Fontana means fountain in Italian… So we’re imagining something like Rome’s Trevi Fountain. Three coins, la dolce vita (think 1950’s movies), make a wish. All that.

Instead, as we climb the dark stairs off Redfern’s main drag, behind a barely visible door sign, we emerge into… well, more like a party than a bubbling Baroque water feature. There are people everywhere – at the bar, indoors and out, table staff buzzing between couples and groups, brandishing bottles and plates. Noise levels are high, cocktails are shaking. It’s all happening at Club Fontana. It’s a party. Una festa, as the Italians would say.

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The Fontana team has quite the CV – mostly recently from Don Peppino’s in Darlinghurst, a pop-up in what was once the Grand Pacific Ballroom (now under re-development) that popped for… well, quite some time. It was a terrific place for good wine, good food and good times.

Here chef Daniel Johnston and Harry Levy from the original collective are joined by front-of-houser Ivey Wawn to work their Italo-inspired magic on what was once Redfern’s Ron’s Upstairs.

It’s a simple fit-out, with funky light-fittings and a splash of pink and red florals across the bar and stairs, red pillars against wood surfaces, pub meets bright paint.

The menu (with a cute, stencilled fountain symbol) is slender, the drinks list full of interesting next-gen beverages and natural wines. Try a vermouth from northern Italy, aromatic and faintly fruity, just fine on the rocks. Or whatever the lively Ivey suggests. As sommelier/barperson and good-times-initiator combined, she certainly knows her stuff.

Snack on mozzarella in carozza to start – deep-fried crumbed squares of melted cheese. Or artichoke alla giudia aka roman-style, crisp-fried leaves fanning out around a juicy artichoke-y centre. The polpette di sarde, sardine-balls (as opposed to meatballs) is a winner in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce dotted with currants and pine-nuts.

Roo ragu? Why not, when this meaty bolognese is tossed around fat, properly al dente paccheri (tube) pasta. A take on baccala (Venetian salt cod) is not quite as successful, the brined fish slightly underdone, but a radicchio and orange salad is excellent winter fare, sweet and juicy, bitter and crunchy. And a couple of sebadas, deep-fried, house-made ricotta pockets drizzled with honey, make a wonderful end-of-meal treat.

There may be no physical fontana (although their insta-gram posts promise ‘a place to quench your thirst’… and ‘a sweet spot for a kiss’) but we certainly found the festa. And we’ll throw our coins in this fountain again, any time.

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