Sometimes it’s the simple things that win us over – and we’re seeing that more and more in our hospitality scene right now with our Italian openings.
It’s good, clean hospitality, with wholesome dishes that take it back to basics. Book a table, stat.
Clarence and V, CBD
Walk in past the ’50s-style shutters at Clarence and V and you’ll be looked straight in the eye, asked how your day’s going and told to pick a seat. There’s a coaster under your glistening glass, and a coffee’s already coming. Have a strong coffee and shoot the breeze with owner Vito Mollica (who came up in the ’90s, running Kings Cross cafe Latteria, before everything got so complicated); then choose something from chef Stella Roditis’s breezy menu.
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The morning’s dippy eggs – or even the picnicky plate of cheddar, pickles, eggs, ham and bread – reflect the simplicity you’re in for. The bright green zucchinis stuffed with rice, swimming in a bright, herby avgolemono, prove how perfect this simplicity can be.
“There used to be a ton of places in Sydney like this,” Mollica told Broadsheet when the day-to-night eatery opened. “You’d go in and get a spag bol, a Pellegrino – 12 bucks and you’d go back to work.”
A whirl of sliced porchetta, served cold with herby potato salad, perhaps? With a hunk of bread and a nice glass of something Italian? Everything at Clarence and V is a case of back to first principles, with just a few smart flourishes. Videos by renowned Australian artist Shaun Gladwell dance (and skate) across one wall, while sculptures, vintage stovetop coffee makers and bunches of flowers are dotted about the teeny space.
Vineria Luisa, Enmore
While everything behind the heritage-listed Marie-Louise facade is new – new tenants (the Pavonis), new drinks (gin mostly), new food (Italian) – the feel is old. In that nice, lived-in way. Framed art runs the perimeter of the walls upstairs and downstairs, there are striped frilly skirts on the bar stools and sweet paper doilies under snacks like suppli al telefono.
And it’s the same hospitality you count on when visiting any of the couple’s other venues: Postino Osteria, Ormeggio, A’Mare, Chiosco and Cibaria. People are coming in for family dinners or boozy lunches, work meetings or drinks. They want to feed you, and they want the experience, no matter the style of the restaurant, to win.
Old-school Italian dishes that “are not mainstream” are driving Luisa’s opening menu, Alessandro told us. There’s a gnocchi-like pasta called spatzle, hailing from the north of Italy, where there’s German and Austrian influence; and tonnarelli in a classic sugo, with chicken giblets, hearts and liver. “The team are really into the inner west, because the inner west [people] are … more adventurous, let’s say, with what they’ll eat,” Anna says.
A Bologna-style lasagne, using rich secondary cuts of meat, does appear though. “It’s a mainstream dish that we’re doing properly,” says Alessandro. You go to restaurants [in Australia] and people don’t do the lasagne, or they do it very badly. They don’t do it because it’s underrated, but if they do it it’s not good.”
Cicci Food & Wine, Balmain
Peter Zuzza opened Cicci in a little space on Darling Street with his friend Steven Romanini. And in just three months it’s become a neighbourhood hotspot for Balmain’s locals. The wine list is long and varied, and works well with a lengthier menu from chef Naomi Lowry.
Will it be the ever-faithful combo of tomatoes and basil? Dressed with a simple pickled onion? Maybe charred bread swiped with a full-flavoured caponata? Or an antipasto spread? House-marinated veggies joining olives, salumi and cheese? You’re welcome to keep it at that, in the moody little space where the chalkboard menu covers one corner, and a wine rack heaves with local and international bottles.
Or, pick a pasta, cut with dressed leaves and a bowl of well-salted fries – and save room for a silky sweet classic: zabaglione, made to order and served with a savoiardi (light ladyfinger biscuit). Either way, book your spot or expect to wait – the team is buzzing from 6pm.
Dining and Cooking