Three New Spots – and One Reliable Favourite – To Check Out This Spring

The Hot List is the definitive guide to Sydney’s most essential food and drink experiences, updated weekly. Learn more.

It seems like maybe, just maybe, the sun has finally come back to Sydney. Just in time. September always feels like the start of the home stretch of the year. Pretty soon, your calendar will be clogged with office Christmas parties, end-of-year shindigs and all the other social obligations life throws at you. So while your free time still belongs to you, why not get into the swing of spring by checking out a few of our favourite places on The Hot List?

Vineria Luisa

It’s been a big 12 months for Alessandro and Anna Pavoni, the couple behind feted Italian fine diners Ormeggio at the Spit and A’Mare. After years of taking a “slow-burn” approach to growth, they’ve been on an opening spree around Sydney. First came Postino Osteria in Summer Hill, followed by Manly’s Cibaria. Then, last month, came Vineria Luisa right in the heart of Enmore Road.

Whereas some hospitality operators ratchet up the formality with each successive venue, the Pavonis have taken the opposite tack – each one of their new openings has been more casual than the last. Luisa, which inherits the space that once hosted Bar Louise (and Stanbuli before it), is the first venue from the pair that you’d say is more of a bar than a restaurant. But though Vineria Luisa is more relaxed, that doesn’t mean the standards are lower. This group calls itself Maestro Hospitality for a reason, and that service mastery is on full display here – whether you’re just sticking around for a gin and tonic, or you’re strapping in for a lengthy session of wines and snacks.

Silver’s Motel

Further up Enmore Road is Silver’s Motel, another brand-new bar with exemplary service. But instead of focusing on gin and wine like Vineria Luisa, this one’s all about whisky. There are over 350 bottles on the backbar here, available as a pour or in one of co-owner Michael Chiem’s inventive cocktails. Chiem, who owns CBD cocktail institution PS40, knows a thing or two about running a bar with staying power. And Silver’s is already nailing the careful balance of cerebral drinks and warm hospitality that PS40 perfected.

“You look at the bar and there’s 300-and-something whiskies here, which can be quite daunting,” Chiem told Broadsheet. “The idea is that we’re essentially highlighting a few rotating whiskies that we’re loving, and that we can create a conversation around.” Co-owner Tynan Sidhu shares the same mission. He wants to break down the barriers around whisky, and he’s using service to do it. “This spirit has so much romance behind it, so we want to engage new whisky drinkers, open it up and make it less intimidating,” says Sidhu.

Homer

Homer opened a handful of weeks ago, on a Tuesday. Within a couple of days, over 1000 bookings had been made. Cronulla clearly wanted a Greek restaurant like this – badly. But at the first Saturday lunch service, despite the hype, the bookings and the busyness, everything felt completely calm. Service was smooth and friendly, and dishes and drinks came out at a good pace. It’s an impressive feat for any restaurant, any time – let alone for one that’s just opened to considerable fanfare and a torrent of reservations.

Maybe it’s because owners Harry and Mario Kapoulas came up in the high-pressure, fast-turnaround world of cafes. The brothers own longstanding cafe Ham, 150 metres up the road from Homer, and they leaned heavily on their locals and regulars to help figure out what they wanted Homer to be. And what the area wanted Homer to be. And all that experience and local knowledge has translated. It might be busy, and it might be the hottest restaurant in the Shire right now, but dining here is a relaxed, almost serene, experience. The Kapoulas brothers have clearly worked extremely hard to make Homer seem this effortless. Right now, the only hard part about eating at Homer is getting a booking. The rest is easy.

Fontana

Fontana likes to call itself “a good place for a hot date,” but it’s really a good place for anything, anytime. In fact, we’ve yet to meet an occasion that this Italian diner in Redfern isn’t a great fit for. Dining solo? Half portions are a common, and very welcome, sight. Wrangling a crew together for a big birthday or an overdue catch-up? The team has got feeding and serving a large group down to a science.

Owners Daniel Johnston, Ivey Wawn and Harry Levy are hospo pros and long-time friends. And that’s the environment they’ve created here at Fontana: professional hospitality, delivered in a friendly way. It creates an atmosphere that encourages you to linger, and maybe order too much food, and have an extra round or two of drinks that you definitely don’t need. Then you’ll want to come back and do it again as soon as possible – even if it’s just to have another helping of the standout garlic bread, which is easily the best in Sydney. Actually, there’s one situation that Fontana might not work for. The high vibes and convivial atmosphere mean the dining room can sometimes get loud – so you might have to find somewhere else to take the sound-sensitive people in your life.

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