Restaurants

23 Of The Best Spots For Pasta In Sydney Right Now

By Urban List Writers
28th Jun 2023

A bowl of pasta and glass of wine from Palazo Salato restaurant in Sydney

Pasta is familiar, easy comfort food that wraps you in its warm embrace when you need it most—and the best pasta spots in Sydney certainly know how to plate up the good stufff.

The '70s saw a boom in the Aussie pasta trade as waves of Italian immigrants introduced us to the diverse dish, and we’ve not been able to get enough of it ever since. Whether you're a traditionalist in search of the perfect carbonara or you're looking for adventurous new-world combinations, here's where to find the best pasta in Sydney. 

Palazzo Salato

CBD

From the Love Tilly Group—who has a few mentions on this list—Palazzo Salato is inspired by NYC’s Gramercy Tavern. It's the talented team's largest venue, spread across two floors in a heritage building in the CBD. At the walk-in-only bar, you'll find Americanos and nebbiolo poured alongside three of the four classic Roman pastas: carbonara, alla gricia, and (a favourite from sister venue Ragazzi) a cacio e pepe. Meanwhile, the talented team is taking their pasta to new heights thanks to a much larger kitchen space with new dishes like spaghetti alla chitarra with bottarga and egg yolk, or mafaldine with spanner crab, uni butter, and sea blight.

Buon Ricordo

Paddington

One of the best Italian restaurants in Sydney, Buon Ricordo is noted for its generous portions, delicious pasta, and impeccable service. It specialises in old-school, traditionalist dining and feels very much like a time capsule of the '80s, complete with floral tablecloths, just topped with some of the best pasta in Sydney. Their signature dish is the fettuccine al tartufovo (or truffle egg pasta), which is tossed at the table and comes topped with a fried truffle egg. It's so good, even Tom Cruise is a fan.

Fratelli Paradiso

Potts Point

This Potts Point institution is top of the list for a reason. It's easygoing neighbourhood vibes, silky house-made pasta, and interesting Italian vinos here, and has been for more than 20 years. The food is exquisite and the service is passionately European, as you’d expect with three Italians—Marco Ambrosino and brothers Giovanni and Enrico Paradiso—behind it. Dishes are scribbled on a blackboard, there's ample outdoor seating, and it exudes a certain charm that is hard to come by.

a'Mare

Barangaroo

Pasta master Alessandro Pavoni gets a second spot on this list with his refined, classically themed eatery a'Mare in the newly built Crown Sydney. With serious polish and impeccable service, a’Mare caters to the luxury sensibilities of the Crown’s intended high-roller audience. You're in for an ultra-indulgent egg spaghetti chitarra with rock lobster, green pappardelle with slow-cooked Wagyu bolognese ragu, or the impressive pesto trofie, with the macadamia pesto pounded down tableside.

Fabbrica Pasta Bar

Balmain

The CBD’s Fabbrica Pasta Shop (more on them later) has headed west, with a year-long residency inside Balmain’s historic Exchange Hotel now open. The brand’s handmade pasta, signature fluffy focaccia and imported deli selection have been copy-pasted to the Balmain pasta bar, with star dishes including the spaghetti cacio e pepe, mafaldine with nduja and prawns, and tonnarelli with sea urchin, chilli and garlic.

There are also cured meats sliced to order, tuna crudo with pasta fritta, and a cotoletta alla Milanese (a step up from your regular pub schnitty), and a wine list featuring plenty of organic/biodynamic viticulture with a focus on Italy and Australian-grown Italian varieties. While it's technically a pop-up, Fabbrica Pasta Bar Balmain is expected to trade for the duration of 2023.

Ragazzi

CBD

Fork with pasta noodle, bowl of pasta, and wine glassRagazzi is everything you want in a little CBD hideaway. With 40 seats and a reputation for serving some of the best pasta in Sydney, the place is a seriously hot ticket serving up snacks, vino and, of course, plenty of pasta. "There are so many noodle bars around the world, there was no reason there couldn’t be a pasta bar", says co-owner McComas-Williams.

"People can come in for a quick bowl of pasta and a glass of wine, or have a bunch of snacks, a couple of bowls, and a bottle of wine—it’s super accessible in that sense." The pasta options change regularly, giving you plenty of reason to pop in whenever the mood strikes. Expect plenty of non-traditional meat and seafood combos thanks to McComas-Williams' Spanish background.

Ormeggio At The Spit

Mosman

A couple of years back, Ormeggio at the Spit relaunched as a seafood-focused fine diner with a new gelato and cocktail bar to boot. It's still led by owners and chefs Alessandro Pavoni and Victor Moya, who helped shape the waterfront venue into one of Sydney's finest Italian restaurants—and that reputation still holds true. The revamped menu has been designed to share, so once you've wrapped your head around Ormeggio's divine house-made focaccia, we recommend twirling your fork around the squid ink tagliolini. With handpicked Queensland spanner crab, chilli, and parsley, it's pasta perfection.

Want the same vibe but on a budget? Head to Ormeggio's wallet-friendly, BYO and barefoot offshoot, Chiosco by Ormeggio

Alberto's Lounge

Surry Hills

Tucked away in the back streets at the north end of Surry Hills is Alberto’s Lounge. It’s aptly named for its laidback, cosy vibe, delicious dishes, and extensive wine list. It’s another string in the bow of Anton and Stefan Forte, the brothers behind Restaurant HubertFrankie's, The Baxter Inn, and Shady Pines, and is a perfect tucked away spot to down some of the best pasta in Sydney. If you imagine this level of quality and attention to detail applied to pasta, you're not far off.

10 William St

Paddington

waiter serving tableOstensibly a wine bar, this iconic Paddo hole-in-the-wall is another entry from the Fratelli Paradiso crew. At 10 William St, the focus is on good times, good wine, and good food from a broadly Italian-Aussie lean. If you do want some pasta to go with your wine—as opposed to the other way around—10 William St is the spot to do it. Make sure you check the specials board and begin with the legendary pretzel and whipped bottarga before moving on to the classic spaghetti amatriciana.

Kindred

Darlington

Kindred is the type of place you’ll go past a hundred times and never know what wonders lay inside until someone tells you it’s a must-try. If you like to leave it up to the experts, we recommend the seven-dish tasting menu for $65 but, really, you can’t go wrong with any of the pasta dishes—think enormous bowls of handmade bucatini topped with generous helpings of pork and rich tomato sauce, rigatoni bolognese, and mushroom and ricotta agnolotti.

Paski Vineria Popolare

Darlinghurst

bowl of pasta with tomato sugoPaski is the brainchild of now-shut Italian go-to 121BC and co-founder of Rootstock, Giorgio De Maria, alongside Mattia Dicati (Vino Mito Wine Imports) and chef Enrico Tomelleri (Ragazzi, Alberto’s Lounge, 10 William Street)—just casually. Downstairs, the walk-in-only wine bar is where you can order by the glass and order cheese, charcuterie and pasta. Upstairs, you'll find a pint-sized restaurant where Tomelleri dishes up a regularly changing menu with some of the best pasta in Sydney and more share-style Mediterranean dishes.

Bastardo

Surry Hills

Bastardo has had quite an impact on the Sydney dining scene already and with legends who brought you Porteño and Bodega behind it, it’s no wonder. The deli-style Italian eatery serves up an extensive list of fresh pasta made in the open-plan kitchen that spans the length of the restaurant. Their pasta is stretchy, with a firm texture while having that melt-in-your-mouth quality—a testament to the craftsmanship. The spaghetti dotted with juicy clams and bursting pockets of nduja in a white wine sauce is a definite go-to, as is the corn agnolotti. The lengthy wine list of Italian-heavy drops is the icing on the cake.

Fabbrica

CBD

Born out of lockdowns, Fabbrica is a hybrid retail-restaurant pasta haven by way of the Love Tilly Group (Ragazzi, Dear Sainte Eloise, Love, Tilly Devine). You can drop in for a deli sambo at lunchtime, score $10 negronis and snacks during aperitivo hour (3pm–5pm weekdays), tuck into bowls of top-notch pasta, and go home with oodles of noodles for your next CBF-to-cook dinner at home. We still recommend heading in and sampling these noods straight from the pasta masters—think dishes like mafaldine with cheese and pistachio and conchiglioni with nduja, mussels, and oxheart tomato. And we'd even go as far to say it does the best gluten-free pasta in Sydney.

Pilu

Freshwater

Nestled into the sandhills at the south end of Freshwater Beach is Pilu. The glass-fronted Sardinian restaurant stretches out over the landscape and has exquisite views of the sand and the sea, particularly at sunset. Handmade nuggets of fresh fregola pasta are the top attraction here for pasta-lovers and are imported from Sardinia where they are toasted to give a nutty flavour to the sharp tomato and creamy rock lobster accompaniments. 

I Maccheroni

Woollahra

Bowl of pasta“I always wanted to have the best pasta in Sydney,” I Maccheroni head chef and owner Marcello Farioli tells us. The ex-10 William Street and Fratelli Paradiso legend moved his locals' favourite I Maccheroni restaurant to Woollahra in 2018 and continues to focus on creating a neighbourhood vibe where you’ll want to dine again and again. Hailing from Emilia Romagna, Farioli serves little parcels of fresh tortelli stuffed with spinach and parmesan, macaroni with beef cheek ragu, and a never-ending rotation of specials.

Civico 47

Paddington

Opening an Italian restaurant in the former Lucio's digs was bold, yes, but Civico 47 pulls it off, with pasta made in the very capable hands of executive chef Matteo Zamboni (Ormeggio, Pilu at Freshwater, Jonah’s)—so it's not your average neighbourhood trattoria. "The menu is all about the flavours, seasonality, and quality of the produce," Zamboni said in a statement. "Simple but skilled transformations of the ingredients combined with a strong Italian influence." If we had to pick just one dish, it'd have to be the mafaldine with king prawns, bok choy, and tomato.

Pino’s Vino E Cucina

Alexandria

seafood pastaMatteo Margiotta opened Pino’s in honour of his father, and the small, homey bare-brick restaurant pays homage to his childhood dinners,  including the hanging copper pots from his family’s kitchen in Rome. A chef by trade, Margiotta says he wanted to get away from the “stiff and uncomfortable” nature of fine dining and open a place that’s like “going for dinner at your best friend’s house.” He says the key to a good dining experience lies in treating the customer as a friend and recommends first-timers try the five-course chef selection sharing degustation called Let the Italians Feed You. With seasonal ingredients, and a menu that changes constantly, there’s always a good reason to drop in.

Giuls

Surry Hills

Beneath some bright pink and white striped umbrellas on Crown Street, Giuls is where you want to head when only good vibes and a big ol' bowl of pasta will do. Cool and casual with a breezy neighbourhood vibe, behind Giuls is Rockpool alumni, Giulia Treuner—so you know it's going to be good. The menu takes its cues from Tuscan cuisine, using seasonal produce, fresh-as seafood, and, of course, handmade pasta. Think squid ink fettuccine with crab, cherry tomatoes, and chilli; vodka conchiglie, pancetta, and taleggio cheese; and rigatoni with lamb ragu. Pay attention to the nightly pasta specials too, which are where that seafood really comes into play. 

Restaurant Leo

CBD

bowl of pasta on terrazzo table topRestaurant Leo is a venture produced from the melding of minds from the twin powerhouses behind Newtown’s former Oscillate Wildly and LuMi. Tucked down Angel Place’s cobbled laneway in the CBD, it draws inspiration from both of these heritages while managing to be something entirely new. Hyper-seasonal fare with Mediterranean leanings, it’s a slick wooden-furnished endeavour that caters to the end of week-long lunch or knock-off-work Negroni, but pulls it all off with exceptional style and flair. Try the strozzapreti with pork ragu and broccolini or the spaghetti chitarra with pipis and bottagra. 

Two Chaps

Marrickville

While predominantly a vegetarian cafe and bakery, this Inner West spot also offers one of the top set menus around come dinner time. Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Two Chaps turns into a pasta haven, offering a set seasonal menu of starters, pasta dishes, and desserts for a reasonable $65 a head. To top things off, these dinners are BYO with a $10 per bottle corkage fee.

Bootleg Italian

Paddington

If you reckon the best part of a bowl of pasta is the showering of cheese on top, Bootleg Italian is ready to change your mind: this vegan joint does a menu of completely plant-based Italian dishes, including plant-based pastas like a creamy cacio e pepe, classic puttanesca, and vodka sauce-covered rigatoni with optional chilli. Gluten-free vegans are covered with GF pasta options too.

Cucina Porto

Pyrmont

bowl of red pastaFor a next-level bowl of filling fresh pasta pre-show, you can’t go wrong with Cucina Porto at The Star. Head chef Martino Pulito of Pasta Emilia fame leads the ensemble with relaxed, street-food style fare inspired by his hometown of Puglia. That means easy eats like antipasto boards and woodfired pizza, but the crafted durum wheat shapes dripping in sauce are where it’s at. Pulito keeps it fairly familiar so expect your typical faves like mussel and linguine but bolstered with fresh market fish from around the corner. There’s also a delectable schiaffoni with slow-cooked beef and lamb ragu and rosemary. 

Buffalo Dining Club

Darlinghurst

Big wheels of cheese are what made Buffalo Dining Club famous, so their signature dish, cacio e pepe is sure to curb any cheesy cravings. The bustling nook, sandwiched between the competing chaos of Kings Cross and Oxford Street, is a welcome reprieve for hungry diners in need of a quick and cheesy fix. It’s all very communal, with limited seating options making getting to know your neighbours a bit of a requirement, but the food is top-tier and makes for a great Instagram snap when they start wheeling that pasta right in front of you.

Keen for more? Here's where to find some of Sydney's best Italian restaurants

Image credit: Alberto's Lounge, Fabbrica Pasta Bar (Dexter Kim for Buffet Digital), Fratelli Paradiso, Ragazzi (Nikki To), Alberto's Lounge, 10 William St (Nikki To), Paski Vineria Popolare, Fabbrica (Nikki To), I Maccheroni, Pino's Vino e Cucina, a'Mare, Restaurant Leo, Two Chaps (Alana Dimou), Cucina Porto

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