Cafe Paci: Why this little restaurant in Newtown has been named BEST in New South Wales
A hip neighbourhood restaurant with a great atmosphere and iconic dishes, it is now officially home to the best food in all of New South Wales.
It will come as no surprise to Sydney residents that Cafe Paci in Newtown has won the 2024 Gourmet Traveller Award for the state’s best restaurant.
Finnish-born chef Pasi Petanen has taken the city by storm with his unique and inspiring take on modern Australian cuisine.
Pasi’s creations at the Newtown restaurant have also earned him the well-deserved Chef of the Year award.
The unassuming culinary genius first appeared in the city with a superb kitchen at a Darlinghurst restaurant in 2013, leaving Australians wanting to know more.
And the Newtown branch is fully booked thanks to dishes like the potato and molasses bread, the ‘cult’ ox tongue taco and raw snapper with chilli and kumquat.
There are also ‘sublime’ portions of ‘deliciously fresh’ handmade pasta, such as the pea ravioli with lemon, sage, vermouth butter and creamy burrata.
On Friday and Saturday nights, the dry-aged roast duck, marinated in a vibrant, sweet, sticky orange sauce, is an ‘absolute delight’ according to guests.
Cafe Paci in Newtown has been named Gourmet Traveller’s Best Restaurant in NSW for 2024, with Chef Pasi Petanen also named Chef of the Year 2024
The olive oil drizzled Jamon Maxim is a Cafe Paci classic
Fans especially love Pasi’s bold and playful take on dining. The flavors are simple enough to create complexity, but not too complicated.
‘Cafe Paci is without a doubt my favourite restaurant in Sydney. The quality of their food and service never ceases to amaze me, honestly I can recommend every dish on the menu,’ said one guest.
‘It took me forever to get to Cafe Paci but it was SO worth persevering. It’s one of the best in Sydney. Incredible food, amazing flavours,’ agreed another.
Frozen Moscato d’Asti from Cafe Paci with strawberries and white chocolate
The cosy neighbourhood restaurant has put Newtown firmly on the map of Sydney’s fine dining scene
Finnish-born chef Pasi Petanen has the city firmly under his culinary spell with a unique and inspired take on modern Australian food
“Some call it Nordic European, others say modern Australian, but I simply love it,” said a third.
One fan heaped praise on Pasi as the ‘Godfather’ of Sydney’s culinary arts, awarding him Chef of the Year: ‘Well deserved, Pasi. I ask again: what took them so long?’
The award for Australia’s best restaurant went to Agrarian Kitchen from Tasmania. Their menu consists mainly of produce from their own garden.
Other winners of the Gourmet Traveller Awards included The Lake House in Daylesford for the Readers Choice Icon Award and Melbourne fine dining restaurant Vue De Monde for Best Restaurant in Victoria for 2024.