The Restaurant
Lucio Galletto OAM opened his restaurant in Balmain in 1981 and moved it to the corner of Windsor and Elizabeth Streets in Paddington in 1983. In the years that followed, something unusual happened: the artists who ate at Lucio's — Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Brett Whiteley, Tim Storrier, John Olsen — began paying for their meals in paintings. By the time the restaurant reached its fourth decade, the walls held over two hundred works by some of the most significant Australian artists of the twentieth century.
The food was never secondary to the art. Lucio Galletto cooked Ligurian Italian — seafood-leaning, herb-driven, lighter in character than the Roman and Neapolitan styles that dominated Sydney's Italian restaurants — with handmade pasta that changed with the seasons and ingredients sourced to the standard that the clientele expected. The tagliolini alla granseola, green pasta with blue swimmer crab, was on the menu continuously from 1983 and became the most discussed single dish in the restaurant's history.
Eating alone at Lucio's bar was a particular Sydney privilege. You could sit with a glass of wine and a bowl of pasta and look directly at a Whiteley while thinking about whatever needed thinking about. The restaurant attracted writers, architects, diplomats, and artists — people who required good food and good art simultaneously and had found the only address in Sydney that provided both without compromise.
Lucio's served its final guests in January 2021, after 38 years in that Paddington terrace. Lucio and Sally Galletto retired, the art collection was sold at auction, and the space became Civico 47 under new management. The closure of Lucio's was received in Sydney the way the closure of a national institution is always received: with the belated recognition that something irreplaceable had been present for so long that its absence seemed impossible to imagine.
What to Order
The tagliolini alla granseola — fine green pasta with blue swimmer crab — was the defining Lucio's dish and worth ordering for its history alone. The crudo preparations of fresh fish demonstrated the Ligurian lightness of touch that separated this kitchen from heavier Italian styles. At the bar, a glass of Northern Italian white wine with anything from the pasta menu was the correct solo dining sequence.
Best Occasion: Solo Dining
Lucio's was the finest solo dining experience in Sydney, and perhaps in Australia. Eating alone at the bar with a bowl of handmade pasta and two hundred significant artworks surrounding you was not a consolation experience — it was the optimal version of the restaurant. The bar was never lonely; it was contemplative, well-served, and utterly specific to this address. For current solo dining options in Sydney, see the guide to solo dining restaurants in Sydney.
Also Consider
For another Paddington Italian institution, Buon Ricordo on Boundary Street continues with its truffle pasta and warm terrace atmosphere. For solo dining with the kind of focused counter experience that Lucio's provided, Monopole on Macleay Street in Potts Point offers a wine-bar format with serious food. The full Sydney restaurant guide covers all occasions.