Dimitri’s Pizzeria is an absolute institution in Surry Hills. I remember it from my first days in Sydney, from 1999 onwards, though I’ve somehow never managed to make it in. But recently, I was drawn in by their chalk signage advertising good Italian wine when we were looking for a cheap meal. I was surprised at the combination of the restaurant looking classic, but also contemporary, and the menu too: an emphasis on the organic and homemade (in the pizza dough, the pasta).
I asked the friendly owner and he said he took it over many years ago (eight?) from the original owner. We split a pizza and it was totally delicious, and we had a very interesting chilled organic wine, called Rosso Carbo, a 2017 from Abruzzo. A bit pricey for the wine (I didn’t check the prices before ordering it) but very nice.
The other thing I find amusing about the place is that it has always glowed from the inside out, red neon combined with a high overhead lighting over the pizza ovens. Depending on where you sit, you too may glow in red light for the duration of your meal. It’s charming, cosy and very Surry Hills.
