What’s happening around town

• Take your nonna to Yo-Chi this Sunday, April 21, to nab a free frozen yoghurt (up to $12) with a pistachio swirl for gran. It’s to celebrate the nutty collab between the froyo spot and Pistachio Papi.

• Start next week strong with a booking at Arthur. The Surry Hills restaurant is putting its chef de partie Connor Denton in charge, and he’s got seven courses planned. Dubbed Heirloom, the pop-up is inspired by moments from his childhood: bushwalks, fishing and his first hotpot. Bookings essential.

• Snow-egg alert: Quay is bringing back its spectacular dessert – for 10 days only. From Saturday May 25 until Sunday June 10, you can savour a yet-to-be-decided flavour in Quay’s Green Room. Bookings essential.

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

• During autumn, book in at Ito, Izakaya Fujiyama or Tanuki for a bespoke snack and highball pairing. Ito’s got a Suntory Toki highball to go with quail karaage, Izakaya Fuijyama’s doing sashimi tacos and the Double Bay newcomer’s going big with Wagyu skewers and a green apple highball. Specific dates apply.

• On Wednesday May 1, A’Mare executive chef Alessandro Pavoni is dedicating seven courses to carbs, with a one-off pasta degustation. For two weeks after, a shorter five-course pasta-powered menu will star.

• Our favourites at Love, Tilly Devine are taking a road trip south, popping up at Boveda in Thirroul on Sunday April 21. The wine bar’s usual fare will get a Mexican twist – think chipotle beef tostadas, chilli sardine sangas and Margarita granitas. Bookings recommended.

• The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre is turning two – and it’s serving The People’s Banquet to celebrate. The limited-edition set menu of Aussie-Chinese favourites starts on Wednesday April 17, and includes prawn toast, Mongolian lamb and deep-fried ice-cream.

• American Express’s Backing International Small Restaurants grant program is going bigger: expanding its reach beyond Sydney, and inviting Melburnians to apply too. Small-restaurant owners can apply for one of 10 grants of $21,500. Previous Sydney recipients have included CBD social enterprise Kabul Social, Potts Point sandwich mecca Small’s Deli, Haymarket noodle joint Iiko Mazesoba and degustation-only Thai restaurant Viand.

• Until the end of April, all omakases at Besuto will start with a Suntory Toki yuzu highball – on the house. The tall fizzy drink pairs perfectly with the opening course: a Sydney rock oyster topped with yuzu jelly and finger-lime jewels.

What we covered this week

• Sad news, Sydney: Raja, the Ezra team’s “unapologetically Indian” restaurant, will close next month. “I totally understand where people are coming from. It’s just becoming tighter and tighter and tighter,” co-owner Nick Mathews-Bowden tells Broadsheet.

• First look: Mike Eggert captains Good Luck, the new Merivale joint shining bright under Bridge Street. Bolstered by flavours from across Asia, the menu is approachable and the dining room is flash. And there’s a new bread to get excited about.

• First look: Ramen Auru lands in Crows Nest, with a line one Broadsheet editor hasn’t seen the likes of since Caterpillar Club lit up the CBD last December. Punch your order into the ticket machine, hit the tatami dining room and hoover your soup at a low table.

• First look: Fabbrica says ciao to Darlo with a new 80-seat pasta and wine bar. There are favourites – cacio e pepe and cotoletta alla Milanese – and new neighbourhood-exclusive dishes you won’t find at the CBD OG.

• First look: Morena, from a top Melbourne chef, adds refined Latin American cuisine to Martin Place. Ceviche is prepped tableside, and Brazilian lamb picanha and Cuban suckling pig join Australia’s largest selection of Latin American wines.

• Now open: Today, Merivale opened Jam, a 15,000-disc record bar adjacent to Bar Totti’s in the city. It arrives with Filet-O-Fish-inspired spring rolls, yuzu highballs on tap and togarashi Margaritas.

• The Horse has galloped back onto Crown Street, reopening this week with a top WA chef and drinks by PS40.

• And, while not a restaurant, bar or cafe, this one will feed your soul. We took a first look at Capybara Bathing. The new Surry Hills bathhouse has magnesium pools, hot-stone saunas and ice scrubs.

You might’ve missed

• First look: Domo 39 is the konbini-inspired cafe in St Peters from the team behind Sydney cafes Kurumac, Cool Mac and Poketto, and Mapo Gelato. The new station-side spot is doing onigiri, bento boxes and swirls of soft-serve.

• First look: Pauly’s Deli brings subs stuffed with eight-hour brisket and an array of house-made Greek desserts to Western Sydney. The kiosk-style spot is named for its burly owner, whose hospo “apprenticeship” was a childhood spent in his parents’ takeaway shop.

• First look: Melbourne fave The Happy Mexican has moved north to the Lansdowne. Owner Julian Romero has taken over operations at the Chippendale boozer, adding birria tacos, a trio of Margs, and sundowners on the rooftop.