COMING IN FROM THE COLD.

A bunch of new Sydney restaurants that are the places you want to be.

It’s a great time of the year for eating.

Cold weather – even in sunny Sydney - changes the choices you make, from white wine to red, from tea to coffee, from “nothing for me,” to “yes, I’ll have two helpings of sticky toffee pudding, thanks”.

A whole heap of cheese suddenly appears in the fridge that wasn’t there before. Minds – well, mine - turn to bowls of ramen, plates of pasta, and soups, lots of soups. Anything that will warm the cockles.

The sweet spot of all these new openings is the moment you cross the threshold, leaving the cold and dark and silent outside; coming into the warmth and light and noise. I’ve even added an old pub, because who does that transition better than an old pub? These are the places you want to be.

RAMEN OF MY DREAMS: IZAKAYA GAKU

There’s something very special about Izakaya Gaku by day, as the light pours in the door, falling on stacked sacks of Nagano koshihikari rice and glass jars of pickled plums. I’m the only non-Japanese speaker in the house, as staff trundle trolleys from the kitchen loaded with bowls of ramen.

I feel that Haru Inukai is one of the constant inconstants of Sydney dining. He brought his Joel Robuchon training to Galileo in the ’noughts, then combined it with his own Japaneseness at Elizabeth Bay’s Blancharu. Then his secret Ninja skill emerged - ramen - which travelled with him from Blancharu to Ramen Ikkyu in Chinatown, to Gaku Robata Grill in Darlinghurst, which he opened in 2018 with chef Shimon Hanakura.

Now, the pair has opened Izakaya Gaku in Five Dock, and it’s like a fantasy back-streets-of-Tokyo dream of a little cottage. The special kamameshi dish of rice and goodies cooked in a kame ironpot is meant to be the signature, but no way. The Gaku ramen is.

With its delicate, finely sliced char siu, clean, pork-oily broth, burdock root, add-on onsen egg and wonderfully chewy noodles, it’s my pick for winter’s finest dish.

Note: Walk-ins only, ordering is by QR code, and you help yourself to water, cutlery, etc. Sunday surcharges turn a $15 can of Yebisu into $16.50. Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday, lunch Sat-Sun, check the Instagram for free kid’s ramen on certain nights. @izakayagaku

MARY-LOUISE GOES ITALIAN: VINERIA LUISA.

Dropped into the new Vineria Luisa for a gin and tonic on my way out to dinner. Cancelled dinner plans and stayed. Yes, it’s that good.

It’s not just the charm of the original 1940s Mary-Louise hair salon entrance, retained and restored by the Porteno crew for Stanbuli, followed by Bar Louise (both of which I loved).

It’s the idea of the downstairs bar being a gin-toneria that is appealing. I love the whole Italian bar ethos, the swagger, the civility, the ritual, the bella figura of it all.

Then to wrap all that up in a big warm Italian hug – the sort that greets you when you enter, and thanks you when you leave, loudly – and it’s a package. Kudos to Italian restaurateurs, Alessandro and Anna Pavoni and their Maestro Hospitality team, in partnership with the entrepreneurial Drakopoulos family, for this rollicking Italian wine and specialty gin bar. (Sorry for chopping your head off above, Gianluca Esposto).

The menu from executive chef Gianmarco Pardini and head chef Alessio Chessa is very come-hither. It wasn’t just seeing the wafer-thin culaccia prosciutto with carta di musica that made me cancel dinner elsewhere, or the chicken liver pate crostini with orange marmalade.

It was the tonnarelli alla rigaglie, a word that promises chicken giblets but actually delivers giblets, heart and liver, the barnyard sweetness of offal saucing linguine-like pasta with al dente attitude.

I imagine Gianmarco’s Best-ever Lasagna will be the big order, because people always go predictably ballistic about lasagne, for the very same reasons I don’t: too easy, too big, too much.

Consult the staff about your gin preferences – there are 50 to choose from - and they will whip something up for you; plus there’s a go-to wine list of Italians and Australians. You can also book upstairs, which looks warm and cottage-frilly. vinerialuisa.au

I’M HOOKED: FELONS SEAFOOD

A serious fish and seafood restaurant on Manly Wharf, with three types of wild fish to choose for your fish and chips? I’m there.

Adam Flaskas of Brisbane’s Artemus Group (behind Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves) first opened the Felons Brewery on one side of the wharf, and now Felons Seafood on the other. I hadn’t realised it was going to be so serious, but they’ve spent big money on talent, staff, décor, kitchen, cellar and commitment to wild seafood.

When I say serious, I mean Corey Costelloe, who helmed Rockpool Bar & Grill for Neil Perry for so many years, is pulling together the culinary offering. Then there’s head chef Luke Bourke, also from Rockpool B&G, a young gun chef who seems to be able to turn his hand to anything and never get fazed. “He’s the first one you’d want in your kitchen,” says Corey.

There are prawn cocktails, seafood pasta, and whole fish cooked in the Josper oven. On the opening day, to which I was invited, there was a choice of luderick, flathead or ling for your fish and (beef tallow) chips. Fresh oysters, salt and vinegar martinis, mud crab with black pepper and curry leaf sauce. Good staff, cocktails, and wine list - with Assyrtiko next to Gruner Veltliner and Chablis. Seven days a week, seats 300, with more outdoor tables on the way.

I think they’ve got it right - it’s the sort of food we all want to eat beside the seaside without a care in the world, but rarely do we get it built on such great produce and wild fish. felonsseafood.com.au

Park this one for summer, but they serve what they call the coldest beer in the country, the Felons Super Cold Crisp Lager, poured at -2°C. It’s smooth and shockingly cold – you can feel it go all the way down, like a beer slushy. Roll on summer holidays by the sea.

THEY’RE BACK: L’ENCLUME AT BATHERS’ PAVILION

This isn’t normal. Usually, when a 3 star chef visits these shores, he or she does two or three nights and is gone again before the dishes are done. They don’t come here for three weeks one year, and have such a good time that they come back for another four weeks. But that’s exactly what Simon Rogan of L’Enclume in Cumbria, has done, with Balmoral’s Bathers’ Pavilion

It feels civilised, almost well-mannered, to build in enough time to bed down the staff, connect with your host restaurant, and even welcome back your newly minted ‘regulars’ from last time. It says good things about both sides involved: Simon Rogan and his stellar team, including MD Sam Ward, sommelier, Valentin Mouillard; and Jess Shirvington of Bathers’ Pavilion and head chef, Aaron Ward, and their equally stellar team led by Tom Sykes and Jess Mead.

The boss (Jess Shirvington) kindly invited Jill and I to be their first ‘regulars’ by coming back for the new experience. It is warm and welcoming, the layers of detail built in - the art, the flowers, the bowls, the forged knives - not calling attention to themselves. The food is luxury by stealth, from the pressed marron to the tiny chestnut mushrooms (below, with truffles) to the extraordinary saucing. A haunting hint of smoke, a toasty bunya nut, the frilly thrill of emerald ice kale over fingers of Eden Bay john dory (below); the Vegemitey bite of black garlic with Thredbo River trout in a dashi of the bones; and the richness of aged Wollemi Farm duck pooling with blood-like, smoky beetroot-inflected jus.

A highlight: snow crab fritter with an emulsion of the heads throughout, shrouded with melting lardo, that Jill said is like sucking a seashell.

The wine pairings are effortless, always interesting, sometimes cheeky. It’s so interesting to see the two teams meet up again to work together and while clearly working hard, actually enjoy the process. Few residencies are this thought-through; I doubt we will see its like again.

The special 14 course L’Enclume menu is on until August 24, so it might be worth checking online for a last-minute table - if any are available, they’ll be listed here. Otherwise, stay home and read my Good Food review of the first occasion, glass of wine in hand. batherspavilion.com.au

LANEWAY RAMEN: IKI DINING

More cold days, more ramen. An air of mystery surrounded Iki Dining when it opened recently in Llankelly Place, King’s Cross, with its anonymous “Michelin-starred Japanese chef” and super-smart fit-out, complete with cocktail bar and neon wall video signalling more rooms at the back.

Then they outed him as the highly skilled Masahiko Yomoda, who specialises in clear broth chintan ramen. Menu is short and simple, my ramen was a little bland, service can be a challenge. Nice enough, but don’t go out of your way. ikidining.com.au

RIGHT NEIGHBOURLY: ETTE

This warm, woody, new bistro just off Bridge Street from hotelier, Michael Broome and head chef, Adam Grimsley taps into all the current trends. City laneway vibe. No-fuss service. Pegged prices. Eat at the bar or a table. And an implicit promise of not mucking about - they’ll get you out in plenty of time.

Ette doesn’t want your business for a big occasion once a month, they want you twice a week – a quick lunch, a no-fuss dinner, some wine, and you’re off. It’s an easy, breezy menu, with all Snackettes at $9.50, and all mains at $39. Old mate Steven Kirkpatrick adds, in his Scottish brogue, “and all wines by the glass are under $20, except for the Taittinger.”

It’s meaty, saucy, upscaled pub food that is meatier and saucier than it has to be, but that’s probably the brief. Good linguine with clams and mussels, could do with less sauce. Decent porchetta with a nice peppery filling. A seriously good wine list - there’s a whole page devoted to Henschke wines – and big walk-in wine room. Ticks all the boxes. ettesydney.com.au

WHEN ONLY A PUB WILL DO: THE LORD DUDLEY

There is nothing new about the Lord Dudley. It may look like a copycat rendition of a Shakespearean English pub, but surprise - it actually did open in Woollahra in 1889. Respect.

It’s a good pub with a crappy ordering system – you queue for a beer and a Scotch egg, then go and queue again for your main course, then again for your glass of wine. Makes me think fondly of QR code ordering for once.

But then you get chatting to people in the queue, and have a laugh with the people behind the bar, and it’s all okay, because the fish and chips are $15, and your lamb’s fry (lamb’s fry!) and bacon on pillows of mashed potato is enormous, and the Chardonnay is $9 a glass and the telly’s on the sports channel and there’s a fire in the fireplace, and it looks just like the photo at the top of this post (because it is) and you’re feeling warm inside and out. That’d be a pub, then. lorddudley.com.au

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Time to wrap it up for July. Thanks for joining me, and thanks to Hugh Stewart for my portrait, and to JD for the pics (and Simon Rogan for a couple) and Ethan Smart for the cold beer pic at Felons and Steven Woodburn for most of the Felons pics, and Nikki To for the Bathers Pavilion on the beach, and the great Bob Marley for the headline. Hit the button below, if you haven’t subscribed already (and if you have, thank you), to get the next dining report in your inbox, free, last Friday of the month. Thanks, Terry.