The Paddington Traingle
LUCIO'S , BEPPI'S, DARCEY'S

There is an area of New York city called Tribeca. T-r-i-b-e-c-a. You’ve probably read it in a Tom Wolfe novel and not understood what it means.

It s an acrynom for a trendy area known as the Triangle Below Canal Street.

I thought of it in Sydney recently because the same triangle description could be adapted to a trendy area in Paddington and called the Triangle Below Oxford Street.

That’s the place where art galleries and antique shops are crammed with expensive goodies and unliveable semi-detached terrace houses sell for close to a million dollars.

And the triangle also boasts some of the best Italian restaurants in Australia. And, in Sydney, that it is saying something .

And three of the best are Beppi’s, Darcy’s and Lucio’s. Beppi’s and Darcy’s have been there for ever.

For example. Bob Rogers celebrated the birth of his daughter Justin at Beppi’s and then took some of their dessert to his wife Jerry in hospital. No big deal –except that Justin Rogers is now 38 years old. Beppi still runs the place and Rogers still dines there regularly.

There is one wonderful room for wine buffs in the bowels of Beppi’s. Only a couple of tables but the walls are lined with dusty bottles of vintage wines including bottles of Grange older than Rogers’ daughter.

Beppi’s was also the first place in Australia that I discovered thirty years ago that served New Zealand whitebait which is far superior to Tasmanian whitebait and neither should be compared with Taiwanese whitebait which is inedible or the dish they call “whitebait” in Greek restaurants which is really sardines or what the Canadians call “ smelts”.

Speaking of fish. Further into Paddington ( because Beppi’s is technically Darlinghurst) there’s Darcy’s.

It was the first Australian restaurant I experienced where waiters brought trays of raw fish to your table as a visual menu. And they would recommend the red emperor or the New Zealand hapuka and you could see the freshness of the fish in the eyes and the size and quality of the prawns and the scampi.

It was one of Sydney’s first celebrity restaurants and still has a big following even though the glitterati move on to places like the Yellowbook now gone and Mario’s now changed owners and currently Otto’s.

And then there is Lucio’s. A relative newcomer when compared with Beppi’s and Darcy’s.

You can tell it is right in the middle of the arty-farty district because the walls are covered in Australian masterpieces.

But the look and feel is totally Italia. You don’t order entrees – it’s primi piatti”.

And good primi piatti too.

Fine green noodles with blue swimmer crab. Grilled sea scallop meat with pan fried potatoes and tomato coulis or a warm salad of yabbies and asparagus.

They also serve a crisp fresh salad and provide a bottle of high quality balsamic vinegar for you to make your own dressing.

As in all top quality Sydney restaurants their fish is varied and reliable. But after a lot of seafood during a holiday week the Sir Hinchalot selection was spatchcock. Good call.

They also serve roast duck with oyster mushrooms and marinated quail – they call them quails but I’m sure the plural is quail – with grilled polenta, peas and roasted capsicums.

And the now virtually traditional side order at top Italian and Greek restaurants around Australia: crispy roasted new potatoes with Rosemary.

Why do they taste so good?

Pricewise Lucio’s would be in the top ten bracket in Sydney with main courses edging close to forty dollars each and that doesn’t include the side orders. But the wine list is not outrageous –unlike many Sydney eateries.

But still, going back to the Tribeca, Triange, analogy these places can remind your wallet of the Bermuda Triangle where your credit rating can disappear without trace.