If you've stopped over to try the moreish, gorgeously plated Italian fare at CicciaBella in Bondi, you'll know that the hype surrounding it is justified. Now, the man behind the Bondi restaurant, as well as other Sydney institutions like Surry Hills' funky The Dolphin Wine Room and Bar, casual eatery and hangout Bondi Public Bar, and the esteemed Icebergs, is heading westwards for his latest venture.
Maurice Terzini will open a new CicciaBella outpost in Parramatta in September 2020 – just in time for the warmer evenings with a glass of rosé and a bowl of pasta with fresh frutti di mare to share between two. The restaurant will take its inspiration from the classic cuisine of traditional trattorias dotting the great Italian cities. It will find a home in the new Parramatta Square precinct, which is still under construction.
If the menu looks anything like Bondi's, CicciaBella will focus on small plates designed to share and snack on, featuring wholesome, fine ingredients: think whole sardines, flecked with parsley and spritzed with lemon, tuna crudo with calabrian chilli and bowls of steaming pasta, like the bucatini with ossobuco ragu. Is it September yet?