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Sydney Institutions

Reporter: Sally Obermeder

Restaurants come, restaurants go. The Sydney food scene is ever changing and it can be hard to keep up. But in amongst all the change there are just a few restaurants worthy of being called Sydney institutions – and these two are truly that – long time staples on the foodie scene, and once you’ve eaten here, it’s easy to see why.

Beppi’s

Beppi Polese is considered the patriarch of Italian restaurants in Sydney and Beppi's Restaurant is an institution.

The restaurant was established in 1956 by Beppi and his wife Norma and is still owned and run by the family.

Beppi's Restaurant is regarded as one of the most welcoming and hospitable Italian restaurants in Sydney with an unmatched tradition of providing exceptional food and service to four generations of Sydney diners.

Beppi Polese has been responsible for the coaxing of the Australian palate out of its Anglo-Saxon shell and introducing it to the flavours of his native Italy.

Four generations of Sydney-siders have passed through the doors of Beppi's to this day in the same location as the first day it opened.

Many Sydney-siders ate for the first time such modern mainstays of today's restaurants as mussels, octopus and artichoke at Beppi's (the mussels he harvested himself in a small boat scraping them off the pylons of the old wooden spit bridge, as he was unable to buy them).

Some of the dishes you may find on the menu:

Entree

Gnocchi di Patate al Gorgonzola di Asiago – potato dumplings with gorgonzola and asiago cheese sauce
Carpaccio di Manzo con Rucola e Scaglie di Parmigiano – fillet of raw beef thinly sliced with rocket leaves and shaved parmesan

Main

Gamberoni Giganti Marinati con Erbe alla Griglia – grilled Queensland prawns marinated with herbs and brandy
Involtini di Vitello Ripieni con Prosciutto e Formaggio – rolled white veal with prosciutto, cheese and a herb filling

Dessert

Torta Al Marscapone e Savoiardi – layers of savoiardi, marcsapone, marsala and zabaglione
Crespelle al Liquore e Fragole – flamed crepes with liqueur and strawberries

More Information

Beppi’s

Yurong Street (Cnr Stanley St), East Sydney

Telephone: (02) 9360-4558

Open Monday to Friday for lunch. Dinner, Monday to Saturday. Mains start at $38

Prices correct as at 20/10/07

La Perla Seafood Ristorante

A Gladesville institution, La Perla Seafood Ristorante has been going strong for 20 years.

It's a friendly, family-run restaurant with George Colosi braving the early morning Fish Market auctions 2-3 times a week ensuring the extraordinary freshness of the seafood served.

There are very few restaurant owners who insist on seeing first hand the quality of seafood coming in off the trawlers, which is why you’ll often hear patrons at La Perla comment that they’ve “never eaten fish like this before"!

The premises has undergone a complete renovation and now hosts a modern, fresh, casual dining feel with a central open stairway a focal point.