NOW EXPERIENCING:Itō
Drinks Directory|Family affair|Sydney|Casual catch-up

Itō

Monday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
413-415 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
Phone
(02) 8399 3679
Website
itorestaurant.com
Instagram
@itorestaurant

Read time 4 Mins

Posted 02 Aug 2024

By
Matty Hirsch

The outside of Itō at night in Surry Hills, Sydney

Fusion is back and better than ever at this Surry Hills hotspot that flies the flag for two of Sydney’s favourite cuisines – Italian and Japanese – and rocks a top-notch drinks list.

The setting inside Ito in Sydney
Why you goJapan has a word for the combination of Italian and Japanese cooking, “itameshi”, which dates all the way back to the spaghetti cafes that surfaced across the island nation in the 1920s. While the style has cropped up around Sydney here and there, no smart-casual restaurant has repped it quite as hard as Itō, which opened in Surry Hills late in 2023. It’s a beautiful sight – a slender, two-storey sliver of a space lined with louvred windows that let in lots of light and cast a magnetic glow across always-bustling Crown Street. Inside, meanwhile, architect Matt Darwon has spared no expense on the minimalistic design, subtly nodding to the source material by way of clean lines, custom blackwood furniture and a lone cotton kimono hanging on a wall. There’s as much polish on the plate and in the glass here, too, with a focus on flavour and technique that never loses sight of fun. Little wonder it’s packed out every day of the week.
What drink to orderCocktails are a cracking way to begin and do a bang-up job of bringing Japanese flair to time-honoured favourites. The cooling Hiragana Highball, for instance, makes a sherbet-like virtue of citrusy yuzu gin, lychee and jasmine soda, while a Dirty Martini does the opposite, drawing on kelp-infused vodka, sake and mirin (Japan’s rice wine) for extra-savoury, briny depth. From there, you’re free to chart a course in pretty much any direction. Go the wine route, and you’ll be met with 70-ish bottles to choose from, spanning Aussie mainstays, Italian classics, alternative varieties and dynamos in the low-intervention scene. The sake selection is no less impressive, with each listing thoughtfully annotated and four different flights on the go if you’re keen to see a range of styles. There’s no need to worry if you’re on the wagon, either – the soft drinks, high-grade teas and non-alc concoctions more than hold up their end of the bargain.
Cocktails served at Ito
A selection of dishes at Ito
What to pair it withWhile there’s no shame in sticking to the classics – bright, crunchy tsukemono pickles, say, or a plate of thick-cut, bracingly fresh sashimi – things get especially exciting when cuisines collide on the plate. Think crisp-fried quail karaage sticky with Italy’s famed sweet-and-sour agrodolce sauce, bolstered by burnt capsicum. Or a smart take on cacio e pepe where ruffle-edged gigli pasta gets tossed through rich miso butter and pecorino cheese with a hearty crack of black pepper and a handful of Asian mushrooms. A hibachi-grilled pork cutlet, meanwhile, finds favour alongside fig jam and pickled radicchio, and gets better still with a side of roasted sweet potato capped with goat’s curd, truffle and a sprinkle of the seed-and-spice seasoning known as furikake. Get a little bit of everything, and go to town.
Why we love itIt’s hard to think of a recently opened Sydney restaurant more suited to the current climate than this one, which manages to feel both familiar and new, with an eye to value, animated service and style to back up the substance. It’s a brilliant option for groups, too, thanks to reasonably priced set menus, an 18-seat private room and a rare flexibility and willingness to accommodate allergies and restrictions.
The bar at Ito
Sake is a highlight at Ito in Sydney
Make it fancyNot every day do you stumble upon a restaurant drinks list as value-packed as this one, with beers, cocktails and spirits all agreeably marked up and a decent chunk of the wines landing at less than $90 a bottle. That said, the option to drop $580 on a rare vintage Japanese sparkling wine is there, or $360 on the brawny 2018 Pierro VR Chardonnay out of Margaret River. But, really, if you want to blow a stack of cash, you should do it on a 720ml bottle of sake. The purity and finesse of the floral Yoshinogawa “Minamo” ($256) should gel well with most of the dishes, but if you’re after a richer expression, Mii no Kotobuki’s sherry-like “Biden Koshu” ($198) has your number.
Who to takeBy now, you’ve probably gathered that Itō bends to just about every whim out there. So, bring a date and sit catty-corner upstairs against the windows. Or gather the fam and grab one of the tables outside for an afternoon session. Heck, fly solo for a quick weekday lunch and fire off a few emails. Here, one size fits all.
The entrance to Sydney's Ito
image credits: Jiwon Kim
Authour image
Matty HirschMatty Hirsch is a Sydney-based writer, critic and editor whose work has appeared in Time Out, Delicious and Gourmet Traveller.
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Drinks DirectorySydney – Inner CityTop notch wine listDate nightRestaurantA+ spirits listPet friendlyMeal and a bevSydneyCasual catch-upOutdoor areaVego Food OptionsFamily affairNon-alc Options
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