Beppi's celebrates 70 years as a new generation discovers Its charm
One of Sydney's most storied restaurants is celebrating seven decades in business.
Beppi's, the Darlinghurst fine dining institution that once hosted Frank Sinatra, ABBA, and Rihanna, turns 70 this year under the unbroken ownership of the Polese family.
While Sydney's icon restaurant scene has taken a battering of late, with Quay shutting in February and Greek stalwart Diethnes, a fixture since 1952, announcing its closure due to redevelopment, Beppi's endures, and owner Marc Polese believes he knows why.
"It's like running a marathon against a relay team," he told the SMH.
The restaurant's history reads like a golden-era celebrity guestbook. Sinatra dined there in 1974, declaring it "Just like home!" Jimmy Stewart followed in 1977, Harrison Ford in 1984, and ABBA made the pilgrimage from Sweden in 1976, writing in the guestbook:
"We have come all the way from Sweden just to taste your food." More recently, Rihanna crowned Beppi's with "Hands down [the] best food in Australia" in 2010.
Founder Beppi Polese left home as a teenager and worked at grand European hotels, reportedly delivering room service to Ernest Hemingway at Venice's Gritti Palace. He survived internment camps and partisan conflict during World War II, and immigrated to Australia, eventually opening Beppi's on Yurong Street in June 1956. The restaurant predates the Melbourne Olympics and Australia's first television broadcast by a matter of months.
In its early years, the restaurant introduced many Sydneysiders to their first taste of mussels, artichokes and asparagus. The Frank, Kerry and James Packer set became regulars, alongside a steady stream of state and federal politicians.
Marc Polese, 64, grew up above the restaurant and recalls the textures of that era vividly.
After Beppi passed away in 2016, his son — a trained veterinary doctor — stepped back into the family business. He carries the legacy without imposing it on the next generation.
"I want them to pursue their own path," Polese told the SMH.
Today, Beppi's is finding a surprising new audience among younger diners, with the SMH reporting a growing contingent of Gen Z patrons drawn to the restaurant's history and its celebrated veal saltimbocca. Among them is 29-year-old James Doyle, who has eaten there between 25 and 30 times, hosted his engagement party in its cellar, and considers it simply the benchmark for service.
"I'm going to say it's the best service out there," Doyle said.
To mark the milestone, Beppi's will run an anniversary menu across June and July honouring signature dishes across its 70-year history. Highlights include the original zuppa di cozze (mussels and pipis simmered in fish stock), served at its 1960s equivalent price of $12, alongside cannelloni alla Beppi's and steak diane.
Jonathan Jackson, 9th June 2026
