Fabbrica was first and foremost a pasta factory for Ragazzi. Arriving on King Street in the CBD in 2020, it meant there was a six-minute walk between the Love Tilly Group’s two venues. It’s also a butcher serving the rest of the Love Tilly Group stable (Dear Sainte Eloise; Love, Tilly Devine; Palazzo Salato), a deli, coffee shop and breezy stop for a wine. A Fabbrica pasta bar came and went in Balmain, and arrived in Darlo, but as of today it makes its inner west return to a suburb that’s always been on the radar.

“When this space came up, we were like, ‘You little beauty, let’s do this,’” the group’s exec chef Scott McComas-Williams tells Broadsheet. “When you go in, the idea is that you know you’re in Fabbrica, but I want people to have a different experience depending on the suburb. It’s not a copy-paste.”

The team’s moved into the old Rowda Ya-Habibi site, up the university end of Newtown’s King Street. You’ll find Fabb staples like hot-honey-doused zucchini flowers and silky cacio e pepe, but the menu’s snackier and there’s a fully fledged, 10-metre-long bar that’s as sleek as the one at Ragazzi.

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“That’s definitely a conscious decision for the area,” McComas-Williams says. “The evening culture is stronger in this area compared to some of our other places. We’re expecting people to not just use it as a full dining space – we’re more than excited to take people that are waiting for a booking at one of our amazing neighbours’ venues.”

The area is a pretty special place for Sydney dining rooms: the ever-adored Ante, Cafe Paci and its bright plates, Pastizzi Cafe and Luke Powell’s woodfired oven at Bella Brutta are all close by. “I think Ante is my favourite place in Sydney … and we’ve got Mapo down the road, where [owner Matteo Pochintesta’s] making one of the best, if not the best, gelato around town. I’m hoping to fit in with some of my favourite chefs.”

The menu at the new King Street digs makes for breezy eating, ideal alongside the tight cocktail list and 200-bottle wine offering. The tuna crudo with wasabi and apple has been reimagined as a per-person snack, and there’s a piping-hot trio of fried sardines with a side of herby salad. There are fresh bowls, like a bottarga-topped vongole tonnarelli, and a kingfish puttanesca. Plus, a local edge: Powell’s curating the salumi offering and scoops from Mapo are stuffed into golden Fabbrica Bread Shop brioche buns.

“The foot traffic’s wild – it’s an awesome space, it’s an awesome area. The area warranted a bit of an elevated fit-out to what we’ve done in Fabbricas in the past – not taking any gloss away from our other venues, but we really put quite a lot of effort into making this a beautiful space for people to hang out.”

The Love Tilly Group made an abrupt inner west exit when it shut up shop in Balmain, after ceasing its relationship with Public Hospitality in late 2023. But now, with a pair of Kings, and a return to the inner west, the team is playing its cards just right.

Fabbrica
101 King Street, Newtown

Hours:
Mon to Thu 5pm–10pm
Fri & Sat midday–10pm
Sun miday–9pm

ciaofabbrica.com/venues/fabbrica-pasta-bar-newtown
@ciaofabbrica