In the space of a few years, Sydney’s CBD has become a hot spot for grill restaurants. Rockpool ’s been there since 2009, but it’s now cosy with Clam Bar , Bistecca , Alfie’s , The Grill at The International and Eleven Barrack. By mid-winter there’ll be another: Rovollo, an Italian pasta and grill restaurant from the Mille Vini team.
Mille Vini is a happening Crown Street pasta joint with Wednesday-night jazz, and comes from Esper Group, the crew behind nearby Rosie Campbell’s. And where Rovollo will have a similar feel – “intimate, elevated, warm” – director Andrew Wallace tells Broadsheet the CBD dining room, taking a spot in the heritage-listed MLC Centre, will be slicker.
“It’s a historic landmark, so it’s cool to be there,” Wallace says. “The al fresco dining’s not on a busy street, which is really cool – you don’t get that often in the CBD.”
After a full-scale reno, there’ll be room for 70 across tables inside and out. An open kitchen – with marble chef’s table – is where you’ll find exec chef Cami Feliciano (ex- Woodcut , Matteo Downtown ) and just-hired head chef Zane Buchanan, who most recently was the sous-chef at Clam Bar.
“He’s a young, very bright upcoming chef. His specialty is grills – steak and seafood. Cami specialises in pasta, so it’s a nice little duo.”
A six-part pasta menu – where everything’s made in-house daily – will be led by a signature served tableside from a whopping wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. The team’s yet to finalise the dish, but our money’s on a silky spaghetti cacio e pepe. The cheesy centrepiece will crown the pasta cart set to rove between tables.
“It’ll be a bit more of a traditional restaurant [compared to Mille Vini]. We’ve got a full-sized kitchen … more space will give our chefs a bit more freedom. Cami loves doing touches of theatre, like flaming tiramisu at the table.
“We don’t love the really really fine-dining stiffness – where it’s a bit quiet, you feel a bit impolite talking and having a good time. That’s not what we want.”
The rise of Italian grill restaurants in Sydney is undeniable. And by all accounts there seems to be the demand. In September, Chris Lucas will open Grill Americano in the glassy Qantas House building.
Rovollo is slated to open in the MLC Centre, 25 Martin Place, in mid-July 2025.
@rovollo.sydney
Dining and Cooking