Spezia, a 130-seat Italian restaurant, has opened inside the former Department of Lands building at Circular Quay in Sydney, taking over courtyards that were previously private spaces within The Lands by Capella precinct.

The venue is the first Sydney opening for Florence Guild, the hospitality, workspace and wellness group that launched Freyja in Melbourne in 2022. Executive Chef Jae Bang, a Michelin-starred chef whose background includes three-Michelin-starred Re-naa in Norway, leads the kitchen alongside Head Chef Aaron Caccia, formerly of Re-naa and Noma in Denmark.

The concept leans on what the team calls the "forgotten flavours" of the Silk Road that ran through Venice and Rome. The name itself — Spezia is Italian for spice — signals the menu engineering at work.

What does the spice actually change?

Bang positions the restaurant as Italian first, with spice as a differentiator rather than a theme. "We've also added hints of spice to every single dish, which adds a layer of complexity and difference that you won't find anywhere else," he said.

That approach shows up in specific dishes rather than blanket seasoning:

• Ravioli del plin — the duo's spin on carbonara
• Pecorino-filled pasta in an egg yolk and dukkah oil emulsion, with beef jus and asparagus
• Spaghetti chitarra with blue swimmer crab bisque, anise and fresh chili, topped with prawn tartare

Much of the production stays in-house. Bang cites baking the pane soffiato bread fresh to order, slow-cooking the octopus and building a proprietary dukkah spice mix as the foundations of the program.

The drinks program carries real inventory weight

The wine list runs past 500 bottles, sourced from Italy, Australia and beyond, with 36 wines pourable by the glass. That's a substantial by-the-glass count for a 130-seat room, and it signals an all-day ambition: Bang says the menu is built for long lunches and dinners as well as walk-in visits for sfizi — small indulgences — and a single glass of wine.

Breakfast service is planned for the future, which would extend the venue's trading day further.

Why this building, and why Italian?

Spezia occupies two courtyards inside the Bridge Street building, connected by two carriageways once used by horse-drawn carriages to turn around. Guests reach the restaurant by walking through marbled corridors — a hidden location Bang argues is part of the venue's appeal.

He says Italian wasn't a trend play, even if the cuisine is enjoying strong demand in Sydney right now. "It's a very popular cuisine in Sydney right now, but I don't believe in doing something just because it's popular," he said. Instead, he credits the space itself: "It was the space itself, it reminded me of visiting small Italian towns, where you walk around a corner and suddenly a piazza appears, where the community gathers over good food and wine."

Spezia anchors and ties the building together, in Bang's framing, and the concealed courtyard setting gives the group a format that's difficult to replicate in Sydney's competitive Italian segment.

The restaurant currently trades lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, with breakfast flagged as the next service extension.