Simo’s Kitchen — Restaurant in Sydney

Tucked up a small flight of stairs, Simo’s Kitchen greets you with classic Italian tunes and a rustic Mediterranean vibe.

The kitchen is compact—clearly built for one.

Simo himself is both chef and charming host, brings a slice of Italy straight to Balmain.

We kicked off with the hand-made potato gnocchi with gorgonzola and toasted walnut sauce, red wine reduction. A touch on the sweet side and a little soft. The dish could have used a touch more heat (as in temp)— still decent Gnocchi and enjoyable.

The squid ink linguine with half a blue swimmer crab, clams, crab meat, leeks, and cherry tomato was gloriously messy, a juicy crab, perfectly cooked pasta, and a sauce that could win awards.

The rocket and roasted pumpkin salad with grilled eggplant, gorgonzola, and almonds? Pure perfection. One of the best salads we’ve had in ages.

The restaurant is fully licensed, reasonably priced with sensible wine pricing (plus a BYO option if required)

By the time we left an additional 3 tables occupied, a promising sign for a cold, wet & rainy Monday lunch.

Balmain’s critics aren’t wrong—this is Italian done with flair and...

I recently dined at Simo’s Kitchen, a charming new Italian eatery in Balmain. This place is a testament to the passion and dedication its owner, who is also the chef, bringing authentic Italian cuisine right to this area of the city.

The food was really good; the highlight for me was the egg fettuccine with tomato, eggplant and basil topped with fresh ricotta cheese, which was cooked to perfection and rich in taste. You can really tell that the chef uses fresh, quality ingredients and puts his heart into every meal.

It's worth noting that the restaurant does seem a bit understaffed, leading to delays in service. However, I view this as a growing pain of a new establishment rather than a permanent flaw. The staff, although busy, were courteous and did their best to ensure a pleasant dining experience.

Overall, I highly recommend Simo’s Kitchen for anyone looking to enjoy a delicious, authentic Italian meal. It's a great addition to the area, and with a little more time, I think they will smooth out the service hiccups. Let's support this local gem...

Who knows what the food is like. I ordered on Uber Eats at around 7:30 with an ETA initially at 8:15. Slowly I watched that time pushed back towards the dawn of the next day, until at 8:49 the 'delivery partner' cancelled the order.

Yeah righto, it was the delivery partner who what? Fell down the stairs at the restaurant and spilled the $80 worth of food all over themselves in a Mr. Magoo fashion, requiring the entire order (which just so happened to be delayed at least 4 times) be cancelled.

The reality is Simo/his kitchen accepted the order with no intention of completing it, or just plumb forgot about it. Either way, it demonstrates an indictable disinterest in customer service. Ultimately the poor, hopeless delivery person showed up, only to be strong armed into cancelling the order.

Oh yay! A refund…now 90 minutes after I wanted to eat. I don’t want money, I want food and now it’s too damn late! Uber wouldn’t let me review , so hopefully this saves some other poor soul in future from Simo’s complete disinterest of occupying...