Overview
In Sydney's crowded, ever-evolving food scene, it can seem like new openings need to shout in order to be heard. And given its bold, all-caps, exclamation-pointed name, this is something the team behind ATTENZIONE! Food and Wine — a vibrant bistro-cum-wine bar opening in Redfern — clearly understand.
This colourful new addition to the area's dining offering, which will welcome its first diners in late July, is the passion project of Felix Colman, the part-owner and operator of Ragazzi and Fabbrica, and business partners Toby Davis, Toby Stansfield and Dexter Kim, who between them boast stints at Yellow, Lola's, The Old Fitz and the hospitality-focused creative agency Buffet Digital.
After working alongside each other for years, this quartet of hospo veterans decided to make their shared dream of running a venue together a reality.
"ATTENZIONE! is the culmination of many years of friendship and experience combined with our very genuine love for great food, wine and all-round great hospitality," said Colman. "We know what makes a restaurant experience memorable and we know what makes you want to return."
Before you jump to conclusions, the choice of name has nothing to do with online memes or pickpockets. Rather, it's a reference to an in-joke between the four partners regarding an Italian friend's mother, who while visiting her daughter in Sydney would cry out "attenzione!" whenever a handsome — and potentially eligible — man walked past. Since then, shouting "attenzione!" has become such a go-to callback between the friends, and it quickly emerged as the obvious name for their first venture together.
On the menu, punters can expect plenty of sharing platters, antipasti classics and snackable Euro street eats alongside pasta-centric mains: think crispy gnocco fritto with raw beef, the traditional veal and tuna combo of tonnato vitello, and dry-aged cuts of pasture-raised dairy cows courtesy of Emilo's Butcher in Rozelle. What are sure to be the restaurant's most-talked-about dishes feature jumbo strands of house-made pico pasta, coated in a glossy slick of cacio e pepe sauce or nduja crema with Kinkawooka mussels.
Colman and Davis have balanced accessibility and quality with their internationally sourced wine selection, focusing on terroirs with well-managed vineyards and superb pedigrees. Full-flavoured drops from Piemonte and Burgundy will share the spotlight with lesser-known varieties such as savagnin and timorasso.
Taking over the former digs of The Sunshine Inn on Redfern Street, the fitout is designed by new Sydney-based interiors studio Coffeyhallet. With a vibrant mustard and aniseed palette as well as tactile leather banquettes, dark-stained Bentwood chairs and large mirrors to create a sense of space, the restaurant's decor will be an extension of the lively, welcoming vibes that the four owners hope ATTENZIONE! will be known for.
"We're creating a fun restaurant that we'd all personally love to visit time and time again," Colman said. "We really do hope it's a restaurant that'll be deserving of Sydney's ATTENZIONE! now and for many years to come."
ATTENZIONE! Food and Wine will open in late July 2024 at 180 Redfern Street in Redfern, operating Thursday–Monday. For more updates, follow ATTENZIONE on Instagram.
Images: Dexter Kim.