08 Feb 2023
The first time I heard news of Spaghetti 75 popping up in Avalon I wondered why people were so pumped about a restaurant that would mainly serve pasta, literally the easiest meal to cook at home. But as I chowed down on my first order I realised I’d been indoors for too long and forgotten the all too real difference when a pro serves you up a great big bowl of “proper pasta” – especially one that’s a departure from your standard go-to flavour combo.
At Spaghetti 75 first you pick your pasta – from one of their many freshly handmade shapes, including a gluten free option – then you pick your sugo (sauce), and then you top the lot off with extras like the obligatory chilli and added helpings of burrata and parmigiano.
Hot Tip: check out the squid ink fettuccine with chilli, garlic and south Australian mussels in pomodoro sauce special. Making a total mockery of my tuna pasta sweet corn lunchbox, but I’m not mad about it.
It might seem cliché but it’s not actually possible to write about Mark and Vinny’s without calling it an institution. Founded by Mark Filippelli and the brilliantly named Vince Pizzinga it’s been a Surry Hills fixture for so long that it’s literally a part of the furniture. Specialist eateries and Sydney Restaurants that go down a certain path and fully commit to perfecting the craft of a simple but significant cuisine are the very fabric of a suburb like Surry Hills.
This one makes lush, fresh bowls of moreish pasta, from classic pesto to Sicilian pork sausage ragùs, black arancini filled with smoked carrot, and Italian bombolone that some people* would trade a child for. All wrapped up in their fun signature hashtags: #spritzandgiggles and #dontbeupsettieatsomespaghetti – make sure you use them when you’re showing off your dinner.
*this writer.
Chef Fabio’s baby takes pride of place next to the Newtown hotel on the iconic King Street strip. Serving up Italian fare with all the fanfare it truly deserves they’ve amassed a loyal following who will talk your ear off about their Amalfi Coast gnocchi del mare (pictured) and focaccia potato pancetta mozzarella. The kind of dishes you only really get from Sydney restaurants where the love for Italy runs deeper than the food, and flows through the Chef’s DNA.
We suggest you start this love affair you’re about to embark on with the house made focaccine and a plate full of carpaccio, cement it with zuppa di pesce, and then obliterate it with desserts from the bakery that should definitely include the maritozzi.
“Does exactly what it says on the tin” was a tag line that took off in the UK in the 90s and it’s exactly what comes to mind with these Dons of the Sydney CBD Italian restaurant foodie scene. Except the tin is vintage tomatoes. Not woodstain.
Chef Scott McComas-Williams crafts the pasta on the venue’s short and shifting pasta menu by hand, using prime Aussie produce. Deep respect for tradition is blended with Chef’s own unique shapes and sauces – get around the eggplant and ricotta ravioli with confit tomatoes and grated ricotta salata on top, and go wild for their ridiculously good Jerusalem artichoke parcels with brown butter and burnt paprika honey.
Pro tip: wash it down with a heady glass of one of their hand picked Sicilian reds or vermentinos. To lift a quote straight from one of their Instagram posts: local growers, tiny vineyards, big vibe. EWISOTT.
Kneading Ruby is a not so hidden gem of a Wollongong restaurant, serving up rustic pasta dishes and a modern take on Italian classics from their signature shave menu that encourages the kind of lush foodie experience Nona would be proud of.
Pair your chosen plate with a pick from the impressive wine and cocktail list, sit back and enjoy the view. soon.