Islington welcomes a fresh and authentic slice of Italy with the opening of The Tipsy Italian, a new Italian restaurant that has already begun to capture the hearts and tastebuds of the local community since its opening on the 1st of August.

Housed in the former Pino’s space, this new venture is the creation of Alessio and Carina, a passionate couple originally from Sydney. Their story is one of family, tradition, and a shared love for good Italian food.

Alessio’s experience in the hospitality space spans over two decades, and his food is heavily influenced by his family’s deep connection to Italian food.

“I’ve been making pizza for over 20 years. We’ve actually got my dad in here helping us to get it started, and he had his first pizza shop when he was 16,” Alessio said.

Before opening The Tipsy Italian, some may recognise this friendly couple from their takeaway pizza spot in Adamstown, The Hungry Wolf, which has been serving up pizza and pasta since 2020.

“We’d always wanted to have a bar offering. To have this space in Islington, we could marry the two, pizza and a bar offering, together. It’s the perfect location here on Maitland Road. It’s so close to the hustle and bustle of Beaumont Street,” Carina said.

The space itself came with great bones, which Alessio and Carina have leaned into, making minor changes to add their own personality throughout. The biggest change? The installation of a brand-new woodfired pizza oven.

“We really wanted this pizza oven to be the showpiece.”

The menu at The Tipsy Italian diverges greatly from what you can expect at The Hungry Wolf, instead focusing on more regional Italian dishes that pay homage to Alessio’s Calabrian roots and Carina’s Sicilian heritage.

Among the standout dishes is the Prosciutto e Burrata plate, which has quickly become a crowd favourite, alongside the Mushroom Arancini, Calamari Fritti, and the Salumi – daily selection of cured meats served with bread from their woodfired pizza oven.

Whilst Alessio is quite the pizza master, his love for pasta shines through in one particular dish on the menu.

“I love pasta. My favourite would be the Di Mare – it’s spaghetti but with seafood, and it’s a little more like what you might get in my dad’s hometown. It’s not saucy, it’s just olive oil and breadcrumbs,” Alessio said.

In addition to the food offerings, The Tipsy Italian is fully licensed and boasts a curated selection of Italian-style cocktails, classic cocktails, and wines including a special partnership with Piggs Peake Winery.

“Piggs Peake is my favourite winery, and it’s all I drink at home so I wanted to do something with them. I like that you can’t buy their wines from a bottle shop and I don’t think I’ve ever tried one of their wines and didn’t like it.”

Having only been open for a few weeks, The Tipsy Italian has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception, with Alessio and Carina thrilled with the glowing reviews they’ve received thus far.

“We have been really surprised with how popular we’ve been since we opened the doors. It’s just been more and more every night.”

The future for the business includes the transformation of the venue’s courtyard space into an outdoor dining area due to be open for summer.

The couple’s passion and dedication have brought this corner spot back to life with The Tipsy Italian joining the lineup of the already cherished Islington dining scene.