With its soaring ceilings, sunlit atrium and soft archways, 1 Martin Place (aka the GPO) is one of Sydney’s most beautiful buildings. Restaurant owners are catching on. In mid-2024, Alejandro Saravia moved in with Latin American eatery Morena. And now, the group behind Spanish hotspots Bar by Tapavino, Balcon and Born, has opened Epula in a former shoe shop.
“The idea revolves around the building and the space,” Tapavino Group owner Frank Dilernia tells Broadsheet. “[In] Europe, most cities have a piazza in these grand old buildings, and life revolves around those places. This is our piazza, and this is our building. So I wanted to create a European restaurant.”
Dilernia’s roots in Sydney’s Spanish culinary scene run deep. His uncle ran a bunch of eateries in the former Spanish Quarter on Liverpool Street. But at Epula, he and head chef Adam Bourke (ex-Nola Smokehouse, Busta, Sunset Sabi) are delving into French and Italian flavours too.
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Broadsheet arrives early on a Friday afternoon. We could opt for an outdoor table on Martin Place or a caramel-hued velvet banquette beneath one of many low-hanging chandeliers in the dining room. But we decide to soak up the 150-year-old architecture, sinking into pink-and-white armchairs in Epula’s internal courtyard, overlooking 1 Martin Place’s vast, marble-clad ground floor. Waiters roam around in white blazers.
Bonbons land first. Their crisp shells burst open in the mouth, unleashing spicy gazpacho and a salty prosciutto. Next comes a rich, savoury Basque cheese tart sprinkled with apricots and walnuts. Then, a pretty insalata di polpo, where purple octopus mingles with crunchy celery and tangy capers.
“There’s no real cookie-cutter dishes,” Dilernia says. “I didn’t just want to create a restaurant serving the same dishes you find everywhere. There’s a little bit of Sydney spin … The chef has freedom to create.”
When we come back for a quick lunch, we’ll re-order the vincisgrassi, a lasagne that hails from Marche, on Italy’s east coast. In Epula’s version, mushrooms, prosciutto and truffle swim in a rich, creamy bechamel sauce, among layers of super-fine pasta. Come summer, we’re going more French, with a whole flathead in saffron velouté dotted with bright pink salmon caviar.
Speaking of quick lunches, Epula does a neat $55 prix-fixe at lunchtime from Monday to Friday. If your boss won’t mind, add a glass from the stunning wine list, which, like the menu, travels through Spain, France and Italy. Better still for fans of long lunches, in the spirit of great European restaurants, Epula’s kitchen is open from midday to late. Plus, you can swing by from 7.30am for coffee and pastries.
Epula
No 1 Martin Place, Sydney
(02) 9223 6802
Hours
Mon to Fri 7.30am–10pm (full lunch service begins at midday)
Sat 5pm–10pm
epularestaurant.com.au
@epula.sydney
Dining and Cooking