What LuMi's Federico Zanellato has planned next

Bill Drakopoulos is snapping up Nielsen Park Cafe and Restaurant with a view to turning it into an "Italian seaside trattoria". In January he swings open the doors at Sotto Sopra in Newport, and he's also plotting a Petersham spin-off for newly anointed SMH Good Food Guide Chef of the Year Federico Zanellato, from LuMi.

So who is the restaurateur quietly assembling an Italian restaurant empire the likes of which Sydney has never known? Drakopoulos is the Greek-Australian restaurateur behind Ripples, who has taken a major Italian detour in recent years.

Drakopoulos confirmed he's in the process of finalising a deal he's confident will see him step in at Nielsen Park over summer, with long-term plans to give it an Italian spin.

Already a partner at Alessandro Pavoni's two-hatted Ormeggio at The Spit, he and Pavoni have branched out with the Chiosco eatery concept. In January they open Sotto Sopra, which will serve Italian food with a heavy wood-fire slant, at 316 Barrenjoey Road, in Newport. And Drakopoulos and rising star Federico Zanellato have also been spotted scouring a site at Petersham.

"I'd like to do something else in the future," Zanellato says. "The sort of place you'd eat at a few times a week, but I want to keep my eye on LuMi. It has been crazy since the award."

Drakopoulos says if the Petersham project proceeds, it won't be until the second half of 2017.