AVIDO: Food and wine haven on Oxford Street begins renovations.
This week, the venue that was formerly home to Cupcake Bakery & Hot Gossips cafe, will begin transformations into Oxford Street’s newest food and wine haven, AVIDO.
AVIDO will be an 80 seat restaurant and wine garden that aims to bring a new style of culinary experience to locals. The name AVIDO translates in Italian & Spanish, to greedy or hungry and thirsty, reflecting the focus on sharing great food & wine with friends.
Specialising in making the most of simple and sustainable seasonal food, chef Jamie Thomas brings a wealth of experience to AVIDO with 17 years behind him in the food industry and coming to AVIDO from Victor Churchill Woolhara. AVIDO will establish its individuality with a unique modern Italian/Australian menu that is continually changing its flavours to reflect the tastes of the season. Interesting and diverse additions to the menu include sharing plates, freshly made breads, desserts and select mains. AVIDO will also offer a breakfast and lunch menu to make it a venue that is open to serve Paddington at all times of the day and night.
Head chef Jamie Thomas comes from the UK where after his apprenticeship he opened Villandry Food & Dining in great Portland Street London at 24 years of age and had access to the best seasonal produce from England, France and Spain. He then went on to spend two years working alongside Fergus Henderson at the highly reputable St John Restaurant learning more detail about the animal he was cooking, and all the interesting parts a lot of other chefs at the time were throwing away. He then took on his first head chef appointment at the gastro pub The Anglesea Arms in Hammersmith and there, managed to get into the Good Food Guide in his first year with a commendation and stayed in for the following three years. Since arriving in Australia, he jumped at the chance to work with Romeo Baudouin and open Victor Churchill Butchers and learn some more about the art of butchery and especially charcuterie. It’s with these 17yrs experience that Jamie now is looking to create his own style at AVIDO and also brings with him as sous chef, Luke Smith, also from the Victor Churchill crew.
Also exciting are the visually creative forces behind AVIDO. Matt Woods (mattwoodsdesign.blogspot.com), known for his work on Newtown’s Bloodwood, is designing interiors. Matt has just been nominated for 3 ‘IDEA’ awards (Interior Design Excellence Awards); for Bloodwood with Best Hospitality Interior and Best Sustainable Project awards and Matt himself for Best Emerging Designer. Also on board is Melbourne based Sarah Parkes whose macramé work has been commissioned for Space Furniture, The Ivy Nightclub and fashion designers White Suede and Claude Maus ( www.smalltown.net.au ). Paddington local, Rory O’Brien of Arcon will oversee the construction and fit-out of the venue.
Proprietor Ian Summers says “This is a very exciting time, seeing what has been months and months of planning now actually begin to take shape. I can’t wait to open our doors and welcome in people from the local area to experience what we intend to be exceptional food and wine in a setting that is unique in Paddington. The wine garden is going to be an amazing setting for people to soak up the Sydney summer.” Summers, a local Sydney boy, has a background in finance, having spent the last five years working as a trader in New York with Macquarie Bank, and living in downtown Manhattan. Following the market crash in America, Summers spent most of 2009 travelling throughout America, Asia and Australia, before re-settling in Sydney and deciding it was time to venture into new territory and in the spirit of Masterchef, follow a life-long dream to open up his own restaurant and bar.
Avido Restaurant & Wine Garden
438 Oxford Street
Paddington 2021