Sugo is the newest pasta bar is the latest restaurant from the trio behind My Mother's Cousin in Bexley and Self Raised bakery shoppe in Carlton. Sugo is all about big, comforting plates of pasta and chicken parm. Find out what to order and whether this new Sydney pasta spot is worth the visit.
A couple of nights ago Sophia and I make our way to Sugo in Bexley North. Usually I drive but she's learning how to drive so this dinner comes with a promise of easy parking. Sugo (which means sauce in Italian) just opened and is located in a strip mall in Bexley North on Sarsfield Circuit, right next to a Chemist, a Woolworths Metro and a pub adjacent to their Snack Shoppe sandwich business. Sal Senan has partnered up with siblings Amani and Hussein Rachid for their sixth business.
There's plenty of parking available. The restaurant has a sizeable outdoor section as well as a slightly smaller indoor section with booths and banquettes. It's walk ins only during these early days so to avoid queues we decide to go on a Tuesday night just before 6 pm. At this time we have a choice of where to sit so we take a seat inside. We get some recommendations from our friendly waitress for food. This is a non-alcoholic establishment so there are soft drinks available but there is no wine list nor BYO wine.
The menu has just under 12 appetisers and then it is broken up into two sections: pastas and "larger classics". These larger classics are basically a version of a breaded and fried chicken cutlet with increasingly more toppings added to them. You can also get one of these chicken dishes on the side as a side dish for an additional $16 when you order a pasta.
My choice is the conchiglie al forno with a beef and tomato ragu, bechamel and fior di latte - said to be their version of a lasagne. It comes out on a large oval metal tray with plenty of parmesan shaved on top and it's delicious. The pasta is al dente, and there's plenty of flavour here and plenty of reason to go back for scoop after scoop. And it doesn't give lasagna flavour although the shells must make it easier for the kitchen to produce quickly.
We also pair this with a side of Chicken Nodka - Nodka being no vodka. The Nodka chicken has a very lightly spicy red sauce, pesto, fresh mozzarella, stracciatella and parmigiano reggiano. I find that the stracciatella really makes the chicken schnitzel wet and sort of waters down the flavour of it, even with the pesto.
Out of the two chicken parms we prefer the classic chicken parm with red sauce, mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano because these flavours support the chicken parmigiana rather than distract from it. I had expected to like the Nodka more because I love vodka sauce and stracciatella but it may be a case of less is more here.
Sophia's choice of pasta is the rigatoni with mushrooms with plenty of perfectly cooked sliced mushrooms in a creamy sauce. This pasta is a little bit more al dente than the other, which is perfect for me but Sophia prefers her pasta softer (she's not a big pasta eater). It is also very generously sized and I think that unless you were absolutely famished, you wouldn't need a side of the chicken parmigiana, or a couple could share a pasta and parmigiana and maybe a salad.
Everything sort of arrives at once and that includes our starter. The mozzarella in carrozza is a breaded and fried mozzarella sandwich in a tomato sugo sauce, which has the obligatory cheese pull. I actually like this with a bit of the mushroom from the pasta to add a bit more depth of flavour.
It's a toss-up for dessert: some gelato in fruity flavours, a cheesecake or an ice cream sundae, which we are told has a Ferrero Rocher vibe. We go for the cheesecake as I love the sound of the banana cream. It's a burnt Basque cheesecake but with a thick, moreish Biscoff-style base on the bottom. The cheesecake is creamy and we absolutely love the banana cream, which tastes like that delicious Monin banana puree that I make all my matcha lattes with. And for somebody that only has one or two tablespoons of dessert, I cannot stop eating this!
So tell me Dear Reader, would you go for the pasta and chicken or just one? And do you prefer places that you can book or are walk ins fine?
This meal was independently paid for.
Sugo
8, Shop 3/20 Sarsfield Cct, Bexley North NSW 2207
Tuesday–Friday from 5 pm–10 pm
Saturday 4:30 pm–10 pm
Sunday 4:30 pm–9 pm
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