In a world awash with coffee, few realise Luigi Coluzzi was one of the men who introduced the espresso to Sydney.

In 1957, espresso machines were as common as hen's teeth and the Rome-born barista presented the joys of Italian food culture to the bohemian and theatrical crowd who clustered in warrens around the ABC offices strung along William Street in Kings Cross.

Passion: Rome-born barista Luigi Coluzzi. Credit:Jon Reid

Mr Coluzzi and his wife Eleni opened Bar Coluzzi in an old milk bar in William Street. When the building had to make way for the overpass in 1970 they moved around the corner to Darlinghurst Road and their bar became a Sydney institution that has lasted for seven decades.

Mr Coluzzi died on Sunday after a short illness. He was 84.