What’s on around town

• These are six of the best bowls of pasta around town – for less than $30. (Including two beachside lasagnes and more than a few rotating specials.)

• The next Tilly Takeover welcomes Dr Edge, Tassie’s award-winning winemaker, and Zac Green of the Waterloo Inn to the Darlo wine bar. There’ll be eight just-released drops and a snacky seven-course set menu: think potato scallops topped with Tassie urchin, and wallaby tartare. Bookings recommended.

• Weekend treat alert: is this Sydney’s best custard tart? The shiny-topped stunner is a cross between a pastel de nata and Chinese egg tart – and you can find it in Double Bay.

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• A big happy birthday to Rollers Bakehouse, which turns six today. To celebrate, the team will twice-bake its standout croissants, then fill them with vanilla malt frangipane and a piece of rainbow-flecked birthday cake, and finish them with buttercream and a candle on top. Nab yourself a box of Rollers matches when you grab the beauty this weekend.

• Need help for the final Dry July push? Book in at Kiln for the excellent chef’s menu and add a three-part matched pairing from Non. Level up with a glass of Non’s toasted cinnamon and yuzu number with a fancy fish finger for $20.

• Head to Watsons Bay Milk Bar bright and early on Thursday August 1 to start your day with a sweet treat. It'll be the place for milkshakes, croissants and hot choccies, all stacked with the just-launched Milkybar Biscoff. For the first 400 guests, the treat's on the house, and the first 1000 will get the new bar too.

• 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.

• 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

• The original Saint Peter hooked the world – but can the sequel reel it in? We visited the marble-clad sliver on Oxford Street one more time before the Nilands move to the Grand National Hotel.

• First look: It’s bluebird days only at Kakigori Kaiji, the new specialty shaved-ice shop in Haymarket. Mountains of fluffy white snow are carved from glassy blocks of ice imported from Japan – and it’s the only place in Sydney you can get it.

• Eight to try: picnicky breakfast plates are taking over Sydney – and we’re into it. Here are the best.

• First service: Rafi Urbnsurf barrels in with “sub-zero” cocktails and an excellent view. Head to Olympic Park for a Mai Tai and seafood-heavy feast, whether you hit the waves or not.

• Beau, Nomad's laneway wine bar sibling, quietly closed last weekend. But the team’s not letting go of the space, just 200 metres away from its older sibling.

• This One Thing: steak frites baguette from Frank’s Deli.

You might’ve missed

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

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

• 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.