Bastardo Surry Hills

The first thing you see when you walk into Bastardo is an enormous old pasta extruder. Slowly your eyes take in a mint-green terrazzo table surrounded by dark brown bentwood chairs, walls dotted with colourful canvases and plates painted by Mikey Freedom, a kitsch bright orange lino floor and a bar framed by a fence hung with bunches of dried chillies.

Subtler touches come into focus as you pay closer attention: a shrine dedicated to Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona; red leather benches; cans of Italian tomatoes and fat bags of citrus fruits; and a beautiful wooden foosball table from the ’30s, carted back from Argentina 11 years ago.

You could be in Italy, Argentina or Surry Hills, in the 1960s or right now. And it has the same ambience as sister restaurants Bodega x Wyno and Porteño.

Bastardo’s comforting menu pulls from Joseph Valore and Elvis Abrahanowicz’s respective Sicilian and Argentinian backgrounds (Ben Milgate is also a co-owner). On the antipasti side of things there’s an 18-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano, which arrives at your table in chunks cut from a 40-kilogram wheel; fried pizzas filled with mozzarella, and a selection of classic charcuterie. .

Then comes the pasta. You might order curly mafalda with blue swimmer crab; rigatoni with green sauce and ricotta; and twists of casarecce tossed with braised duck, cavolo nero and porcini mushrooms. Secondi (think grilled swordfish and Wagyu meatballs) also feature, alongside bright, veg-heavy salads to break up the protein. Finish with house-made gelato (made using the gelato maker at Humble Bakery next door).

Bastardo’s knock-out drinks list is the cherry on top. Most of the 150-plus wines (13 by the glass) are from Italy, including from small producers. There are Italian beers and classic cocktails (think Negronis and Americanos), as well as grappa, amaro and other liqueurs – including a limoncello made in-house.