18 hours ago
Nigella Lawson reveals the unassuming dish from little-known Sydney restaurant she'd travel 17,000km to eat again: 'Phenomenal'
Nigella Lawson has revealed the one dish in Sydney she would happily fly 17,000km from home to eat again - and it's not what you'd expect.
The beloved British food writer and TV host, currently in Australia, took to Instagram to rave about her dinner at Café Paci, a small but highly acclaimed restaurant tucked away on King Street in Newtown.
Among a spread of oysters, handmade tonnarelli, and a show-stopping dessert, one entrée in particular left her completely awestruck: fermented carrots on n'duja-spread crisp and thin rye bread.
'The dish I'd come the 17,000 kilometres from home to eat,' she said, sharing a photo of the now-iconic starter.
'That piercingly precise, headily uplifting entrée/starter of fermented carrots on n'duja-spread crisp and thin rye bread. It's just phenomenal, even (though in any other context I might be embarrassed to use the term) iconic.'
Lawson didn't stop there.
She praised Café Paci's chef Pasi Petänen - who hails from Finland - for creating what she calls 'quintessential Sydney' food: globally inspired, unpretentious and full of warmth.
'There's nowhere like it,' she said.
'The food is impeccable, innovative without being tricksy, the room is relaxed, and everyone who works there contributes to the sense of welcome and excitement that energises me afresh on each visit. It's cool, for sure - but so very warm.'
The fermented carrot dish, which has since sent social media into a quiet frenzy, plays with contrasts: the earthy sweetness of the carrot meets the spicy richness of n'duja, all anchored on a delicate rye crisp that gives it crunch and structure.
It's bold, but beautifully balanced - and Lawson's endorsement has firmly cemented its place in Sydney's dining scene.
Her post continued with a detailed run-through of the meal: oysters with kumquat mignonette ('utterly convincing'), a cod's roe and radish toast ('a citrus-fresh peppery tiling'), and tonnarelli with provolone, colatura and fried zucchini.
The meal ended with her 'unmissable' dessert: carrot sorbet on liquorice cake, topped with aerated yoghurt - a dish she described as 'otherworldly'.
'I've hit the word limit,' she added, 'but actually no words could ever suffice.'
Since the post went live, fans have been flocking to Café Paci's Instagram, with reservations filling quickly.
While Lawson admitted she finds it hard to pick favourites, she made it clear that this unassuming entrée would always have a special place on her palate - and in her passport.
