We started with the calamari and then moved on to two wonderful pasta dishes (one with a cream and tomato base, and one with an olive on base)- the flavours and sauces were perfectly rich and balanced with the right amount of spice. The rocket salad was fresh and the pear slices very crunchy. The famous tiramisu was also amazing~~the staff were so friendly and suggested we come back for the panacotta. For me this is the best pasta I\ve had in Sydney for a while

Toki Italian Inspired is a little restaurant run by a lovely Thai couple, Cherry and Toki. The menu notes that Toki, the chef, learnt cooking from his grandmother who worked in the Thai Royal Palace kitchen. Since then he was cooked in many leading restaurants in Thailand and Australia. I have dined there several times now—for a quiet lunch with a friend, through to a group of 10 for dinner. At lunchtime, apart from the extensive a la carte menu there are also inexpensive lunch specials. The food is a fusion of Italian with Asian influences. The food is superb and consists of a variety of pastas with various sauces. I chose the “Cherry’s Special” which had bacon, mushroom, chilli, garlic, white wine, cherry tomato, and wild rocket. It was very tasty and with a nice amount of kick from the chilli. Other friends had the chicken breast with pesto sauce., and the Polpetto (Italian meatballs with chilli and basil). Apart from pasta the restaurant also serves calamari, beer battered fish and chips, and superb prawns with garlic, white wine, and chilli. There are other options such as chicken schnitzel and steak as well. We took our own wine when we dined there in a group. The restaurant starts to close around 9.00pm, however the hosts were obliging and left us to finish our wine before we left. This restaurant is a 10 minute walk up Oxford Street from Hyde Park. For tourists it is a convenient place to go where you will get a delicious and relatively inexpensive meal. The pasta dishes are all around $10-18 depending on the sauce you choose (the seafood sauces are the more expensive), seafood dixshes are $14-16, the chicken is $14, and the steak $19. There are also side dishes and salads. Considering the skill and talent of the chef Toki, the friendly ambiance created by his wife Cherry, and the quality and taste of the very affordable food, this place is a hidden gem!!.