Newtown's Nordic-Influenced Tasting
Cafe Paci on Enmore Road in Newtown is Pasi Petänen's small-room tasting menu, Nordic-influenced modern Australian, careful technique, and one of the most personally-stamped current rooms in Sydney.
The cooking is Nordic-Australian fusion at proper restaurant standards: foraged ingredients, considered fermentation, fish handled with the discipline Nordic fine dining demands, and seasonal vegetable cookery taken seriously.
What to Expect
Order the tasting, that is what the room is for. Expect a long sequence of small, considered courses moving across raw fish, fermented vegetables, careful proteins, and the closing dessert. Wine pairings rise to international fine-dining standards.
The Format
The dining room is small, intimate, and unfussy. The Nordic-influenced thesis is communicated through the cooking rather than performed.
Best Occasion: First Date
Cafe Paci is a quiet Newtown first-date win. The tasting structure provides natural pacing; the cuisine provides natural conversation; the room is intimate without being intimidating.