“You can get to anywhere in the world from Sydenham,” Stephen Mandis tells Broadsheet. “It’s the hub of the inner west: it connects the east of Sydney, it connects the south of Sydney, the station is there, the airport is five minutes away.”

The affection Mandis and his lifelong friend Nicholas Giannopoulos have for what’s arguably an out-of-the-way suburb makes it the ideal location for their coming-soon venue: Sippenham, a 20-seat pasta and wine bar just 250 metres from Sydenham Station.

The Sydney suburb was named after its London counterpart, and it just so happens that London’s Sydenham was originally known as Sippenham. When the small dining room opens in early April, it’ll mark the pair’s first foray into hospitality ownership.

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The idea was born during lockdown, when the two lived together. Mandis, who worked in finance in Marrickville, wanted a way to celebrate Giannopoulos’s cooking – he plated his first dish of pasta at his parents’ restaurant when he was 14 years old. It was dining around London that locked down the concept.

“What London does really well is a restaurant isn’t just a restaurant, it’s a social hotspot,” Mandis says. “You can get a bowl of pasta, you could listen to your favourite songs, you could have your favourite cocktails or your favourite drink and it’s just a vibe.”

While Sydney’s Sydenham isn’t far from the heaving dining areas of Marrickville and Enmore, it’s lacking its own nighttime dining scene. Sippenham’s here to change that.

Expect bar snacks, antipasto, focaccia and fresh house-made pastas using locally sourced ingredients. Signatures will include gnocchi alla Sorrentina, where the pasta’s baked with San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella, and a house-made malloreddus with prawns. The Sardinian pasta’s shaped like thin, ribbed shells – ideal to carry the punchy sauce.

Lo-Fi Wines is curating the wine list, and there’ll be a collection of cocktails. Philter Brewing’s on the beer.

“We’re going to have a record player where locals can come and donate some of their records, so they can spin it any time they want. We’ll build our own collection as well.” Pieces by local photographers will be on display, focusing on scenes from Sydenham and the wider inner west.

The venue’s nearly there, after undergoing a full renovation, and Mandis and Giannopoulos are excited.

“We have this romantic idea of putting in a social hotspot in literally the hotspot of the inner west. Our families have deep roots in Sydenham, Tempe and St Peters and we just hope everybody enjoys the experience – we hope that the locals have a place that they could be proud of.”

Sippenham is slated to open at 282 Unwins Bridge Road, Sydenham, in early April 2025.

@sippenham