Benetti's
Brighton-Le-Sands has a new home of woodfire pizza, aperitivo, long lunches and coastal views over lazy sunsets.
Overview
There's a new Italian spot right on the waterfront in Brighton-Le-Sands, fitting into the niche of those slow, drawn-out meals that start in the afternoon and somehow turn into dinner.
Benetti's has opened inside The Brighton Hotel Sydney – MGallery Collection on The Grand Parade. The kitchen is led by Puglia-born chef Mariocristian Carella, and the menu sticks to Southern Italian staples. There's house-made pasta, woodfired pizza and a solid run of seafood. Pasta is made fresh each day using a La Monferrina machine and flour from Molino Casillo, while pizzas come out of a Marana Forni oven.
Peruse the menu, and you'll find chitarra allo scoglio with mussels, clams, prawns and calamari, plus spaghetti with king prawns, garlic, chilli and pangrattato. There's also a simple fusilli with baked tomato, basil and ricotta salata. On the pizza side, it's a mix of classics like margherita and capricciosa, plus a house number topped with nduja, hot honey and gorgonzola.
The rest of the menu leans coastal. Think kingfish crudo with pomelo, burrata with tomatoes, veal Milanese, snapper acqua pazza and a seafood stew. For dessert, tiramisu is finished at the table, and there's a Nutella pizza with banana, ricotta and hazelnut praline.
The kitchen runs from noon to midnight every day, with a format built around sharing, meaning you can order a few things, pass them around, sip, rinse and repeat.
Or if you're just coming off the beach, there's a takeaway window facing the promenade for a quick slice or something easy to carry.
Drinks sit in the aperitivo camp. The menu covers spritzes, a negroni made to share, and a few lighter cocktails designed for long afternoons. The space, designed by Paul Papadopoulos (Alpha, Nour, Bel & Brio), keeps things in that coastal Italian palette with soft peach, textures of brushed whitewash and marble, flexibly shifting into a lower-lit setup as the night goes on.
Benetti's joins the growing lineup at The Brighton, alongside Ammos Brighton by Peter Conistis, Coco's on the Beach, Sands Bar and Anita Gelato. More venues are on the way, including a Japanese restaurant, a pan-Asian spot, a steakhouse and a patisserie, all due to open by the end of 2026.
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Images: Supplied.
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