Red Lantern, Annata, Bondi Trattoria, and More: New on the Resy Hit List

This Crows Nest neo-bistro and wine bar reflects the seasons and celebrates small producers — and thankfully, it’s a philosophy that can be enjoyed at home, too. Despite social distancing continuing to ease in Sydney, Annata’s At Home delivery menu remains available for the Lower North Shore. There’s also a range of takeaway snacks, light dishes or bento box-style meals, with an offering that runs the gamut from comforting mushroom shepherd’s pie to high-end sashimi.

After a complete do-over, this iconic Italian institution recently relaunched to rave reviews. Adopting a more relaxed approach, the restaurant has done away with meat, compiling a seafood-focused menu with dishes designed to share. There’s both an à la carte and sharing menu, with the latter including New South Wales buffalo mozzarella with orange and fennel salad, and yellowfin tuna cotoletta with a delicate seaweed and grissini crumb. The calibre of Ormeggio’s wine offering hasn’t faltered, with a broad range of premium Italian drops. More details here … cin cin.

A Sydney icon for more than 30 years, Bondi Trattoria is operated by distinguished veterans Joe Pavlovich (ex-Mangans Group) and manager Alasdair France. Just metres from the sand, there’s a pronounced Italian influence to the menu, with finessed comfort dishes like lasagne and silver beet, ricotta, feta and filo pie (plus excellent pastas and pizza) available for dine-in, takeout or delivery. While their legendary breakfast menu is on pause for now, it’s expected to return soon.

Home of Sydney’s pasta wheel (where cacio e pepe is theatrically served tableside from a wheel of pecorino Romano), the pillars of the Buffalo Dining Club are pasta, cheese, and prosciutto. The menu is intentionally kept tight, allowing the team to focus on quality. There are two pasta choices — usually gnocchi or the aforementioned cacio e pepe — as well as outstanding cheese and prosciutto, accompanied by an Italian wine list that also has guest appearances from Argentina, Spain and Australia. Open Thursday to Saturday for dine in, from 5 p.m. — call 9332 4052 to book.

Residing in a heritage cottage in Penrith, a western Sydney suburb that’s becoming a hotspot for drinking and dining, Percy Plunkett offers an all-day dine-in menu that includes café favourites like a breakfast burger topped with bacon and egg, mushrooms on sourdough, and a comforting Korean fried rice. Delivery is also available, with upscale pre-prepared meals, fruit and vegetable boxes, and other essentials ferried to western Sydney as part of its pantry service. The team is planning on launching pop-up dinners in the near future.

Red Lantern is another Sydney institution that’s recently reinvented itself. One of the country’s most esteemed modern Vietnamese diners, Red Lantern has swung open its door once more, welcoming guests from Thursday to Saturday with a dedicated five-course banquet. The team also offers an à la carte menu available on Saturdays (pickup only), providing regulars with a broader range of some of the restaurant’s most loved dishes, including rice cakes with tiger prawns and caramelised pork floss, and lemongrass chicken with cabbage and Vietnamese herbs. More details here.

This beloved pizza and mozzarella bar has recently extended beyond its Melbourne home, opening a Sydney outpost in Surry Hills. As its name implies (DOC is an Italian certification denoting the quality of certain foods and wines), there’s an emphasis on provenance; pizzas here are crafted from Neapolitan staples like San Marzano tomatoes, ‘00’ grade flour and buffalo mozzarella. Besides outstanding pizza, expect a comprehensive selection of cheeses and salumi, house-made lasagne, and an unmissable mini Nutella calzone. They’re not open for dine-in yet, but you can order takeaway here. 

Having reopened for dine-in, simplicity is a key philosophy at this humble Kings Cross diner. A single, long table emphasizes its communal dining approach, and a four-course set menu showcases quality, sustainable produce, with minimal fanfare. While there’s a whole new menu every four weeks, guests can always expect a standout pie for dessert — recent iterations have included quince meringue, cherry-and-custard meringue, and banana cream with chestnut caramel). More details here.

A long-awaited addition to Sydney’s bar scene, Eileen’s is the brainchild of Yarra Valley-based gin producers The Four Pillars. The space itself is beautiful in its design, with an 11-metre concrete bar taking centre stage. Guests are required to purchase either a $40 or $80 ticket, (for bookings of 2 or 4), which includes a table and a cocktail from Eileen’s impressive list. That list showcases the breadth of Four Pillars’ range, and if you’re lucky, a few treats from the snack menu, designed by chef Matt Wilkinson. Find out more.

Stiff drinks and atmosphere are the draw at this New Orleans-inspired bar in the CBD. Classic drinks like a Sazerac, a Ramos Gin Fizz or Georgia Mint Julep are solid choices and beautifully executed, while creative reinterpretations like Whatever Happened to Fey Rey? (imagine an Old Fashioned with chocolate and banana) nod to the bar’s sense of humour. Bar snacks are on point if you’re hungry, and live jazz is on every Wednesday night from 6.30 p.m.