A serious snack section leads the menu at Sippenham in Sydenham, which was built on a passion for music, food and community.
A few years ago, in the midst of lockdown, two best mates moved in together and began marking their days with a kaleidoscope of home-cooked food. Friends since high school, chef Nick “Poodle” Giannopoulos and then-retail bank employee Stephen Mandis were most excited about Friday night’s menu.
That night, from a tiny, less than fancy oven in their flat, Giannopoulos would serve fat golden focaccia, a pond of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to sweep it through, and a lusty beef shin lasagne with vodka sauce, its surface thick with parmigiano.
Nearly five years later, that lasagne, using marrow-in beef shin and pasta sheets handmade by Giannopoulos, is pulling diners from across the city to their 20-seater restaurant, Sippenham, in Sydenham.
It’s part of a story that began with Mandis becoming fascinated by Giannopoulos’ life as a chef. “I’d wait for him to come home and tell me how his day and the restaurant was,” he says.
“Eventually, it grew this charm, this idea that – as best mates – we could open up our own place together. And here we are, a couple [of] years later.”
Since opening in April, Sippenham has been regularly booked out. The restaurant, built with passion for music, food and community, bubbles with a singular camaraderie led by Mandis on the floor, welcoming and checking on diners.
It also feels surprisingly luxurious. Perhaps this is because outside, Unwins Bridge Road, the nearby train bridge and Railway Road merge traffic, gritty air and overhead planes. It’s a Sydenham kind of magic along with the giant fig tree festooned with fairy lights, the Bonds outlet and a karate school.
Inside Sippenham, also inspired by the two friends’ love of East London, the emerald-green cushioned chairs, banquette seating, dark green walls and glowing lamps bring an easy-going sophistication. I’m dining alone and that feels entirely comfortable here.
The menu starts with a serious snack section, led by the “Uncle Luke’s” fish sanger, its crustless white bread as soft as a doona. There are ribbons of iceberg lettuce, a lovely crumbed swordfish fillet and nicely strong taramasalata. Named after Mandis’ long-time fishing friend, you can spot Luke holding prize catches in framed photos on Sippenham’s dark green walls.
Always order the lasagne – a salubriously layered marvel marked by generous pieces of beef and made from a recipe handed down from Giannopoulos’ grandmother. Meanwhile, the malloreddus features chubby curls of pasta served with fleshy king prawns, roast cherry tomatoes, shellfish bisque and chives.
Giannopoulos also has a way with meatballs – three lovely herby, orbs as big as the cricket ball held by Shane Warne in another framed photo – and served with melting parmigiano and a rich glug of Napoletana sauce. Wipe the plate clean with salt-flecked focaccia, made in a commercial oven Giannopoulos oversees in the open kitchen.
There is a tiramisu being ordered left, right and centre, but I carry a torch for Giannopoulos’ brownie-like chocolate cake with its fat wiggle of cremeux evaporating like magic on the tongue.
Sippenham is also strong on wine, its ever-changing list curated by importer Lo-Fi Wines, and tonight I drink the lovely Casina Val Liberata’s Chiara, a rosé from Monferrato in Italy.
To find his feet before the pair opened Sippenham, Mandis spent two years working with Giannopoulos and his parents at their North Ryde restaurant, Fourno, until it closed in 2024 after 20 years. Now they want to leave their own hospitality legacy with Sippenham.
“I’m in this to make people happy,” Mandis says. “We want to pay tribute to our ancestors, our family and the suburbs and streets that raised us. Every plate is made with love.”
Afterwards, a diesel locomotive crossing the railway bridge fills the air with grey smoke. The character and food of Sippenham glows on amid it.
Three more ‘mates places’ to try
Cricca
Founded by long-time friends Alessio Nogarotto and Giles Gabutina, this small but wondrous spot on Windsor’s main shopping strip matches wood-fired bread with burrata laced with mandarin and leek, and ricotta beetroot ravioli, under chandeliers and candlelight.
1/135 George Street, Windsor, restaurantcricca.com
Halfway to Wollongong in the seaside village of Thirroul, four mates – Michael Zubrecky, Joel Mucci, Liam Forsythe and Marko Bozic – oversee magnificent wood-fired Neapolitan style pizza, fab mains (try the smoked beef sausage with fava beans and potato) and a bevy of natural wines.
1 Raymond Road, Thirroul, cirospizzathirroul.com
In 2023, mates Dave Moran and Josh McPhee, founders of Dulwich Hill’s The General, took over Marrickville Gold Club’s kitchen. A menu featuring beef brisket lasagne, hand-rolled potato gnocchi and southern-fried popcorn chicken is still impressing locals.
Wharf Street, Marrickville, marrickvillegolf.com.au
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