The Thousands

Those passing 544 Bourke Street during the recent months would have noticed the masked windows offering a glimpse into the site’s newest incarnation, Fico. The windows remain closed over, disguising the intimate, softened mood within. It comes courtesy of supple, the same crowd responsible for Il Baretto’s interior – not surprising, given the Il Baretto peeps operate Fico. A pleasing melange of hide, wood, and industrial elements, the cosy wine bar offers a succinct and food-friendly array of Italian varietals (from arneis to sangiovese), to pair with honest Italian staples similar to its sibling up the street – the misti of meats is one of the better in Sydney.**The aggregation of these elements means Fico sits shotgun in the expansive drive of the small restaurant-bar in Sydney: both a consummate antithesis of city boozebarns, and symptomatic of an increasing sophistication in this town’s drinking.