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Nigella Lawson loves Australia. She often visits, and when she does she tends to post about her favourite places to eat on Instagram. “Walking through the doors after a year away just felt like coming home,” the British cook and food writer wrote about her return to the Potts Point restaurant Fratelli Paradiso in early May.
She’s since dined at another longtime favourite, Sean’s Panorama in Bondi, where she says the roast chook “epitomises the perfect Sydney Sunday”. We also know she’ll make a beeline for Small’s Deli in Potts Point for a meatball sandwich, a place she dreams of as soon as her plane ticket is booked.
Nigella also has plans to eat at Chippendale’s Ester, Marrickville’s Baba’s Place, Newtown’s Cafe Paci and – another longtime favourite – Woolloomooloo’s Flour and Stone, where she likes to order the canelé and a morning bun. She’s likely to pay Josh Niland a visit at the new Saint Peter, and Randwick’s Corner 75 (reopened by the teams behind Sixpenny and Baba’s Place) is on her radar.
Since the culinary icon is here for a while (she’s hosting a series of sold-out dinners for Vivid Sydney on 6-8 June), Guardian Australia’s team thought we’d offer a few more suggestions. We think they’d get Nigella’s tick of approval.
Ante, Newtown
I’m sure Nigella has eaten many a spud but this one might take the potato cake. The potato mochi at this Japanese-ish joint is equal parts piquant and pinguid. A perfectly fried exterior cedes to a glutinous chew, served on nori and topped with an everything bagel seasoning that tastes far better than its microtrendy status might imply. Obviously there are other delights here too (a shiitake mushroom tagliatelle, a tome of a sake list) but as far as I’m aware there are no laws – yet – against ordering 10 potato mochis and calling it dinner. Just don’t say the word “fusion”.
– Michael Sun
Ormeggio at the Spit, Mosman
The marina-side Italian classic Ormeggio at the Spit feels like such a Nigella restaurant, it took a very deep scroll on Instagram and Google to confirm she hasn’t eaten there recently. With near panoramic water views, comfortably spaced wicker chairs and warm yet precise service, it is one of Sydney’s all-time long lunch spots – especially for pescatarians. The scampi done three ways is a priority order. While she’s on the north side, Nigella should also stop by the excellent Italian bakery Fiore Bread for fresh bomboloni.
– Alyx Gorman
Get Bawi, Eastwood
Tucked away in an unassuming strip mall in Eastwood’s Koreatown is a small restaurant serving Korean raw fish, or hoe. The rows of tanks and tightly packed seats might make you feel you’re in a Busan wet market, and the servings are generous and flavoursome. A seafood lover would be lost for choice here with everything from salmon or grouper to oysters, prawns and crabs. There are also hearty rice bowls and addictive noodles tossed in a nutty perilla oil and seaweed. But the banchan are the best surprise. These complimentary side dishes casually include huge fresh prawns and sharp (almost boozy) kimchi that pairs well with all the seafood.
– Bertin Huynh
Bar Italia, Leichhardt
There’s a reason the prime minister chose to go to Bar Italia for a coffee the day after winning the federal election. He knows the meaning of the word “institution”. Leichhardt’s Norton Street is home to its fair share of Italian restaurants, but Bar Italia is the oldest – it’s been serving customers since 1952 – and not much has changed. It’s still “no skim, no soy, cash only”; it still has an old-school gelato counter and neon signs in the colours of the Italian flag. This isn’t upmarket eating, but portions are generous and affordable, and you can heap as much parmesan on your pasta as the heart desires. You can’t go past the spaghetti cozze – mussels drenched in napoli sauce, lapped up with a slice of garlic bread. Bellissimo!
– Caitlin Cassidy
Lankan Filling Station, Darlinghurst
She’s a fan of Mat Lindsay’s Ester, so it would be rude of Nigella to skip this stalwart Sri Lankan diner from O Tama Carey, Lindsay’s partner. The crab curry banquet is a must (hot tip: BYO full-body bib), or hope that the specials list includes the fall-apart pork curry, or the spicy, tamarind-soured prawn curry, best mopped up with hoppers.
– Dee Jefferson
Famelia, Enmore
Before Nigella arrived in Sydney this month, she was popping a pét nat at Margaret River’s Cullen Wines. She said it was “very Australian!” before admitting she’s not the biggest fan of funky wines. I’d like to change Nigella’s mind, at this wine bar where the focus is on women winemakers and women-led winers. Here she can sample Australian drops – funky or otherwise – selected by owner-sommelier Amelia Birch, with a platter of some of Sydney’s finest produce: Iggy’s bread rolls, Pepe Saya butter, Feather and Bone’s bone ham, Bloodwood’s pecan pate, jam from Flour and Stone and chocolates from Kakawa.
– Emma Joyce
Fontana, Redfern
Nigella is crazy to skip the food, drinks and atmosphere at beautiful Fontana in Redfern. Go for the house-made ricotta and bread oozing with sweet garlic sauce, the frutti di mare and the perfect wine list – stay for the way the afternoon light hits and turns the whole room gold. This place literally glows with good energy.
– Bonnie Malkin
New Shakthi, Homebush
New Shakthi is not a Nigella venue in any sense. It’s tucked away in suburban Homebush, with mismatched plastic chairs and a menu board that often doesn’t align with what’s actually offered. Customers sometimes forgo cutlery altogether, eating rice and curry the traditional way – with their hands. But locals know it’s the go-to for a morning masala chai and dosa. There’s a delectable choice of bain marie curries and deep-fried snacks – it’s comfort food at its finest. Nigella, eat as the locals eat, and venture out to the suburbs for the real heart of Sydney.
– Sanjana Jose
