Aside from commuting between my bed and the couch and googling “How long Christmas ham last in fridge,” I can’t say I got up to much over the end-of-year break. The same can’t be said of Alessandro Pavoni. Between running his Italian establishments Ormeggio, Chiosco and A’Mare, and preparing for his upcoming opening, Cibaria, in Manly, he’s also been busy getting Postino, in Summer Hill, off the ground. This week, we’re adding it to The Hot List.

When it opened back in September last year, it had some pretty big shoes to fill. Its location, Summer Hill’s old post office, is one of the suburb’s two icons (the other being the IGA cheese room), and its former occupant, One Penny Red, was an institution in the area for nearly 10 years. But the neighbourhood has taken to it with immediate gusto, and the momentum just keeps increasing. Over the summer holidays the place was slammed – even bringing punters in on Christmas Day. And it’s not just drawing locals, either: luxury cars rumbling down sleepy Moonbie Street looking for a Postino-adjacent park are an odd – but increasingly common – sight. It wouldn’t be surprising if the success gravity of Postino draws more bar and restaurant openings into its orbit.

Since Pavoni opened Ormeggio at the Spit in 2009, he’s built a niche for himself as Sydney’s pre-eminent coastal Italian chef. If a lease opens up in a place with even the tiniest glimpse of the water, there’s a decent chance he’ll open a restaurant there. But the perennially packed Postino, with its cracking pastas and myriad Venetian snacks, is proof that he doesn’t need views to do any of the heavy lifting. The food, drink and warm service are more than enough.

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The new openings are coming thick and fast in 2025

Just like that, it’s a new year, with a swag of new venues in the pipeline. Broadsheet’s Sydney food and drink editor Grace MacKenzie has rounded up 14 of the new spots we’re looking forward to – some of which will doubtlessly make their way onto The Hot List at some stage.

Reading the hospitality tea leaves, a few themes are already emerging for the year. Developments and food precincts will continue to wield influence, from state government-backed projects like the new Fish Market to Redfern’s Wunderlich Lane and Double Bay’s Ruby House. And the unstoppable rise of bread and sandwiches shows no signs of stopping. Plus, Golden Century is making a triumphant return. And that’s just what’s been announced; there’s so much more coming along. Exciting times.

This week’s Hot List activity

• Added: Postino
• Most trending restaurant: Olympus (runner-up: Ama).
• Most trending bar: Mountain Culture Redfern (runner-up: Little Cooler).
• Most trending cafe: Superfreak (runner-up: Ona Coffee).