Pilu at Freshwater: Restaurant review

The sun and the sand must leave a lasting effect on the waitstaff at Pilu, such is the warmth radiating from the team. There's confidence and know-how, too. Staff reel off producers and steer through the wine list with ease – an impressive feat, considering it clocks in at over 300 bottles, of which the comprehensive selection of Sardinian wines is the beating heart. Flavours are big and bold: the signature suckling pig with apple sauce is still a knockout, even if it could use a lick more acid, and al dente malloreddus with sweet, earthy veal ragù and pecorino is as near-perfect as a bowl of pasta can be. And how about that seadas, a crisp disc of pastry filled with ricotta and sultanas with floral honey that nails the dessert trifecta of crunch, creaminess and sweetness. Some dishes could drop a portion size – the fregola, heaving with prawns, appears to never end – but it seems farcical to complain that a restaurant at this pricepoint is too generous with its food. The initiated know to nab a table by the windows, with views of sea and sky, but luckily for the rest, at Pilu the sun shines through in more ways than one.

Phone:
(02) 9938 3331

Bookings:
Bookings recommended

Chefs:
Giovanni Pilu & Federico Porceddu