Secolo Balmain to close, owners to return to CBD with two new venues

Family-owned restaurant Secolo Balmain will close this month, with the owners set to return to the CBD to open two new venues.

Anthony, Tanja and Robert Arienzale brought their much-loved city restaurant to The Exchange Hotel in late 2023 for a six-month pop-up, following the sudden departure of Fabbrica Pasta Bar.

Tanja says while they have loved having Secolo open again, the family are excited about introducing two new concepts to the CBD’s vibrant dining scene.

“Things have changed a lot since we made the difficult decision to close our original city venue in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns and looming construction plans,” she says.

“We have such fond memories of our time in town and we can’t wait to welcome back our old customers and meet some new faces.”

The first of the family’s two new venues is Tessuto, a retro Italian trattoria serving up modern takes on a range of pastries, make-your-own pastas, focaccia and pizza by the slice.

Located in a heritage-listed building on York St, the eatery will be open for early-morning coffees, breakfast, lunch and afternoon spritzes, and will feature some familiar faces from the original Secolo on Castlereagh St.

“In the late 1800s this space was owned by a popular textiles company that was the main importer of soft goods in Australia,” Tanja says.

“We wanted to honour the history of the building, so we decided to name the venue Tessuto, which means fabric in Italian.”

The Arienzale family has partnered with The Stazi Group on their second venue, which will open a few streets over, on Curtin Place’s bustling laneway just off George St.

La Panineria will be a takeaway Italian schiacciata (panini) bar, featuring freshly-made sandwiches like the Gladiator, made with sliced porchetta, pork crackling, salsa verde, provolone, friarielli and house-made aioli.

The hole-in-the-wall will also offer pizza by the slice and coffee.

Secolo head chef Mattia Senesi will oversee the menu at La Panineria and Tessuto, and will head up the kitchen at the latter.

Secolo Balmain's last day of trade will be on Saturday, May 18, while the new venues are set to open in the second half of 2024.

Visit www.tessuto.sydney and www.lapanineria.com.au for more details.