MAY 2024 UPDATE: If you love good pasta, you'll love this news: the exec chef from Sydney favourite Fabbrica Pasta Bar Nikhil Bhanot has joined Alfie’s Italian + Wine Bar as head chef. Which means Newcastle can now get a taste of Bhanot's fare. Bhanot has also whipped up food in the kitchens of Ragazzi, Bar Copains, Nomad and Movida (talk about a delicious CV.) At Alfie's he'll be working alongside Alfie's executive chef Rafael Tonon, who is expanding Alfie's catering and events offerings. "Neighbourhood dining is very close to my heart and I’m thrilled to bring my experience to New Lambton and Newcastle," says Bhanot. "It’s been a great move for me."
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If we got a dollar every time we’d heard this year that Newcastle is shaping up as a serious foodie destination, we’d be able to eat out every night of the week. And now the superb food is spreading out from beyond Newcastle CBD’s borders, into the city’s inner-west suburb of New Lambton where the young, hip families are moving. Young, hip parents want nice places for a night out, and that’s where new neighbourhood spot Alfie’s comes in.
Alfie’s is an Italian restaurant and wine bar serving up the quality of food you’d expect to find in one of Sydney’s best Italian joints. The menu is for sharing – you’ll find extensive antipasto offerings, small plates to start, fresh homemade pastas and larger share meals (like their 800g rib sirloin… drool).
We’d go with the Instagrammable pizza bread to start, with some salumi as well as whipped ricotta with garlic and chilli oil. Then move on to the zucchini flowers with goat’s curd and truffled honey, before digging into rigatoni with pork cheek ragu, and spaghetti with Jerusalem artichoke, cacio e pepe and truffle. We’d hope to have room for the pork cotoletta with prosciutto, sage butter and slaw, and the corn husk panna cotta with beets and berries to finish. Delizioso.
The impressive food offering is backed up by a big wine list featuring more than 180 drops that have been hand-picked from all over the world to complement the menu’s Mediterranean flavours. They offer up high-rotation wines by the glass so you can try something new every time you visit.
Alfie’s Italian + Wine Bar is the creation of the hospitality group who are partners in other Hunter Valley venues, including Time Out Food & Drink Award Regional Restaurant 2022 winner, Meet, as well as the Criterion Hotel and Weddings at Dalwood Estate. The team noticed a “neighbourhood restaurant” gap in the Newcastle market and decided to go ahead and fill it with a place where you can either indulge in a go-all-out meal or just drop in for an after-work vino.
Or even for a long, Sunday lunch. Sydneysiders, take a drive up the coast for one of their Sunday special events with matching wines – find more info on these here. Do it, go meet Alfie.
(Not to be mistaken with Sydney steak restaurant, Alfie's.)