Vizio Caffé E Cucina

The Verdict

This William Street joint has long been the home of great Italian feeds and wine. Now, Vizio Caffe e Cucina has stepped up its game and transformed into Sydney’s first grappa bar.

For those of you unacquainted with the Italian digestif, let us explain. For starters, it’s one of Italy’s oldest and most widely enjoyed spirits. It falls into the brand category, a pomace brandy to be precise. If you’re keen to step outside the staple spirits and start sipping a few more under-the-radar drops, you’ve come to the right place.

With a big focus on grappa, you can expect the drinks menu to be loaded with an epic collection of top-shelf varietals sourced via boutique distilleries from many different regions of Italy. To crunch the numbers—there’ll be a selection of 90 of the best grappas available in Australia, and a range of artisanal grappa-infused cocktails to sink into as well. 

And if this is your first time taking the grappa plunge, the menu has been split according to region, grape variety and the ageing process, complete with an “easy to drink” section if you’re unsure where to start.

As for what’s to eat, Vizio Caffe e Cucina has all guns blazing for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you’re here in the morning, you can dig into everything from an earthy green bowl to “scraffle eggs”—a drool-worthy combo of parmesan, black truffle, scrambled eggs, chives and sourdough.

For a midday feast, there’s bagels and paninis to fill you up, plus an Italian style burger stacked with beef, mozzarella, nduja croquette, lettuce, tomato, pesto and aioli.

As for any late-night feasting, let’s just say you’ll be blessed with one hell of a house-made pasta line-up. Try the tagliatelle funghi loaded with porcini and truffle, gnocchetti all’agnello mixed with lamb ragu and potato ravioli packed with burned butter and provola.

Image credit: Supplied