Crown Street pasta bar Besser is no more, having now been reshaped and reborn as the second location for Flour Eggs Water. While both brands are more casual members of the A Tavola family, owner Eugenio Maiale made the decision to tighten the focus on Flour Eggs Water, mirroring Tramsheds’ resident Italian staple with a dedication to pasta handmade from a theatrical open set-up and a daily-changing menu highlighting seasonal produce sourced from artisan providores.
Much of what has made Flour Eggs Water such a popular tenant for the epic Tramsheds precinct remains the same here, including the design which moves away from Besser’s green floors and mismatched chairs, replacing it with warm, woody notes and communal tables facing an open-kitchen where homemade pasta is hung out to dry.
“It has been a very natural evolution,” explained Maiale, who also plans on running pasta classes from the custom-built pasta making area. “The original idea for Besser was always a pasta bar and now we have the space to make that really happen.”
Wine on tap will also be a welcome feature, featuring drops made up of organic, preservative-free varietals showcasing both Italian and NSW growers. No doubt these will make for excellent pairings with the food, which is a blend of signature dishes across the already existing venues (including A Tavola) as well as a few that will be unique to the Surry Hills bar. That means you’ll still get the popular signature pappardelle along with the meatballs, the calamari, the red cabbage salad and of course the cremino al cioccolato dessert. Then you’ll have regular specials, an example of which is the current handmade strozzapreti which is being served with prawns, mussels and ling cod, and the machheroni with taleggio, truffle pecorino and pane carasau.
Flour Eggs Water by A Tavola
Address: Shop 3, 355 Crown Street, Surry Hills
Website: Facebook
Images supplied and credited to Nikki To.
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