out more. Cabravale is a good place to start.

Cabravale Club Resort sits between Cabramatta and Canley Vale - hence the name - anywhere between 40 minutes to an hour south-west of the city depending on the day and time you leave.

Cabramatta has had a rocky history over the past 50 years. It became an enclave for Vietnamese migrants and refugees after the Vietnam War and in the 80s and 90s it was besieged by gang wars.

However, new policing powers and a campaign by local Vietnamese to reclaim their community saw a turnaround in the suburb's situation by the turn of the century.

As someone who remembers those unfortunate times I was keen to see how Cabramatta had transformed over the past 20 years. Starting with the club.

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Accommodation

Last November a Novotel was opened on-site at the Cabravale Resort which is basically integrated into the club and managed by it.

So staying at the hotel gives you access to all the Novotel's facilities plus all the dining, drinking and recreational options available at the club.

The hotel has 140 rooms and a separate reception on the first floor. We stayed in an Executive Suite which was a very roomy 37sq metres with King Bed and a whopping 65" TV with simple Netflix access. You had me at QR code.

The whole place still looks and feels new. Rooms start from around $215 for a Superior King and there are special packages available including a Stay & Dine, Romantic and my favourite the Family Package which gives you 50 per cent off a second room for the kids.  

It's hard to know where the hotel ends and the club starts so it's best to look at them as a whole.

Drinking and Dining

There are plenty of options in both these categories. When you walk through reception there's Caffe Vicini on the left with all day dining till midnight on weekends then the intimate Lotus Bar on your right.

My pick of the day-to-day dining facilities is District 8, a 600-seat street food precinct offering high quality Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian and Burmese cuisine. Apart from a couple of speciality items the very extensive menu is all under $20.

There's an adjoining high-end Chinese restaurant called Horizon and coming soon (by mid-2026) is Primitivo, a signature Mediterranean eatery which will complete a trio of in-house restaurants by acclaimed chef Dany Karam. Caffe Vicini as mentioned earlier and the star of the show, Magma.  

Magma only opened in mid-November 2025 and by March, 2026 had already been named 61st Best Steak Restaurant in the World. 

I don't mind a steak so I was excited to try one of the best in the world.

Restaurant manager Tim Chen suggested the Flat Iron, a 200g aged Wagyu marvel. This is not a steak for the faint of wallet. $98, no sides. It's the most outrageous thing I've ordered since a $35 BLT at the Crown in Perth.

The steak arrives having been cooked on an open fire grill fuelled by logs of Ironbark sitting proudly on display at the front of the open plan kitchen. My knife slices through the beef like it was slicing through butter. No joke.

I'm not a foodie but I know a great steak when I have one and this is world class.

I also managed two entrees: the beef tartare & the kingfish sashimi plus their signature beef jerky starter.

My wife and I also split a Crème Brûlée which was as decadent as you'd hope. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in Cabramatta, a predominantly working-class suburb. 

The restaurant was full which is stunning when you think steak prices start at $54 and sides at $15. So much for a schnitty at the local club bistro. 

Activities

So, away from the club what else is there to do?

First thing I always recommend is to go for an early morning walk. Somehow the mornings show off a place unfiltered before the mask slips on during business hours.

Cabramatta didn't disappoint. In the park opposite the club there were seniors doing tai chi and one generation younger playing badminton.

The club sits between Canley Vale and Cabramatta stations about five minutes walk from each, so very handy if you don't want to drive out here. 

Near the station on Canley Vale Road I came across a hot bread shop with Vietnamese shift workers lining up for a banh mi breakfast at 7am. I bought a couple of fresh croissants which were as good as I've had anywhere.

On the other side of the club up towards Cabramatta station I stopped and admired the beautiful murals adorning the PCYC Fairfield-Cabramatta which were created by Sydney artist Hun Sopheak with support from Cambodian Living Arts & Culture.

The art trail didn't end there. The Cabramatta Woolies also has murals, this time with classic Vietnamese scenes.

All this and I still haven't got to the big drawcard around here, John Street, home to the biggest concentration of Vietnamese restaurants in Sydney.

Walking up and down here is a fascinating cultural experience and a compelling reason for a weekend away in Cabramatta on its own.

I didn't know which one to choose for lunch so went for the one ranked #1 on Tripadvisor, Tan Viet. Everyone raved about the Crispy Skin Chicken and Tomato Rice.

I don't need much encouragement to eat fried chicken and after one bite I didn't need any encouragement at all. 

As much as I would've liked to trawl more restaurants on John St I thought I should see what other local attractions there were. 

Ten minutes away were the Fairfield Markets, one of the biggest markets in Western Sydney, at Fairfield Showground every Saturday.

Between them the 600 stalls seemed to carry just about everything from produce to clothing, knick knacks, tools, rides for the kids and a mobile barber van.

I wouldn't say there were a lot of high quality goods but the women's clothing seemed good value, not to mention a few surprises. I didn't know, for example, that Louis Vuitton made drawstring shorts.

A ten-minute drive the other way brought us to Sydney Outlet Village, a giant discount centre with over 80 clothing and accessory brand name stores although I didn't see any Louis Vuitton shorts. 

If you're taking advantage of Cabravale's Family Package and you're prepared to drive a little over 20 minutes you'll arrive at Raging Waters which I visited many years ago when it was known as Wet 'n' Wild Sydney.

I didn't get there this time but it still looks like it's a great family day out with 40 rides, slides and attractions including the huge Beach Wave Pool.

Nightlife 

If you're staying at the Cabravale club you can afford to stay out late and there are two new entertainment precincts designed for just that.

Fairfield Council is trialling a concept called The Canleys described as "Western Sydney's First Special Entertainment Precincts in Canley Heights and Canley Vale."

The year-long trial which started in November 2025 allows for live music, bars and restaurants to operate late during the week and till at least 2am on weekends. 

When to Go

If you don't want to head out here on just a random weekend you might want to book ahead and plan your stay around one of the big events on the local calendar.

The biggest of these is the Cabramatta Moon Festival held annually for the past 25 years. Market stalls, free kids activities, amusement rides, lion dancing competition, lantern parade and pho eating competition.

This year's festival is planned for September 20. 

Then to welcome in the New Year there's Illuminate New Year's Eve at Fairfield Showground with food stalls, fireworks and all round family fun.

For a new year celebration with a different flavour there's the Lunar New Year Festival next February which again takes over the town centre.

So, if you're still sceptical about Cabramatta as a Sydney staycation or an interstate vacation I've got one last tip….. don't knock it 'till you've tried it.

John Walsh travelled as a guest of Cabravale Club Resort.

He was Executive Producer of the TV travel series Getaway from 1999-2024. You can follow John on Instagram @thegetawayexpert.

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