- Sydney’s restaurant scene has become a battlefield.
- Big names have gone under, driven to closure by high rents and staff wages.
- But one well known food family is back with a value proposition that is winning new friends. Peter Lynch visits Potts Point’s Pasta Shop.
Running a successful restaurant in Sydney has never been tougher. The city has farewelled some of its most celebrated dining institutions, with even long-established venues finding the economics increasingly challenging.
Yet if anyone understands resilience in hospitality, it’s veteran restaurateur Paola Toppi.
Toppi was behind Machiavelli in Clarence Street, the legendary Italian dinner that for decades hosted Sydney’s media proprietors, executives, politicians and business leaders over long lunches and power dinners.
She also operated Bar M and the popular waterfront dining venue at Rushcutters Bay.
Ironically, both venues are gone, highlighting the brutal economics of Sydney hospitality. In a city where even iconic restaurants such as Quay have recently closed their doors after decades of success, longevity is never guaranteed.
But Paola Toppi has adapted and downsized. Her latest venture, Pasta Shop, occupies the former Sonora Mexican site on the corner of Bayswater Road and Ward Avenue in Potts Point. It’s a much smaller operation than her previous restaurants, but after only five weeks in business it is already buzzing.
A sublime Sunday lunch
Arriving for an early Sunday lunch, we’re surprised to find the 35-seat venue already humming. As we settle into our seats, a steady stream of diners continues to arrive. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, with none of the formality associated with some of Toppi’s earlier ventures.
Inside, timber tables and terracotta accents create a relaxed Italian trattoria feel. A courtyard adds further charm, while an open view into the kitchen gives the restaurant an energy that’s pure Italian.
Toppi herself is in the kitchen alongside a small team, overseeing every plate that leaves. Out front, her son Dave manages the dining room with warmth and efficiency, helping create the family-run feel that defines the venue.
We begin with house-made focaccia served with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic, alongside a bowl of warm wild olives and a Caprese salad. The buffalo mozzarella is luscious and creamy, perfectly matched with juicy, sweet tomatoes that taste as though they’ve come straight from an Italian summer.
Of course, at a restaurant called Pasta Shop, the pasta is the main event. The Fusilli Crab arrives coated in a lemon cream sauce with garlic and chilli. Rich with crab flavour, the dish strikes a beautiful balance between tangy freshness and comforting indulgence, while the perfectly cooked fusilli captures every drop of the sauce.
Equally impressive is the restaurant’s signature Spaghetti Machiavelli, a dish that has been delighting Sydneysiders for more than four decades. Generous servings of prawns, mushrooms, garlic, chilli and basil combine to create a sophisticated, deeply satisfying pasta with remarkable depth of flavour.
These are classic Italian favourites prepared with skill, experience and a clear understanding that quality ingredients need little embellishment.
To finish, we simply couldn’t resist the tiramisu. Creamy yet surprisingly light, it provides the perfect ending to an outstanding meal. At just $15, it also reinforces one of Pasta Shop’s biggest strengths — exceptional value.
No main course over $30
Value is central to the restaurant’s philosophy. Both pasta mains are priced under $30, a rarity in Sydney dining today, particularly when the quality is this high.
The drinks list is deliberately concise but effective, featuring a rotating selection of Italian wines, Sardinian beer and ready-to-pour cocktails from acclaimed Sydney bar Maybe Sammy. BYO is also available.
Perhaps the smartest element of the business is its embrace of takeaway. Toppi spent two years developing custom takeaway bowls designed to prevent pasta from overcooking in transit, allowing diners across the Eastern Suburbs to enjoy the same quality experience at home.
Pasta Shop is not trying to reinvent Italian food. Instead, it focuses on doing the classics exceptionally well in a relaxed setting at sensible prices.
Judging by the crowds already filling the dining room just five weeks after opening, Sydney diners have been waiting for exactly this.
For those who fondly remember Machiavelli’s glory days, Pasta Shop offers a welcome reminder of why Paola Toppi became one of Sydney’s most respected restaurateurs. For everyone else, it’s simply one of the best-value Italian meals you’ll find in the city right now.
Pasta Shop
37 Bayswater Road, Potts Point
Sydney NSW
Open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner and Thursday to Sunday for lunch.
For more, go here.
