Vini, Surry Hills. The dining room of Andrew Cibej's new venture will have elements of popular Italian restaurant. Photo: Supplied
The chef-owner behind Surry Hills restaurants Vini and Berta is joining the launch action in downtown Sydney, opening next year in the Ash Street site jettisoned by the owners of Fratelli Paradiso. Andrew Cibej explained the yet-to-be-named venue will include a restaurant and neighbouring café-bar. "The dining room will have elements of Vini," he says. "It will feel very much like a trattoria. Simple, dare I say humble."
Its adjoining sibling will morph from day to night. "It'll start out as a little cafe during the day, with a standing area and everything made in-house," says Cibej. "At night it'll be more of a bar where you can have an aperitif or cocktail."
The chef will partner with China Lane co-owners Steve and John Anastasiou, the duo snapping up the real estate in August.
Italian chef Andrew Cibej. Photo: Marco Del Grande
The team from Fratelli Paradiso laboured long and hard to birth their own restaurant at the site, eventually pulling the pin after hold-ups with an extraction system. With that issue seemingly solved, Cibej hopes to open mid year, "but probably August". As for a possible venue name, "I've got nothing," he adds.
It won't be the only addition for the laneway precinct, with Nathan Sasi's Mercado eyeing an early 2016 launch, while rumours persist David Thompson's Long Chim will also open at Angel Place.
