Redfern’s New Italian Deli Rosina’s Has A Lasagna Recipe With A No-Mozzarella Rule

“I could smell the bolognese from across the street.”

Someone has walked into Rosina’s, and frankly, they’ve unknowingly delivered a fairly compelling marketing strategy for the place. As it seems, Eleonora Vaccarini’s new Italian tavola calda is putting its faith in the humble pulling power of a very good ragu—with the lasagna selling out on opening weekend.

It occupies some prime neighborhood real estate at the intersection of Redfern and Elizabeth street, underneath another local newcomer, Lo Presti’s. Previously a bridal shop, the space had been largely unoccupied for a few years. Now, you’ll find trays of meatballs behind the counter, wine bottles marching along the wall and a ‘LASAGNA FOREVER’ declaration at the till.

For anyone unfamiliar with the format, a tavola calda translates literally to ‘hot table’, a place for comforting, already-prepped food. The grab-and-go for the Italians, I guess you could say. At Rosina’s, that means polpette, vegetable gratin and lasagna made using a recipe inherited from Eleanora’s nonna, the shop’s namesake.

Eleanora comes from Emilia-Romagna, the northern Italian region encompassing Bologna, Modena and Parma, where fresh egg pasta command fairly serious attention. She spent eight months perfecting Rosina’s recipe, putting friends and family through what she’s described as a sting doubling as guinea pigs and Masterchef judges. There is one non-negotiable though.

“There’s no mozzarella in it, and there never will be.”

Consider that the house position. Lasagna is the dish Eleanora wants Rosina’s to be known for, available in classic and vegetarian versions for $24 to eat in, or $19 take away. There are also limited vegan, gluten-free and dairy free options available daily or by request.

Inside, the shop has the makings of a neighbourhood ensemble film; an espresso counter, a communal table, and various mastheads sprawled across tables.

Mustard-yellow tabletops, meet timber wall panelling, terracotta floor tiles and blue houndstooth bench, with wine crates tucked underneath. Chrome stools line a shopfront window. Fluorescent tubes light the working kitchen, where a deli slicer, trays of meatballs and passata are all in plain sight. A glass display cabinet holds leeks and a net bag of onions, above it, a generous bunch of flowers shares space with a tomato box. There's even a resident chocolate labradoodle; an aptly named Bruno.

While someone sorts your lunch, there's plenty to look at. A copy of La Settimana Enigmistica, the Italian puzzle magazine, hangs from a bulldog clip. An Emilia-Romagna souvenir tea towel gets wall space. On the communal table, Sean Moran’s Let It Simmer and Towpath sit beside a striped pedestal bowl piled with oranges. They’re very symbolic coordinates for the corner spot.

The menu is just as straightforward here. Polpette in tomato sauce arrive with bread, served on brown-rimmed floral crockery with a cloth-lined wire bread basket alongside. Chicory and silverbeet, vegetable gratin and a mixed-cured plate also snake their way in.

Wine bottles line the wall with prices scrawled across glass in pink. A Crodino-branded chalkboard distinguishes between house pours and ‘fancy’ options including II Monte cortese and Nebiulina nebbiolo. The fridge announces “vini: bolle, biance, rose,” in blue marker with a 20 per cent discount written across its door if you should so choose to take away. There’s a $17 Garibaldi, an $18 Negroni and a shelf dedicated to amari and vermouth, too. 

So, the bridal shop may be gone, but ‘LASAGNA FOREVER’ feels like something this little pocket of Sydney could (and should) get behind.

Rosina's Hot Table, 34 Redfern Street, Redfern

Image credit: Jessica Best