Apr 7, 2021

Raphael’s Ristorante & Bar Review

The hidden Sydney CBD Italian eatery.

Food ★★★★☆

Service ★★★★☆

Environment ★★★★☆

Cost $$---

This is not a place you'd find by wondering around looking for a nook for lunch. Not to worry though, I was introduced to it and would now like to introduce it to you.

Hidden in a courtyard at the end of an unsuspecting laneway, One Farrer Place in Sydney's CBD is home to Raphael's. It is an all day Italian eatery, cocktail and wine bar. With one side of the courtyard framed by the heritage-listed Government House stables and the other the soaring One Farrer Place skyscraper, it is a true representation of the old meets new. The space is filled with charm and a buzzed atmosphere.

Raphael's has 5 diverse and charming spaces, consisting of the colonnade, alfresco courtyard, bar and indoor dining rooms. This makes the venue a great place for a diverse range of private dining and functions.

The staff bring a sense of savoir-faire to the eatery. They operate efficiently but with a touch of sleek elegance that is rare to find. To put it another way, if they dropped a dish they'd do it with such grace it'd look like they were dancing with the food. Their natural charm also make you want to stay for a while.

Open for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks Monday through Friday, Raphael’s draws its inspiration from Milan in the 60s and 70s. To me, it's a great place to go for any form of business function or meeting.

The menu holds a concise selection of classics to choose from. Start your dinning experience with antipasti (like aracini, zuchini flowers, beef carpaccio and Sydney Rock oysters), charcuterie boards (or tagliere), before diving into one of their tantalizing mains. Best part, all their pasta is made fresh in house and you can expect the menu to feature a few specials on seasonal rotation.

Whilst we'd dropped by Raphael's for a luxurious lunch, we were working to a time pressure. Beginning with the aracini and oysters, which disappeared too fast to take any photos, and them progressing to one of their homemade pastas, the slow cooked beef cheek ragu. The flavours across everything were distinct and delicious. The aracini well like little pockets of bursting tastiness, the oysters fresh and the pasta like a warm hug on a winters night.

We only had a glass of wine over lunch as we had to be sensible because work was beckoning us back shortly. Seated next the bar I saw a variety of colourful cocktails beautifully crafted being carried out to their lucky owner. I can't emphasis how stunning the cocktails were. It's a venue I will be returning to, and all 8 smiles on the table agreed with me, if not to just try one of their cocktails alone!