Attenzione! A hot new bar has opened in Redfern and it’s already getting a lot of interest. “We wanted to grab people’s attention, and the name really does that,’ says co-owner Felix Colman. 

Attenzione! Food & Wine is the first opening from four hospo mates. Felix Colman, Toby Stansfield and Toby David all worked at Yellow in Potts Point together, while fourth member Dexter Kim is a photographer and videographer, formerly from Buffet Digital. 

“We’re all long-time friends,” says Colman.  “It was just a right place at the right time, kind of thing. We were all on the same page when it came to the kind of things we like in restaurants and bars, and also what we wanted to create ourselves.”

The slick Euro-inspired bar has just landed in Redfern in the former site of The Sunshine Inn. Sydney design studio CoffeyHallet has revamped the dining room to include bold mustard walls and aniseed accents, with a centrepiece vintage Murano chandelier.

Heading up the kitchen is Toby Stansfield, who was on the pans at Lola’s, The Old Fitz and Fabbrica. The Italian-ish menu is all about statement snacks. The most eye-catching of all is a long, single strand of pici pasta smothered in a sweet scallion cream, which has taken over Instagram feeds this last week. 

The pasta is rolled by hand and since opening, the kitchen has had trouble keeping up with demand, with the dish often sold out by dinner service. “It’s a dish we haven’t been able to catch up with, it’s had a life of its own,” Colman says. “We’re working on a way to get it prepped enough that we can service the whole restaurant. It’s such a great thing to have a dish that has inspired people to come in and check us out.”

Related story: The new rules of pasta

Pasta is a feature of the menu, with the focus on lesser known shapes and strands. If the pici is sold out on your night, there’s always the mandilli di seta, or ‘silk handkerchief’ pasta, made from luscious sheets of pasta in a creamy saffron and anchovy sauce. There’s also agnolotti. “It’s such a great little vessel. Every little parcel has a burst of flavour inside it.” The Piedmont-style stuffed pasta is currently filled with beef and shiitake mushrooms in a rich buttered brodo. 

Wipe up any leftover sauce with the fougasse bread, the small sculpted loaf is served with a wildflower butter, mixed through with dried wildflowers and fennel pollen. “It has a herbaceous, perfumed flavour.”

What makes Attenzione! Stand out from similar Euro-style bars is its wine list, which includes 150 bottles from Australia, Europe and beyond. There’s a focus on the quattro’s favourite varietal – Nebbiolo, as well as representations from Barolo Barbaresco and Piemonte.

Related story: 27 pasta recipes that use 8 ingredients or less

“The wine program is really affordable. It is like a bar, in the way that the mark-ups aren’t as steep as you would find at a fancy restaurant, although these wines would be more than fitting on a fancy restaurant menu.”

Starving for Attenzione? The slick new restaurant and bar is now open on Redfern Street. Just book for lunch if you want the show-stealing pici.  

ATTENZIONE! Food & Wine
180 Redfern St, Redfern
Mon, Thu, Fri, 5pm – late, Sat – Sun 12:30pm – late
@attenzione_syd

Related story: A Mexican rooftop restaurant with poolside dining is coming to Redfern