How has Sydney gone this long without Chicago-style deep dish pizza? The famous mid-west style of pizza has long been an indulgent fantasy for Sydney diners returning from vacation in the States, but up until now it’s been hard to come across. That’s going to change with the opening of Johnny Fontane’s, a new venue on Darlinghurst’s Stanley St with a name and theme taken from fictional swing singer, film actor and the godson of mob boss Vito Corleone from The Godfather.
The new mafia-themed bar pays homage to Johnny and his career with a swinging Sicilian atmosphere, signature cocktails based on Italian liquors, and of course those epic pizza pies pumped out by Executive Chef Cy Gwynne (ex-Longrain) which will feature on a menu with pasta, antipasto, arancini, cannoli and gelato. Hell, the bar will even be slinging Cuban cigars for guests to sit around and sip on modernised Negronis while puffing smoke.
Interior stylish Belinda Cendron has helped shape four distinct spaces in the venue, the first being a Rat Pack style downstairs bar that contrasts with the light and lush Sicilian-style courtyard which features a large citrus tree and vines sourced from the film set of The Great Gatsby. There’s also going to a “gangster lounge” on the first floor and a dedicated Cuban themed deck for those aforementioned cigars.
“If Vito Corleone, Ella Fitzgerald and Biggie Smalls were to meet for a smoke and a cocktail, Johnny Fontane’s would be the place”, said co-founder Thomas Derricott. “Johnny Fontane’s will make people feel as if they could bump into Sinatra at the bar, or catch a glimpse of Mafiosi talking business upstairs”.
Johnny Fontane’s
Address: 77 Stanley St, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
Website: www.johnnyfontanesbar.com
Hours: Tues-Thurs 4pm-12am; Fri-Sat 12pm-12am
Images supplied.
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