Sydney venue operator House Made Hospitality is set to replace Baptist Street Rec. Club with a new Italian restaurant in early February.
It’s the second flip in six months for the group, following the conversion of Bondi waterfront venue Promenade into fire-fuelled Greek restaurant Etheus in July last year.
The group opened the sporting and Australiana-themed bar opened in Redfern’s Wunderlich Lane precinct early last year in the space above its South East Asian restaurant Island Radio.
Friday 30 January marks the last day of Baptist Street Rec. Club. In its place, Italian diner Vitelli’s Upstairs will open its doors on Tuesday 10 February.
Vittelli’s will take inspiration from New York red-sauce dining with a focus on warm, familiar Italian food and fresh pasta from Grana (the Sydney CBD Italian restaurant launched by House Made Hospitality Culinary Director Stephen Seckold and Executive Chef Elliott Pinn).
Rather than opting for a seasonal menu, the offering will focus on well-known Italian fare like pasta, crispy lasagna bites, porchetta ribs, Milanese (“in a few forms”), spicy caesar salad, and an range of tiramisu flavours, alongside a range of Italian cocktails.
The venue aims to loosen up as the nights progress with DJs and a cocktail bar becoming the focal point later in the evening. A late-night menu includes a Sicilian bao with Italian sausage, mozzarella and agrodolce pickled peppers, and a Calabrian chilli and stracciatella cheeseburger.
In a recent statement, House Made Hospitality thanked the bar’s patrons for being part of the story so far.
“Thank you to everyone who made this place what it was; the regulars, the late nights and the familiar faces that turned a bar into a neighbourhood. To see how we are sending things off, click “The Week of Lasts“. We hope to make the final week a big one,” said the post.
Photograph by Steven Woodburn.
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Dining and Cooking