Italian restaurants in New South Wales
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Bar Reggio
Most of East Sydney’s celebrated Italian restaurants have closed or gone upmarket, but blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Bar Reggio has retained a beautiful budget atmosphere. The walls are plastered with Ferrari flags and Rome murals, and the pasta, pizza, meat and fish dishes have stood the test of time. Closed on Sundays (church!).
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Hugo’s Bar Pizza
This indoor-outdoor neighbourhood nook has been seducing pizza fans with its delicious discs and home-style Italian fare. The marble-fronted bar and sunken velvet lounge spell luxury, but the menu won’t break the bank. Try the puttanesca pizza. If you feel like a drink, try Hugo’s Lounge Bar upstairs.
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Otto
Forget the glamorous waterfront location and the A-list crowd – Otto will be remembered for single-handedly dragging Sydney’s Italian cooking into the new century. Dishes such as strozzapreti con gamberi (artisan pasta with fresh Yamba prawns, tomato, chilli and black olives) define culinary perfection. Bookings essential.
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Grappa
The culinary highlight of Leichhardt, Grappa has an open kitchen, a snazzy bar and cream leather seats – it’s the setting for rich, succulent dishes (such as baked snapper in a rock-salt crust) and bounteous wood-fired pizzas. If it’s warm, sit outside on the terrace, sip chianti and think of Tuscany. Ahhh, Tuscany…
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Buon Ricordo
Remember the good old days, when local restaurateurs knew you well enough to select your meal for you? Well, Buon Ricordo is very 'good old days'. Let bearded chef Armando Percuoco decide whether you want the zuppa di pesce or the tagliata con rucola. The best Italian in Sydney? Reservations essential.
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Bel Mondo
Expect Mediterranean cuisine perfectly executed by chef Andy Ball in dramatic surrounds - space, views, elegance and pizzazz; very Sydney. For a more relaxed meal, the cool and casual bar is perfect for an after-work bite or a late-night supper.
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Dish
Ivy-clad walls and floor-to-ceiling glass create an atrium atmosphere at this dishy restaurant. The equally sophisticated cuisine includes pan-roasted eye fillet with potato, onion and bacon croquette.
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La Tavola
The tacky decor is all part of the Italian experience at this restaurant dishing up favourites such as chicken al funghi, pepper steak, saltimbocca, a darn good La Tavola Special pizza and the like.
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A Tavola
This is the best pasta you’ll ever have (we’re serious…forget Napoli). The menu will only have three or four dishes to choose from, but they’ll all be fantastic. The wine list is equally considered and concise. Don’t be afraid to bump elbows with your co-diners at the long communal table – chances are they’ll be too absorbed by the taste synapses firing inside their brains to notice.
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Sugo
Despite being incongruously cast next to a real-estate office in a butt-ugly ’70s brick building, Sugo is all class. There are a couple of sassy pastas and risottos on the menu, but channel your hunger towards the pizzas ($11 to $14) – authentic, thin and supertasty. The Mare e Monti (prawns, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, garlic and chilli) will make you renounce chunky modern crusts for all time.
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Pizza e Birra
Bentwood chairs clatter across the polished concrete floor; friends laugh, clink glasses and unwind; waiters spin, smile and style. Pizza e Birra is the perfect neighbourhood bistro, with enough style to be cool, and enough familiarity to be comfortable. Try the classic Capricciosa pizza – tomato, mozzarella, rocket, prosciutto and parmesan – washed down with a cold Peroni.
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Bar Quattro
As you sit admiring Hyde Park, you wouldn’t think that 10 years ago this sandstone cafe was one of Sydney’s most nefarious public toilets. Today’s comings and goings focus on the waistline rather than the zone immediately below it – chat, drink coffee and work your way through the traditional Italian menu. Sassy Euro staff and superb seafood pasta.
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Fratelli Paradiso
This stylishly underlit bistro-bakery has them queuing at the door (especially on weekends). The intimate mod room showcases seasonal Italian dishes cooked with Mediterranean zing: lots of busy black-clad waiters, lots of Italian chatter, lots of oversized sunglasses – somehow Rome doesn’t seem so far away… No bookings.
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Limoncello Ristorante
Start with the antipasto or homemade tagliani with scampi, and proceed to main dishes like the grilled lamb fillet, stuffed calzone or one of 24 traditional and gourmet pizza choices. Flavours will take you straight to southern Italy, especially if you sit in the airy covered patio out the back or snag an outdoor seat up front.
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Sopra
In-the-know gastronomes pour into this place, which is almost impossible to find above a gourmet providore on Danks St. The menu’s very seasonal, using the best fresh and imported produce from downstairs. The osso bucco, the ragu gnocchi and the antipasto platters are show stealers. Expect to wait for weekend lunch.
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Dolcetta
Perhaps it's because they double as a providore that this friendly little neighbourhood eatery can offer beautiful meals at such reasonable prices. Where else in Sydney can you find fresh, zingy blue swimmer crab pasta with garlic and lemon zest for around A$13? Try the truffled scrambled eggs for breakfast.
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North Bondi Italian Food
As noisy as it is fashionable, this terrific trattoria in the North Bondi RSL building has a casual vibe, simple but molto delizioso food and a democratic no-booking policy. Come early to snaffle a table overlooking the beach.
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Pompei’s
The pizza here is ace, but it’s the northern Italian dishes whipped up by explosive expat George Pompei that are really special. Try the handmade ravioli stuffed with spinach, ricotta and nutmeg, and leave some space for a scoop of white nectarine gelato for a beachfront promenade.
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Red Grapevine Restaurant & Bar
It arrives hot, it's hearty, rich and filling. Chorizo, tomato and cannellini bean, it is the way soup was always meant to be. This restaurant is not trying to be anything other than a fantastic Italian dining experience. BYO bottled wine only.
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Café Jolly
Jolly by name and nature you won't find any surly prima donnas here. The food is classic Italian - pasta, risotto and grills. The substantial weekend fry-up breakfasts are Jolly Special, once again by name and nature.
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Lo Studio
The sexy Deco curves of the Paramount Pictures office add glamour to this newcomer to the Surry Hills scene. The modern Italian menu covers a wide base of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes and is unafraid to be adventurous.
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Café 66
This agreeable, unreconstructed Italian eatery has good coffee and reasonably priced pasta, risotto and grills. Book ahead on Tuesday nights when half of Port tries to squeeze in for two-for-one pasta.
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La Cucina di Vino
Water views and an open corner locale make this Italian restaurant an excellent venue for a long lunch. Short on time? There's pizza too.
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La Scala
Hidden down steps and behind a couple of old brown doors, this huge cellar, covered in murals, is one of Griffith's institutions. There's nothing modern about the menu either; expect old-school recipes and house white for $5 a glass. Brilliant.
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Nimbin Trattoria & Pizzeria
You'll find outstanding pizzas ($3 a slice or $8 for three) and delicious pastas here plus live music every Thursday.
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