The arrival of a new baby is always a cause for celebration. In the case of owner chef Andrew Cibej of hip Italian trattoria Vini in Surry Hills, his new restaurant, Berta is an exciting addition to the family.

Tucked away in a quiet back street in Surry Hills, near Central station, Berta’s blink-and-miss-it entrance may be hard to find, but it’s well worth it when you do. If the front of house face looks familiar, that’s because Vini’s much-loved manager Kristen Allan has come across to rock the cradle.

Stark rendered walls, raw concrete finishes and tilted mirrors give a sense of industrial understated cool, but the food created by head chef O Tama Carey is quite the opposite: think bold flavours, big aromas, fantastic produce and a knowledge of what makes Italian food rock.The dishes are designed to share, a kind of Italian tapas if you will.

Start with the baked scallops topped with sugna (crunchy cumbs of rendered pork, Sonoma miche breadcrumbs and capers), move onto ox tail broth with wild green tortellini and order up on the spectacular suckling pig, roasted with fennel and served with braised lentils, leek and chickory.

Buffalo milk ice cream with poached apples and candied rosemary and sage makes a fragrantly sweet way to end the meal. There’s a wine list of cool Italian finds, sourced regularly from Italy by Andrew and the team, so there’s plenty of interesting vino to sit at the bar and sip, too.

Vini’s edgier younger sister looks set to be a welcome addition to this end of the Surry Hills dining scene and as far as sibling rivalry goes – here’s a case of the bigger the family, the better. 

Berta
17-19 Alberta Street, Sydney 2000
T: (02) 9264 6133
Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 5pm-late