Cicerone Cucina Romana

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Tour Guide to Rome, Set in Surry Hills

The name says it all. Cicerone — borrowed from the ancient word for a guide who leads visitors through a city's monuments, hidden streets, and living culture — takes that philosophy seriously. Named in spirit after the Roman philosopher and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero, this Surry Hills restaurant positions itself not as a fine-dining exercise in Italian cuisine, but as a genuine neighborhood joint with something to prove.

The menu draws heavily from nostalgic dishes of the Eternal City, the kind of cooking that doesn't perform for tourists but feeds locals. Rome's underground culture and its street-level classics are the reference points here, and the kitchen leans into that identity without apology.

The Wood Oven at the Centre of It All

The heart of Cicerone is its wood-fired oven, the engine behind their Roman Pizza alla Pala — a long, rectangular style baked directly on a paddle, with a light, airy crumb and a properly charred base. It's a distinctly Roman format, less common in Sydney than its Neapolitan cousin, and it anchors the restaurant's identity within a very specific tradition of Italian cuisine.

Recognition That Means Something

Gambero Rosso — Italy's most authoritative guide to Italian food and wine — awarded Cicerone two slices in 2023, a meaningful nod for a Roman-style restaurant operating on the other side of the world. For a guide that judges by the standards of the source, that recognition carries real weight.

Cicerone is fully licensed and open for both dine-in and takeaway. Daje.