The Porteno Crew Is Opening an Italian Restaurant and Bakery in Surry Hills

With big food precincts the norm in Sydney these days (see: Tramsheds and Maker's Dozen), the Porteño crew has decided to start its own. Owners and hospo legends Elvis Abrahanowicz, Ben Milgate and Joseph Valore (Bodega X Wyno, Bodega 1904) are opening two neighbouring venues along Holt Street next month.

Bastardo trattoria and Humble Bakery are set to join the 'Porteño precinct' this October. These newcomers follow the decision to move Bodega into the Wyno space back in July 2019. With five of the team's sister venues now side-by-side, Surry Hills is in store for a true food-filled haven.

"We now have all of the retail space on our corner block, so we have a little Porteño precinct going on here," says Abrahanowicz. "We've never done a bakery before, so we thought 'why not.' And then when the second space came up for Bastardo, we thought 'why not' again."

Joseph Valore, Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz

At Bastardo, expect a menu of homey dishes that will change daily and focus on seasonal produce. For the venue, the team bought an old-school pasta extruder and they'll use it to make as many different shapes and sizes of pasta as possible. While the menu won't be finalised until just before opening, it'll be vego-heavy, similar to the way the gents eat at home.

"The concept [behind Bastardo] is in the name — it's a bastardisation of Italian food," says Abrahanowicz. "[Ben, Joe and I] are all mongrel Italians in one way or another, and the restaurant will be a reflection of that. It's pretty much how we eat on the weekends. It's not going to be traditional Italian cooking or from a specific region, it'll be our interpretation of Italian food."

While the menu will be simple comfort food at its best, the fit-out will be quite loud. Think a 60s Italian vibe with green terrazzo tables and colourful paintings by artist Mikey Freedom — plus a standing aperitif bar with a foosball table that's been resurrected from the Gardel's Bar days.

Then there's Humble Bakery, where the team is taking its bread game very, very seriously. They've sourced a big four-deck oven and 100-kilogram mixer for the space, plus built huge wooden tables for shaping and making the dough.

"There will be a real buzz in the venue with bread being made right in front of you and coming out of the oven all day long," says Abrahanowicz. "We've done a lot of research and it feels like there aren't really places in Sydney where it's fresh out of the oven. People are really going to froth over it."

Wyno by Katje Ford

While Sydney's obsession with sourdough is palpable, Humble will instead focus on yeast breads like baguettes. For lunch, expect a menu of fresh sandwiches, salads and topped focaccia.

"A lot of people have been coming to Porteño and wanting to buy loaves of our focaccia, so that'll be a focus at Humble," says Milgate. "Our sourdough will come out first thing in the morning, followed by baguettes and then the focaccia will be baked in time for lunch. It's kind of like walking into a bakery kitchen, everything will be on out on display."

Apart from all that bread, the cafe will serve Mecca coffee and sweet pastries, plus gelato from its brand new gelato machine — which will serve all of the Porteño precinct venues. And, true to fashion, a few South American classics are on the docket as well, including empanadas, churros and a couple of hot dishes.

While it'll mainly be a takeaway affair, there will be a few tables for 30 all up. Expect a bright, clean space with light timber tables — and flour dust everywhere.

Bastardo and Humble Bakery are set to open on Holt Street, Surry Hills in early and late October.

Top image: Porteño by Steven Woodburn