Updated ,first published
Mediterranean$$
Warm and hospitable charmer.
Life feels easy at this welcoming restaurant with top food and European charm. Rustic strings of garlic hang by the bar in the elegant yet simple dining room, a former schoolhouse set in grassy grounds.
Instantly, there’s a feeling of being “looked after” as waiters drop a charming “my mum in Puglia” anecdote while settling diners at big tables, perfect for long-lunch debriefs or cocktails and croquettes as the sun goes down.
Love in a bowl is the lobster pasta, the seafood bisque a garlicky boom of flavour with blistered confit cherry tomatoes, fennel-zucchini puree and a hint of chilli. That’s then tossed through house-made paccheri, the tube pasta of southern Italy made from semolina and eggs.
On the half-shell, scallops are saucy in a cauliflower, leek and saffron puree with a drizzle of ’nduja oil and crisped “bacon bits” of guanciale – the most refined surf-and-turf on the north coast. Fish of the day might be baked, butterflied and deboned snapper with a salty hit of marjoram, capers and pinenuts.
Drinks include an interesting list of Euro and Australian wines spanning a broad range of price points with plenty of organic, biodynamic and minimal-intervention options.
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Good to know: There’s an all-vegan a la carte menu in addition to the standard offering.
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Last visited: 2025
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