I love traditional Italian food and have been wanting to try Machiavelli for quite a while. It’s on Clarence Street, Sydney, and I walk past it at least once a week.

Machiavelli is underground, which makes for an old-fashioned Italian tavern feeling. The restaurant is well-known for being the place to be seen if you’re a high-flying power-broker, and there are huge pictures on the walls of their patrons.

While some of my dining friends may have thought it was pretty “old school” I absolutely loved the food and the service. I love old world dining and delicious hearty food, so it was complete bliss for me.

I met up with Beverly and Lisa to indulge in noodles in Artarmon. The place we were heading to was actually closed on Tuesdays (d’oh!) so instead we went to Sushi-ya, which was a few shops down. Coincidently, Sushi-ya is directly across from my fave pizza place, LCC. We have often looked at the menu while waiting for our pizza, but never stepped inside.

Sushi-ya is right near Artarmon station, and is extremely popular. Because we hadn’t booked a table, we had to sit outside in a squished table – on a Tuesday night!

Ramen noodles.

My tempura was delightful, but I thought in all it was a bit pricey in comparison to other Japanese places we frequent. I will definitely be back though for another giant dish of the veges.