Machiavelli group moves into Rushcutters

A former tyre factory in Rushcutters Bay has already claimed two high-profile restaurant scalps. Now family members of the Machiavelli restaurant empire are hoping it's third-time lucky for the site. Home to the short-lived Neild Avenue and the even shorter-lived Rushcutters, which was backed by the Keystone Group, Bar Machiavelli will open in the space in early March.

"It'll be a pastaria, with a strong focus on antipasto and pasta," say co-owner Paola Toppi​. "One of the main problems [in the past] with the site was wait time. We will take bookings, I'm a firm believer in reservations," she adds.

There'll be a strong Italian flavour to the precinct, with Popolo restaurant behind Bar Machiavelli. Word on the streets of Rushcutters Bay is the cuisine reach is about to get wider, with plans for a Chinese restaurant on McLachlan Avenue. Toppi says her mother Giovanna​, the Machiavelli matriarch, and Nicholae Bicher​, the Romanian-born judo champ who recently took over Machiavelli Ristorante in the city, will both be involved at the Rushcutters Bay start-up.