GOOD TIMES PASTA
Recently, a guest turned up to Lucio’s for her 30th birthday and asked if she could sit in the Sydney restaurant’s front room. “Her mother went into labour with her in that room 30 years ago,” says Sally Galletto. It’s one of many memorable incidents that have occurred at the Paddington institution she’s run with husband Lucio since 1983. There was the time singer Tom Jones had “dinner” after his show: he arrived with his entourage at 1am and left around 6am. George Harrison from The Beatles also dined there – during more typical business hours – which was a major moment for the restaurant’s co-owner and chef. “Lucio has been a Beatles tragic since the beginning,” says Galletto. “In fact, the only English he knew growing up came from Beatles lyrics.”
The restaurant has also unexpectedly featured in Italian media over the years. In
January 2008, actor Nicole Kidman and her musician husband Keith Urban dined at Lucio’s after announcing she was pregnant with their first child (this meant paparazzi and TV crews were outside, trying to get footage). “Family members living in Italy were stunned to watch Italian Sky News and see Lucio’s beaming face on the screen,” says Galletto.
Over its 37 years, the restaurant has earned fans for its black handkerchief pasta with seafood (which actor Al Pacino enjoyed), and tagliolini alla granseola (pictured), the crab pasta dish, which has been Lucio’s bestseller since its launch. The restaurant is also renowned for its art collection, which started with a Ned Kelly sketch that Sid
Nolan scrawled on a docket book after his first lunch at Lucio’s. The menu covers were designed by artist John Olsen.
The restaurant is about to face big changes: the family is selling the building, but hopes to retain a three-year lease so it can celebrate its 40th birthday – before rebooting the restaurant in a new format.
But Galletto wants to assure diners that “whatever form our new venture takes, both the tagliolini and the black pasta will be safe and reappear.”
47 Windsor St, Paddington, NSW, lucios.com.au