In the former premises of The Sunshine Inn on Redfern Road, an awesome foursome of Bentley and Love Tilly alumni has managed to find some uncharted territory in Sydney’s already-saturated Italian cuisine offering: a buzzy, Euro-leaning, “Italian-ish” pseudo-osteria. Italian pastas star on the menu, but the food offering is more of a broad-brush homage to the dining cultures of Continental Europe — with a few Asian riffs thrown in for good measure. A few tried-and-true staples fated to be house favourites, include the pico XL, an almost obscenely oversized version of pico pasta. These fat, juicy strands will be the vehicle for a range of classic sauces, including cacio e pepe and nduja crema with Kinkawooka mussels.
Summoning the flavours of a French brasserie, dry-aged dairy cow steaks, courtesy of Emilio’s Butcher in Rozelle, will be served with a house-made chopped green onion condiment, while charcoal-roasted free-range chicken with chicory and horseradish channels a more Teutonic energy. And because dessert should never be taken too seriously (sorry grand patissiers), there will be playful, dig-your-spoon-in, crowd-pleasing sweets to finish such as an apple baked in pastry and served with a rich tonka custard, and a pineapple, espresso cookie and whipped ganache sundae.