Snack Bar: Sydney’s Latest in Food, October 6, 2023

What’s on around town
• Paddington has a new Roman wine bar – but only for a flash. Rina’s Bar has popped up at the Paddo Inn, bringing a Campari-fuelled cocktail list – which also features a Grana Padano-topped Espresso Martini – and small plates to a cosy red-lit space until October 14.

• Sultry Circular Quay Mexican restaurant Londres 126 has teamed up with Cointreau to deliver a three-course menu – with matched Margaritas. Bookings are available from October 10 till the end of the month.

• Barangaroo’s Woodcut has introduced a snappy menu of lunch saviours. The Short Cut offers a selection of dishes you can count on to arrive in a midday rush, including crab cakes, raw fish plates, lobster and a $55 pepper steak with whipped sour cream.

• Carriageworks is hosting the South Eveleigh Street Party, a huge, family-friendly event featuring music by Donny Benét and Ngaiire, food by Lucky Kwong and Icebergs, and a swag of kids’ entertainment. It kicked off on Wednesday and wraps up tonight, so don’t dillydally.

• Barangaroo's rooftop bar Smoke is pouring a healthy dose of nostalgia. The Memories Vol 1 menu brings eight '90s-inspired cocktails – complete with the savoury Chicken Salt Martini and the Negroni-esque Half Time Orange.

• Robin Wagner, who was crowned the 2022 S.Pellegrino Young Chef in October will be this week representing the Asia-Pacific region at the finals in Milan. Wagner, whose mentor for the competition was Peter Gilmore, will be cooking his winning (vegan) dish, which brought smoked celeriac, Granny Smith apple and crisp taro to the mix.

• Potts Point brasserie Franca has launched a winning brunch menu complete with crumpets and caviar, bagels and smoked salmon – and it’s available until the end of November. Plus, you can add a bottomless drinks package from Moet & Chandon. Available every Saturday in spring between 11am and 2.30pm.

Yum things by cool people
• ASRC founder Kon Karapanagiotidis has co-authored a 100-recipe Greek cookbook, Philoxenia, with his mother, Sia. We chatted with him about family, culture and food’s innate connection to identity.

• Inspired by the bold graphics and colours of sardine tins, Sardine is the fashion label making vibrant, sustainability-focused pieces, while eschewing the trend for neutral-toned capsule collections.

What we covered this week
• The bold new Ricos Tacos is here, enlivening the double-storey Redfern stalwart The Norfolk with al pastor king Toby Wilson’s famed fare, an ’80s-inspired fit-out and plenty of disco energy.

• First Look: Yappari Steak, a fresh new eatery in Regent Place, arrives direct from Japan. Pick from three cuts of beef, choose a weight, then watch as your meal is slapped on a super-hot stone to cook on your tabletop.

• Sammy’s is the holiday-ready Northern Beaches cafe that’s, quite literally, perched on top of the water in Avalon’s Careel Bay. The family-run, community-focused spot is atop the marina – and has a homemade bolognaise jaffle that’s worth the drive.

• Newtown’s Sydney Cebu Lechon has packed up its Enmore Road digs and moved further west, bringing a karenderia – a casual Filipino roadside diner – to Blacktown. Find brothy beef soup, homemade caramelised pork sausages and a Cebu-style lechon (roast pork belly with plenty of crackling).

You might’ve missed
• Smoking Gringos is the new Blacktown taqueria from an an ex-Momofuku chef and Burger Head founder. Head in to savour the specialty birria tacos, a constant sell-out.

• First Look: La Prima is a completely hidden, 10-person mezcal bar hiding out the back of a standout Mexican bar on Oxford Street. It’s got a concise cocktail list and Mexican records spinning in the candlelight.

• The spin-off bakery from the Ragazzi team has branched out with its first space dedicated entirely to baked goods, Fabbrica Bread Shop. There are masala croissants, metre-long focaccias and plenty of laminated beauties.

Listen up
• This week on Around Town we share a list of the best new hotels across the country, chat to Aussie actor Pia Miranda about Looking for Alibrandi and finding her bella vita, get to know the flash new bar and grill on the north side of the bridge, and hear from The Boathouse Group crew about the breezy new spot in Rushcutters Bay.