13 To Try: November’s Restaurant, Bar and Cafe Openings Are Full of Heavy-Hitters

• Appizza has set up shop in the old Cafe Freda’s corner on Taylor Square. And those whopping slices, from a hybrid AP Bakery-Cicerone team – signal that the buzz on that corner is set to return.

• Rosebery nabs Sydney’s only spot for Thai-style barbeque chook in a classic chicken shop setting. Find out when you need to arrive to secure your bird.

• First look: Aambra took three years to open inside a 120-year-old Rose Bay church – but the owner never lost faith.

• The Mucho team closes Negroni den Herbs Taverne – kind of. Meet its replacement: Bar Herbs, a basement bar bringing big Bar Planet energy to the CBD.

• First look: Mapo is now scooping on Oxford Street, and it’s the only spot to get your mitts on owner Matteo Pochintesta’s granita. It’s watermelon and mint at the moment, ace solo or topped with a swirl of mascarpone soft serve.

• Bar Allora does it all: $1.50 espresso, cherry-topped aperitivo spiders and quarter-sip Negronis by the Maybe Sammy guys, and day-to-night food.

• First look: The Waratah team has descended into a CBD basement, opening late-night izakaya Sakura House. Expect ripper cocktails, snacks from Cho Cho San’s ex-head chef and live Japanese jazz.

• Grill Americano, Chris Lucas’s swanky Venetian grill, touches down in the CBD – and Broadsheet Access members were some of the first to dine on Italian snacks, fresh pasta, steaks and plump orbs of mozzarella air-freighted in from Italy weekly.

• First look: Sydney Theatre Company gets the lobby bar it deserves, with a tableside Martini service, hand-whisked Bellinis and a late-night menu ready for all your post-show needs.

• It’s a great time to need a coffee in Sydney. These eight newcomers include a sleek spot in Cabramatta, an inner west outpost for the Primary team, a fully automated spot in Surry Hills and more.

• At Cafe Margaret, Neil Perry took one Broadsheet editor’s bacon and egg roll benchmark to new heights.

• First look: find outstanding broken rice, crab tapioca noodle soup and massive bamboo platters (with juicy sugarcane prawns, or pork belly) at Saigon Things in Strathfield.

• First look: At Bistro Bondi, find funky Euro plates (like anchovy-topped latkes and steak frites) from an ex-Ester chef. Plus, umbrella-topped cocktails and the personality we know and love.

Additional reporting by Lucy Bell Bird, Howard Chen, Jasmine Crittenden, Ben Hansen, Callum McDermott.