Coming Soon: With Avia, an Ex-Apollo Pair Are Taking Over a Buzzy Darlinghurst Corner

Avia means “grandmother” in Latin. Also, “It’s good, it’s short, it looks good when it’s written down”. All reasons as good as any when coming up with a name for the restaurant you’ve wanted to open your entire career. “It’s been the whole purpose of me cooking and my life in hospitality,” Stefano Marano tells Broadsheet. “For me, it’s been 10 years of thinking, when is my own thing going to happen? What’s it going to look like?”

Well, when the tradies are finished freshening up the old Bei Bar & Bistro space, Avia will look good. There’s new joinery, a new colour palette and – despite retaining its Euro menu – a whole new vibe.

Marano is teaming up with Jack Reid for their first solo venture. They met while working together at Greek institution The Apollo, in Potts Point. Marano was in the kitchen (and he went on to work at Denmark’s Hart Bakery, and most recently as exec chef at Le Foote), and Reid managed the floor (before stints at Supernormal in Melbourne, and Greca and Yoko in Brisbane). They’ve got 60 seats to fill, and a particular affinity for Italian food.

“I miss cooking pasta, I miss working with doughs. Sweet or savoury, it’s something that I’ve always loved doing,” Marano says. Snacks and smaller dishes make up a big part of his menu, and as much as possible is made in-house (meaning the focaccia, the cured meats and the fresh and dried pasta, for now).

“The food is not going to be changing the world, it’s not going to be breaking boundaries in the sense of, like, people expecting fine dining. We want to be high in the casual dining, with the feel that everything we do has a purpose, everything we do is made in-house, everything we do has been thought through.”

When it’s time to open doors, make sure to order the snapper tail. It’s been scored, seasoned and then hung in the cool room, in front of the fan, for 24 hours – before being gently grilled on the hibachi and roasted in the oven, then it’s dressed with a “chilli, tangy, herby” roasted tomato picante.

A hot-ticket seat is one in front of those wide concertina windows, especially when thrown open on a bright evening to Taylor Square and its decidedly cool crowd slinking past. A chilled glass of wine in-hand, pasta on the way – standout.

For dessert, Marano’s working on a caramel semifreddo with spiced banana puree and macadamias. There’s also a take on a traditional custard tart (all grown up with chamomile custard), and a scoop of fennel ice-cream with burnt honey, carrot puree and pumpkin seeds.

“Avia is really a celebration of what my grandmother has passed on to me, in the sense of hosting people and making them feel at home. The power of food. What some good food on the table can do among people that don’t get along, people that don’t know each other, people that don’t speak the same language … ”

Avia will be in very good company once it opens later this month, with Cafe Freda’s, Paski and Theeca all within a few blocks.

Avia is expected to open at 371 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst, in late October 2024.

aviarestaurant.com
@avia_restaurant_