What’s happening around town

• Pop in to Love, Tilly Devine next Wednesday for a wine-focused pop-up from a clutch of good venues in Merimbula. The Aristotelis ke Anthoula team is pouring its natty drops, and Sunny’s Kiosk and Bar Superette are on snacks.

• Make a date with Hey Chu in the CBD – and bring your cash. The just-launched Happy Endings happy hour delivers a snacky menu where everything is $10 or less, but you have to pay cash. Get crispy pork cannoli for $3 and spring rolls for $5, plus a $10 cocktail and $10 burg.

• Looking for a food-filled getaway? Narooma Oyster Festival is back next weekend, on May 3 and 4. Broadsheet’s guide to Narooma will have you hitting the top spots.

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• Crown Street Sri Lankan spot Kurumba is back with its mud-crab curry night. On Wednesday May 5, book in to devour a 1.5-kilogram crab – in signature sauce – with rice, curry, roast paan and dessert for two. Bookings essential.

• Tokyo Confidential, the rambunctious bar in Tokyo’s Minato City, is taking over Rekodo for one night only next week. There’ll be four signature TC drinks on offer – including the Banana Colada, inspired by a train-station snack.

• Mosman’s Ormeggio at The Spit has just launched an $89 three-course lunch on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The menu changes fortnightly, but will include an entree, pasta and a main. Just mention the offer when you book.

• 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.

• 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. Check dates at website.

• Next Wednesday, 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.

• Until the end of May, 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

• First look: the Chica Bonita team is taking on the brekkie crowd with Noon, Manly’s just-opened cafe. There are the usual brekkie darlings, plus egg-topped potatoes carnitas, Middle Eastern filled pancakes and a decadent salted choc milkshake.

• First look: Maido is a new coffee and shokupan spot by the Provider Store and Artificer team. Head in for coffee and small bites, and to pat resident shop dog Pocari, a friendly shiba inu.

• Queen Nigella is in Sydney and she’s hitting our top spots. From a Bondi institution and a Haymarket fave, to a Marrickville warehouse restaurant and the CBD joint helmed by her “culinary hero”, here’s where the celebrity chef and food writer has been eating – and what she ordered.

• Nine to try: The best Byron Bay happy hours to bookmark for your next trip – from a $14 pizza and wine deal, to the winning combo of a beer and a smoky skewer straight from the hibachi grill.

• Coming soon: 170 Grammi, from the Via Napoli team, is bringing crisp Roman pizzas to Surry Hills.

• Vivid’s food program returns with a star-studded line-up. The program is stacked with one-off dining experiences, including a residency from one of South America’s best chefs.

• Five excellent Blue Mountains eateries that are each worth the trip – plus two shopping stops for good measure.

You might’ve missed

• 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.

• 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: 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.