Caffe Amici is one of the few restaurants I’ve been to lately which I could say definitively that I’d be coming back to again and again. And indeed, since trying the restaurant a fortnight ago and writing this blog, I have been back there.
I have walked past Caffe Amici a number of times prior to going there for a friend’s birthday and to be honest, had not assumed great things, as it looked a little dingy from the outside and it just felt old and outdated. This was partly true but also part of its appeal – Caffe Amici is no fancy swanky restaurant, it is a family run, mum and pop shop with homely Italian cooking.
I felt instantly welcome and at home when I stepped into Caffe Amici at about 6:30pm on a Friday evening. Mum and dad (well, I’m not sure they were actually mum and dad or even married) were starting to prepare the kitchen and restaurant for their evening bookings but the lady made sure I was seated, with a full glass of wine and checked on me every few minutes until my friends arrived. I wish I had taken a photo of the menu: non laminated, crinkled, yellow pieces of paper on a little clipboard. This was such a great reminder that I was in someone’s family kitchen that happened to also be opened to the public – charming!
The food was amazing. It wasn’t super heavy Italian cooking, but homely, simple, fresh dishes which was part of the reason why I could picture myself frequenting the restaurant. My linguine amatriciana was the best pasta I’ve had out in a long time. Just linguine, a spicy tomato sauce with pancetta running through it. So simple but so good. The garlic bread entree was also decent and definitely garlic-y. On that point, one of my favourite memories from the restaurant was just the smell as you walk into the restaurant – the garlic, the onion, the tomato. Yum.
Details: Caffe Amici, 1/355 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000
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