Vito’s is a new kind of restaurant – with a very old tradition

Jun 5, 2026 – 5.00amFor Brett Sergeant, the nerves started three years ago, when he began dreaming of a restaurant called Vito’s. An ode to the down-home American Italian food that everybody understands and loves, he wanted to package it with the opulence and glamour of a grand night out. “The sort of restaurant where you walk in the door and get hit by the warmth and energy and don’t want to leave,” he says.The glamour quotient of Vito’s, which will open in September at 11 Bridge Street, Sydney, is high. So is the risk factor, with an estimated $8.5 million being spent on the design and fit-out alone. “We started by thinking we could do it for $5 million,” says Sergeant. “Three years later, it’s grown a bit.”Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Jill DupleixFood writerJill Dupleix is AFR Magazine's culinary editor.Fetching latest articles