Nikola Radevski studied aeronautical engineering. His brother Jovan pursued commerce. But the brothers never stopped talking about making burek—the flaky, golden filo pastry pies their Macedonian great-grandfather Bozin Radevski perfected over 100 years ago.
"We needed to continue the family tradition," Jovan explained of their decision to open Burek Brothers in Rockdale in 2018. The modest café on Bay Street, with its red paint, astroturf footpath, and 15-seat dining room decorated with family photos and a framed print of Matka Canyon, has become a pilgrimage site for Sydney's in-the-know food lovers.
"Ask anyone and they will know about gyros, they will know gozleme," said Jovan. "But even now, people will come in and ask, 'What's a burek?'"
For the uninitiated: burek is a single, handheld slice of filo pastry pie, filled with fresh ricotta and feta cheese, or lightly spiced minced beef and caramelised onions, then baked until golden. The Radevski brothers make seven varieties—savoury and sweet—from scratch each morning.
Their father Risto continued the family tradition at Rockdale takeaway shop Pella Burek before it closed in 2011. "We would have it every day," Jovan recalled. "Our dad taught us to make it."
But Burek Brothers isn't just about preservation—it's about adaptation. The pastry is lighter, made with sunflower oil instead of pork fat. Dietary restrictions are accommodated (the potato and leek option is plant-based but flavoursome). Ingredients are sourced locally: dairy from Vannella Cheese in Marrickville, meat from The Butcher Boys in Rockdale.
In August, the brothers bought pasteurising and canning machines to make their own mashtejnca (buttermilk)—a creamy fermented drink that keeps for just 24 hours. "If you went to visit your long-lost cousins in a small village overseas, they would serve you buttermilk that tastes just like this," Jovan said.
Most importantly, everything is made fresh—often to order. "If I made a burek for you today, and you picked it up Friday, all that hard work getting the pastry thin would be lost," Jovan explained.
The brothers' second goal extends beyond family: sharing burek with the wider Sydney community. Based on the queues at Lady Robinsons Beach with Burek Brothers boxes in hand, they're succeeding.