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No website. No phone number. Not even an Instagram. Just a clutch of glowy, slick-haired, well-dressed Sydneysiders sipping wine and waiting for a table with the determination of a 10-year-old chasing a Labubu. That’s when you know you’re onto something good. And Paradise, the new wine bar on the corner of Roslyn Street and Ward Avenue in Potts Point, is better than good. That’s because it’s the latest from two people who know what they’re doing: Gio and Enrico Paradiso – the brothers who, alongside Marco Ambrosino, co-founded Sydney staple Fratelli Paradiso back in 2001, before going on to open another hit, 10 William St, in 2010.
Just a few months in, Paradise is already humming with big European energy and Potts Point cool. Groups of friends spill onto the sidewalk, glasses of orange wine in hand. Couples snack on crusty baguettes and nutty cheese. There’s a vibey buzz in the air. I don’t know if there’s a better street corner to be on come Saturday night. Though, a waitlist would be good.
The vibe
It feels cliché – even lazy – to write I’m in paradise at Paradise, but that’s really how I feel with salty snacks, chilled vino and great conversation backdropped to a golden peach sky. As well as alfresco seating, inside you can opt to sit at the bar or at a large communal table. Service is relaxed, laid-back and everyone seems to know everyone; this isn’t the kind of place to come if you’re in a hurry. Buzzy, yum and joyous, this is the kind of place you’d take a friend from Melbourne – or anyone, really. I’m happy it’s here.
A new waiter has just clocked on for the night; I ask him how his day has been. “Someone called in sick, so I’m here to help out.” I reply that it’s nice of him to say yes – it’s the weekend, after all. “Nah, it’s sweet,” he says, smiling as he walks off.
“There are worse places to be on a Saturday night. It kinda feels like a party.”
A Paradiso party in Potts Point indeed.
The food
Many wine bars moonlight as restaurants, but Paradise really is a wine bar – and the kitchen is tiny – so there’s just a handful of things to eat, scrawled with chalk on a blackboard out the front. Trisha Greentree and Francesco Ruggiero, from Fratelli Paradiso and 10 William St, are behind the menu, which, like all their cooking, changes with the seasons.
We begin with a small, twisted, seed-topped baguette with a deliciously garlicky, herb-flecked butter I could (and did) enjoy on its own. Subtly sweet Comté comes with a couple of crackers and pickled grapes for zing. Today’s plat du jour is a celebration of vegetables – roasted carrots, crisp, vibrant, bitter radicchio, marinated, peppercorn-studded mushrooms and crunchy radish – to swipe through creamy goat’s cheese. For mains, we bypass the braised lamb for the crepe, which arrives golden, hot and straight out of the oven. The soft crepes are rolled up, chubby with a spinach and ricotta filling and resting in a bright, rich sugo. Paradise.
The drinks
A glass of Le Facteur Brut Nature 2020 from Loire Valley is a dry, party-starting pét-nat. Later, I go for a glass of orange wine, a Podere Pradarolo Vej Bianco Antico 2023 vintage that’s amber-coloured and aromatic. The table next to me is sipping on a Martini with a fat green olive, and over there someone has cracked open a bottle of red. Be prepared to switch to another drop if your one runs out, but if you go with the flow at Paradise and drink what’s recommended, it’d be hard to be disappointed.
Time Out tip
You can’t book at Paradise, or even put your name down on a waiting list. You can, however, order a glass of wine and forget about the time. If you’re coming with a group, I’d suggest getting down here early. And if not, there’s always next week. Plus, with Caravin and Piccolo Bar around the corner – and Fratelli Paradiso just a stroll away – you’re in good company.
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