Bar Benevento opens with giant breakfast raviolo, truffle mortadella cannoli and strega-fuelled cocktails
SYDNEY: A giant breakfast raviolo, savoury truffle mortadella cannoli and fun morning cocktails await at bustling all-day coffee and pasta bar, Bar Benevento, which opened in the Sydney CBD late last month.
Brothers Anthony and Julian Izzillo - the duo behind original city wine bar de Vine Food and Wine and acclaimed former restaurant Wildfire - have teamed up with respected cafe operator Kosta Papanikitas to create an alimentari-inspired space, where espressos at the bar with strangers are both welcomed and encouraged.
Named after the small Campanian city of Benevento where the brothers’ father was born, Bar Benevento is a deeply personal project, drawing on the traditions and memories passed down through their family.
“Our Nonno came to Australia from Benevento in 1953, post war, and spent five years working and saving before he could bring our Nonna, Dad and Uncle over,” Julian Izzillo says.
“So much of what we grew up eating came from those early years, when they started with nothing and slowly built up a life here, so bringing those flavours into Bar Benevento feels like a special way of carrying that story forward.”
Step off Bathurst St and into a buzzing yet slightly chaotic hub that’s straight out of the southern Italian coastal region, where old-school music keeps the tempo high, retro posters from Benevento plaster the windows and vintage Italian art, delicatessen goods and hand-collected wine bottles frame the room.
A giant bottle of Campania’s famed Strega liqueur, a fixture on the Izzillo family table, takes pride of place as you enter and flows through to the venue’s signature food and drinks items.
The digestif originated in Benevento in the 1800s and continues to play a key role in the city’s identity. That now extends to the new Sydney venue, with Bar Benevento securing the exclusive importation rights to 10 different variations of Strega liqueur.
Behind the bar and the black-framed arch windows to the renovated open kitchen, Co-owner and Head Chef, Tim Fisher, has drawn inspiration from the Izzillo’s childhood memories to create bold, technique-driven spins on southern Italian classics.
The breakfast menu kicks off with an oversized ricotta and egg-yolk raviolo draped in Strega-infused hollandaise, as well as tagliata steak and eggs and a breakfast antipasto that features a soft-boiled egg cooked for exactly six minutes, and Strega-infused salmon gravlax.
The traditional sweet cannoli has also had a makeover at Bar Benevento, with the crispy, house-made pastry instead filled with savoury truffle mortadella and provola cheese.
Old-school weekly pasta specials lead the lunch menu, alongside tasty plates like chicken cotoletta, panini and a selection of stuzzichini, meats and cheeses.
Fisher says he hasn’t tried to reinvent Campanian food, instead it’s been about finding unexpected ways to make its familiar flavours feel new.
“We’ve tried to create hero dishes that haven’t been done in Sydney before, whether that’s boiling and baking our taralli like a bagel so it’s soft and warm for dipping, or swapping coffee for wild mint and saffron Strega in our tiramisu,” he says.
As for the drinks, it’s never too early - or troppo presto, as the menu puts it - for a morning cocktail at Bar Benevento, with a playful list of lighter, aperitivo-style drinks all made with either the family-favourite liqueur or amaro.
Anthony says the use of the latter is a nod to de Vine, which is home to an extensive library of more than 300 bottles of Amaro from all over the world.
“It’s an important part of our DNA and we wanted Bar Benevento to share in that too,” he says.
The extensive wine list features drops from all 20 Italian regions, with a focus on those from the south of the country, as well as native Italian grape varieties grown in Australia, with prices written directly onto the glass bottle. The wine wall highlights all 20 Italian regions, with a focus on southern Italy and Australian-grown Italian varietals, with prices handwritten directly onto each bottle. Download images here.
Bar Benevento is located on the corner of Kent and Bathurst streets, on the ground floor of Adina Sydney Town Hall apartment-style hotel. It is open for breakfast and lunch from 7am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, and from 7am to 11.30am on weekends. The venue also plans to open for dinner in the coming months.
Visit barbenevento.com.au or @barbenevento on Instagram to book or for more details.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessica Wood – TFE Hotels (Public Relations Business Partner) | +61 437 242 034 | [email protected]
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ABOUT DE VINE FOOD AND WINE
Established in 2003, de Vine Food and Wine is one of Sydney's oldest and most established wine bars and restaurants. Located on the corner of Market Street and Clarence Street, in the heart of Sydney CBD. de vine is the spot to find classic Italian dishes and an excellent wine-by-the-glass selection. Long known for its popular lunches and after-work catch-ups, you’ll see the hustle and bustle of the city coming in to wind down; sinking into the banquettes or sitting up at the newly renovated bar enjoying a vino, cocktail or amaro. Freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters, our famous zucchini flowers, and artisan salumi boards might be the best way to start. Then gnocchi, market fresh fish of the day, or the cult veal cotoletta will see you through for dinner. Just a few metres from Town Hall, State Theatre, QVB and a stone’s throw from Darling Harbour, de vine is the city’s Euro-inspired wine haven. This iconic venue is now owned by brothers Anthony and Julian Izzillo. As previous co-owners of Wildfire in Circular Quay and Bar Benevento, they bring their extensive knowledge of fine food and wine to the table.
ABOUT ADINA
Adina is a proudly independent hospitality brand with more than 40 apartment-style hotels and serviced apartments across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Europe, and the UK. For more than four decades, it has brought its easy going Australian approach to some of the world's most exciting cities, from Melbourne to Munich. Friendly, unpretentious, and locally connected, Adina helps guests enjoy neighbourhood living wherever they travel. Fully equipped apartments, with kitchens at their heart, offer the flexibility, comfort, and convenience to stay your own way. It's a thoughtful approach designed to make every day away feel a little more like home. www.adinahotels.com