The smell of salt and money wafts through open bifold windows that frame a million-dollar view of svelte powerboats with matching crew. Beyond the marina is a sparkling slab of Middle Harbour and Mosman. While the scene is quintessential Sydney, the menu is A Trip Through Italy – literally, the name of the dégustation. The wine list, too, is a tribute to Italy’s powerbroker regions, and a large by-the-glass list suits the theme of Italian discovery. The trip might start in Campania with quattro bottoni, moreish pasta “buttons” filled with rich eggplant parmigiana in a Parmigiano-Reggiano consommé, then head north to Lombardy with a fillet of beef with Tuscan cabbage, turnip and black garlic. Italo-Australian connections are made in a dish of peak-condition white asparagus flown from the Veneto atop macadamia cream, with cured egg, shaved nuts and crisped dill adding crunch, and fussily presented cutlets of Murray cod in concentric pools of puréed capsicum, toasted rice and marjoram oil, topped with fish crackling. End in Piedmont with cultured cream panna cotta and strawberries four ways. And because it’s Sydney, at meal’s end you can buy one of the runabouts bobbing outside from the adjacent brokerage.
Phone:
(02) 9969 4088
Website:
Bookings:
Bookings recommended
Features:
Licensed
BYO (lunch only)
Vegetarian-friendly
Outdoor dining
Private room
Wheelchair friendly
Accepted card types:
American Express
Eftpos
MasterCard
Visa
Diners Club
Chefs:
Alessandro Pavoni & Victor Moya
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot at the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 50.
