Overview
Hospitality super groups are having a moment in Sydney. A quartet of ex-Rockpool legends led by Corey Costelloe have launched one of the most interesting restaurant openings of the year in Marrickville, while over in Redfern, The Bat and Ball Hotel has been given a glow up by an all-star team of no less than ten hospo heavyweights.
Just a stone's throw away from there, in the former premises of The Sunshine Inn on Redfern Road, an awesome foursome of Bentley and Love Tilly alumni has managed to find some uncharted territory in Sydney's already-saturated Italian cuisine offering. A buzzy, Euro-leaning, "Italian-ish" pseudo-osteria, ATTENZIONE! Food and Wine is the passion project of Felix Colman, the part-owner and operator of Ragazzi and Fabbrica; former Yellow manager Toby Davis; Toby Stansfield of Lola's in Bondi; and Dexter Kim, an ex-Buffet Digital videographer.
(L-R) Toby Stansfield, Toby Davis, Felix Colman and Dexter Kim
Before you jump to conclusions, the choice of name has nothing to do with online memes or pickpockets. It's actually 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—fella strolled past. Since then, shouting "Attenzione!" has become a go-to callback between the friends, so it quickly emerged as the obvious name for their first venture together.
Italian pastas star on the menu, but the food offering is more of a broad-brush homage to the dining cultures of Continental Europe — with a few Asian riffs thrown in for good measure. "We've had some pretty memorable food and drink experiences in Europe," Colman says of the restaurant's melting pot of influences. "Tiny enotecas in Alba that spill out onto cobblestoned streets, noisy backstreet bistros in Paris and too many sunny aperitivos along the Med coast to count. ATTENZIONE! was created to be the buzz and vibe of all those experiences combined."
While the menu will be dynamic and shuffle regularly, there will be a few tried-and-true staples fated to be house favourites, such as the pico XL: "an almost obscenely oversized version of pico pasta", according to Stansfield. These fat, juicy strands will be the vehicle for a range of classic sauces, including cacio e pepe and nduja crema with Kinkawooka mussels.
Summoning the flavours of a French brasserie, dry-aged dairy cow steaks, courtesy of Emilio's Butcher in Rozelle, will be served with a house-made chopped green onion condiment, while charcoal-roasted free-range chicken with chicory and horseradish channels a more Teutonic energy. And because dessert should never be taken too seriously (sorry grand patissiers), there will be playful, dig-your-spoon-in, crowd-pleasing sweets to finish such as an apple baked in pastry and served with a rich tonka custard, and a pineapple, espresso cookie and whipped ganache sundae.
Snacks will also be a specialty at ATTENZIONE!, with a similarly pan-European mingle of influences, such as locally smoked trout pate served with a chicken-skin crisp and a full loaf of fougasse flatbread spread with wildflower butter.
Not to be outdone, the wine offering is as loud and wide-ranging as the food. Colman and Davis have compiled a 150-bottle cellar with plenty of homegrown drops but also an emphasis on the team's favourite Italian varietals, Nebbiolo, as well as pours from Barolo, Barbaresco and Piemonte. Expect a substantial by the glass selection, digestifs including grappas, armagnacs and amaros, a streamlined list of classic cocktails and even some funkier natural drops for those who enjoy low-intervention bottles.
"Many of the producers we've chosen for our list have really inspired us over our years of enjoying and working in wine," Colman explains. "We're really proud to hero these great people and their incredible wines, they care for the land and the providence of their craft, looking to leave the earth better than when they found it which is very important to us."
The fitout, by new Sydney-based interiors studio Coffeyhallet, boasts 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 is intended to be an extension of the lively, relaxed, welcoming vibes that the four owners hope ATTENZIONE! will be known for.
Find ATTENZIONE! Food and Wine at 180 Redfern Street, Redfern, open Monday, Thursday and Friday, 5pm–late, and Saturday–Sunday, 12.30pm–late. Head to the venue's website for more details.
Images: Dexter Kim