Snack Bar: Sydney’s Latest in Food, July 19, 2024

What’s on around town

• If you know what’s good for you, you’ll head to the Wildflower taproom today at 3 o’clock on the dot to get your hands on an AP bombolone stuffed with Goldstreet Cloud Curd, Messinatella and cumquat jam. The perfect pairing for a Friday arvo ale.

• Saturday’s all about Chica Bonita brekkie burritos at Noon , the standout Manly cafe. From 7am till 3pm, takeaway only.

• South Australian winery Chateau Tanunda is taking over Luna Lu ’s dining dome. Book your spot for a four-course banquet menu, plenty of Tanunda’s red drops and views over our harbour.

• Get a mini lamington from Tokyo Lamington with a special liquid version at The Republic Hotel. The $23 pour is available for the next two weeks, with coconut tequila joining dark choc liqueur, vermouth and bitters in the glass.

• A taste of Venezuela at Morena : the limited edition four-course menu is available till Monday August 12, and comes courtesy of Venezualan head chef Samuel Rivas and Diplomatico rum. It’s $150 per person and includes Diplomatico cocktails on the house. Book online.

• Book in quick: learn how to stew at this workshop (read: interactive dinner party) with Every Night of the Week’s Lucy Tweed. It’s on tonight and tomorrow.

• Shell House is bringing back The Hits , its eight-week pasta series. Each $25 serve is available for one week only, from Monday to Saturday, and there are $10 glasses of wine if you fancy, too. This week, it’s rigatoni alla vermouth, and next is spaghetti vongole.

• Yo-Chi’s Tribute Tuesday sees hard-working members of the community acknowledged each week with free swirls of frozen yoghurt. On July 23, all counsellors, psychologists and therapists can head in for a froyo on the house.

• Alessandro Pavoni’s waterside Barangaroo spot A’Mare has added theatrics to the menu. Each dish on the Italian Job set menu has a tableside element. Think a Pugliese bruschetta to start, before caesar salad and a pasta. Then it's on to a passionfruit Sgroppino to cleanse your palate before the mains. $180 per person with the option of a drinks pairing.

• Winter staycay: check in at Crown Sydney between now and February 28, 2025 with the Table for Two offer to enjoy a night in a Harbour Bridge or Opera king room, $250 dining credit, a bottle of bubbles on arrival and buffet brekkie the next day. Prices start at $799 per night.

What we covered this week

• Is Superfreak Sydney’s coolest cafe? With its sunny interiors and buttery porridge, we think it could be.

• The Maybe Sammy team splits from Public Hospitality , Jon Adgemis’s flailing empire. What does it mean for the CBD party house, Randwick pizzeria Maybe Frank and Oxford Street’s El Primo Sanchez?

• First look: the Hunter Valley’s taking it up a notch with its latest opening, a dining room at Harkham with spaghetti and blood orange Margs.

• Now open: Chatswood deli Yangga swaps cold-cuts, cheeses and dips for Korean banchan, stews and soups.

• Four to try: the late-night menus saving you in the wee hours with frites, tuna melts and bottomless noodles.

• Book now: Rafi 2.0 , a “surf-inspired” restaurant with barrelfront views, is almost here.

• First look: a Darlinghurst fave reopens with a fresh fit-out and dinner for brunch. The viral hotcake is still in residence and there are plans for it to become a wine bar by spring.

• This One Thing : salted pistachio and rhubarb flan from AP Bread.

You might’ve missed

• First look: Australia Street scores Comedor , a suave backstreet joint where Alejandro Huerta’s on the pans. There’s a $35 set menu that changes weekly – with dishes like silky corn and miso pasta and the “best cheese” the chef’s ever tasted.

• Now open: At the Loulou team’s new North Sydney four-parter – in the Walker Street precinct – the dining takes you from Japan to Europe.

• The best cafes and casual eateries of 2024 (so far) include chewy pandan cookies in a random spot, a picnicky brekkie plate, the best fillet of fish one editor’s ever had, and the final frontier of specialty coffee in Sydney.