Borruso's Pizza and Pasta

Borruso's Pizza & Pasta warmly invites diners to join the family, and a big and transnational family it is. Starting life in Cape Town back in 1994, Borruso’s has been in operation in Sydney’s Northbridge for some time, with its cosy Italian restaurant and pizzeria now a neighbourhood fixture down Strathallen Avenue: not only have they been serving two generations of locals great Italian cuisine, but they are committed to charity and community causes, too. Borruso’s is a restaurant with a big capacity, and the centrepiece is the traditional stone-and-wood-fired oven that makes for the best pizzas in this corner of the city.

A quick note on the philanthropic efforts of Borruso’s Pizza & Pasta: with roots in South Africa, Borruso’s gives $1 from every bill to the Eniwe Children’s Fund, assisting AIDS-orphaned children in Kwa-Zulu Natal. It’s optional, of course, but a great lesson from a passionate family of food lovers that we should never take food and family for granted. This generous spirit extends to the service and cuisine on offer at what has quickly become a default destination for Italian food in Sydney’s Northbridge. With a wisely restrained menu of pizza, pasta, and other Italian specialties on offer, Borruso’s like to keep their fans involved, soliciting suggestions for even more weird and wonderful dishes!

Let’s start with the foundation of Borruso’s Pizza & Pasta, the Italian pies baked at extreme temperatures in the restaurant’s traditional wood-fired oven. Perfectly crisp bases and smoke-tinged, flavourful toppings are the result, with pizzas covering all the bases from classic Neapolitan margherita to the more unusual Number 1 Special (spicy salami, caramelised onion, feta and avocado) and the No Name Brand (spinach, bacon, feta, and garlic). There’s even a list of Lite pizzas for the calorie-counters, easy on the cheese and loaded with fresh vegetables. The best of this bunch has to be the Ferara, with bocconcini, tomato, tomato jam and basil. Plus, all the pastas and pizzas here are available gluten-free. Molto speciale! Signature pizzas at Northbridge’s Borruso’s Pizza & Pasta include the spicy Hot Mama and the Spanish Prawn, this latter including chorizo, roast chicken, smoked paprika and chilli for an Andalusian kick. As for the pasta, it’s all freshly homemade; our picks are the traditional Amatriciana and the less-than-traditional Mafiosa with Napoletana sauce, bacon, olives, chicken livers, chilli and garlic. Find this spirited Sydney Italian restaurant down Strathallen Avenue and, despite having capacity for 110 guests, be sure to reserve a spot.