The Sausage Factory opens in Dulwich Hill

If there's a single goal sausage obsessives Chrissy Flanagan and her partner Jim have in their sights, it's to persuade the food-loving folk of Sydney to put aside their prejudices and rethink the humble snag.

From spicy camel pastourma to pork shoulder encased with bacon and maple syrup, there's nothing cheap and gristly on the menu at couple's first sit-down food venture, the Sausage Factory, which opened on Thursday in Dulwich Hill.

Part-bar, part-bistro, part "sausage cellar door", the new 30-seater is home to the 18-month-old Chrissy's Cuts, which sells small-batch hand-twisted sausages at festivals and to creative eateries around town, including Somer Sivrioglu's Anason and Warren Turnbull's Chur Burger. The venue is open for dinner from Thursday to Sunday on a walk-in basis.

"Beer never tastes better than it does in the brewery and we feel the same way about sausages," Chrissy says. "We wanted to have a place where people could come straight to the source."

Jim's recipes are inspired by Continental classics he enjoyed during a stint in Europe: lamb shoulder with sumac and mint, for example, and German-style pork shoulder rostbratwurst with Willie the Boatman Rachel cider and marjoram.

For wintry nights, a densely flavoured camel number is packed with cayenne pepper, fenugreek, cumin and chilli, or if you're giving meat a swerve, try the cigar-shaped pastry filled with zucchini, almond, currant and Italian scamorza cheese.

We want to be the anti-bangers and mash.

Sides and seasonal salads run from "pink and orange pickles" (think house-pickled radish and carrot) to popcorn shoots with brussels sprouts and anchovy dressing. Sourdough comes via Cronulla's Thoroughbread Bakery and butter is Pepe Saya.

"We put a lot of work into the offerings we're serving with our sausages but first and foremost it's all about the sausages," Jim says. "We want to be the anti-bangers and mash."

Chrissy, a one-time vegetarian now passionate about the provenance and quality of meat, says each sausage is made from whole prime cuts of certified free-range Australian meat, with natural casings and no preservatives, gluten or additives.

"People notice immediately on biting into one that it's actual meat," she says. "It just looks and tastes completely different from the sausages that Australians are used to eating. We use really chunky mince – you bite into it and you [can taste] the pork shoulder, bacon and fresh herbs."

Alcohol is BYO for now, but local beers and spirits will be served soon, including Poor Toms Gin and rotating brews on tap, such as a specially crafted ale from Willie the Boatman.

Apart from the French "meat dolls" by the window, the design is very much a local affair, Chrissy says. It put the couple's skills as professional project managers to good use.

The old Greek butcher's shop features hanging racks and hooks, benches by designer Benedict Maurice from The Space in Alexandria and a mural by illustrator Sindy Sinn. Crockery was made by a friend's mother in Tamworth, and the eye-catching string of sausage links in the window was knitted by Chrissy.

"It's funny how it all fits together," Jim says. "If you've met Chrissy at all it all kind of works."

Open Thu-Sun 6pm-10pm.

The Sausage Factory, 380 New Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill, thesausagefactory.com.au