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.