Mediterranean(ish) dining meets ’90s nostalgia at Redfern’s new neighbourhood hit

Hospitality guns from Marrickville’s Baba’s Place and Chippendale’s dearly missed Automata bring the long-lunching spirit to the former home of Moon Park at their new venture Lo Presti’s.Good Food hat15.5/20Critics' PickLo Presti’sMediterranean$$$Paul Kelly and Custard on the stereo. Ouzo lining a sazerac. Greek rosé on ice and a view to Redfern Park.At the verandah-framed site, once home to hatted Moon Park, Mediterranean(ish) Lo Presti’s feels very Sydney, very now, but it’s not hard to imagine you’re swiping sesame focaccia through the terrific charred eggplant dip and it’s one of those carefree summers of the 1990s again. A time when You Am I ruled the world and the coolest way to show you had a brain was pronouncing Peter Stuyvesant correctly.Tuna toasts.Jennifer SooLo Presti’s is so far up my alley, owners Rachael Trewin and Michael Lo Presti have essentially driven a ’63 Holden EJ through my front door. Trewin is a hospitality gun you may remember from managing Chippendale’s dearly missed Automata; Lo Presti was head chef at Marrickville’s Baba’s Place. With help from graphic designer Jarmaine Stojanovic on branding duties, the restaurant also channels the community-focused vibes Lo Presti experienced growing up in his family’s espresso bar. The drink coasters are reprints from that Darlinghurst cafe, now home to Bar Reggio, so don’t go looking for the advertised pinball, nachos and lasagne.While a large part of me was keen to visit when the restaurant opened in July, I was also happy to wait until spring and all the green stuff September brings. Lo Presti knows how to coax deliciousness from vegetables like Madge Maguire could fire up the Rabbitohs. Capsicums are roasted until they’re Doc Martens-black and caramelised, before the skin is discarded and the flesh is dehydrated to fortify flavour. Further boosted with marjoram and Pedro Ximenez vinegar, the garnet-red peppers are perfect for draping across robustly crusted bread while drinking a vibrant Malvasia Riojana.Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.Sign upHunks of roasted beetroot spend the night in their cooking liquid of red-wine vinegar and brown sugar before a gentle dehydration, too, creating a texture that’s chewy, giving and gnarly all at once, teamed with rosemary on a bed of house-made yoghurt.Grilled pork chop with pipis.Jennifer SooBroad beans are grilled and served in their pods, edamame-style; asparagus comes with avgolemono (lemon and egg) and plenty of fresh dill. Tuna toasts – crunchy thumbs of focaccia topped with preserved lemon mayonnaise, chilli-marinated broccoli and Aleppo pepper-spiced bluefin – are an essential snack. Grilled vine leaf-wrapped mulloway on roast fennel and onion tastes like a weekend in Hydra; a grilled pork chop is liberally covered in white wine, coriander and chicken stock-simmered pipis. A side of brown-butter toasted rice with garlic, ginger and spinach soaks up all the delicious juices left on share plates.Paul Guiney, co-owner of Newtown’s two-hatted South End (which feels like a seasonally driven sibling to Lo Presti’s, along with Redfern’s Fontana and Clarence and V in the CBD) helped put together the diverse summer-friendly wine list, while Olly Churcher of Enmore’s Bar Demo created the beaut cocktails. Order a negroni darkened with chinotto bitters. Finish with a bay-leaf creme caramel. Turn up the Hoodoo Gurus and chill.The low-down Atmosphere: Like long-lunching at an old friend’s house on a spring afternoon Go-to dishes: 350g grilled pork chop with pipis and coriander ($68); tuna toasts ($16); roasted beetroot, rosemary and yoghurt ($20); bay leaf creme caramel with citrus ($16) Cost: About $220 for two, excluding drinks This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazineGood Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.From our partners