STATE WINNER
Aalia
25 Martin Pl, Sydney
(02) 9182 5880
Chef Paul Farag
Price guide $$
Bookings Recommended
Wheelchair access Yes
Open Lunch Tue-Sat; Dinner Mon-Sat
MIDDLE EASTERN
Aalia’s signature waraq simsim could well be Sydney’s most photographed dish. Yet, no picture can convey the joy that comes with rolling the finger of uni-topped rice in a whole perilla leaf and popping it in your mouth. It’s approachable yet unfamiliar, as delicious as it is refined; a bellwether of Paul Farag’s novel and exciting cooking, which channels his Egyptian heritage and broader Levantine traditions. It’s easy to get lost in the gold mine that is the menu’s mezze section, where deeply spiced eggplant mes ’a’ aha and skewered king prawns piped with tarama vie gamely for table space with impossibly tender cuttlefish and couscous tossed through a take on the Tunisian carrot salad, ummak huriyya. When it comes to mains, the endlessly juicy lamb neck shawarma in billowy saj flatbread is still the one to beat. The setting and service match the polish on the plate, completing the package deal at this standard-setter in the making.
Alberto’s Lounge
17-19 Alberta St, Sydney
(02) 9232 0881
swillhouse.com/venues/albertos-lounge
Chef Elizabeth Mitchell
Price guide $
Bookings Recommended
Wheelchair access Yes
Open Lunch Thu-Sun; Dinner daily
ITALIAN
Anchovy toast has gained peak popularity, but Alberto’s Lounge takes the road less travelled, serving up umami-rich sardine pâté on triangles of crisp-fried crostoli. It’s a snack that embodies head chef Elizabeth Mitchell’s fun-loving and singular spirit with aplomb. This is an old-school trattoria seen through a Spaghetti Western lens, complete with natural wines, retro posters, Italo-disco tunes and personable service to match. The assured menu combines Italian custom and personality, from an unmissable entrée of seared tuna doused in clear, tomato-fragrant acqua pazza to silky hand-cut pappardelle coated in gratifying beef short-rib ragù heady with saffron and red wine. It’s a place where you order dessert – scoops of ambrosian orange-and-bay sorbetto and buffalo-yoghurt gelato that summon memories of Weis Bar summers – and call for another bottle. And while it may no longer be the new kid on the block, Alberto’s is as exuberant as ever.
Ante
146 King St, Newtown
ante.bar
Chef Jemma Whiteman
Price guide $
Bookings Not taken
Wheelchair access Yes
Open Lunch Sat-Sun; Dinner Thu-Sun
CONTEMPORARY
In bringing their interpretation of a Japanese listening bar to life, Ante’s co-owners Matt Young and Jemma Whiteman may have also inadvertently opened one of Sydney’s most exciting restaurants. So while bookings aren’t taken and you’d be unwise to rock up with more than three others, the limitations here pale beside the possibilities. Like the 2500-strong record collection, spanning Ethio-jazz to Austrian trip-hop, waiting for a spin
