Australia’s biggest city has seen a spate of restaurants open in the last year or so. MEI LIN recently visited four swish venues to see if they have what it takes to compete with award-winning Sydney stalwarts such as Bilson’s, Tetsuya’s, Aria and Rockpool.


Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria
Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square
+61 2 9223 9552
www.bacco.com.au

Bacco has a prestigious office address in Sydney’s CBD, surrounded by designer boutiques and with lawyers and real estate agents as co-tenants. Head chef Fulvio Lanciore, originally from Rome, has kept to his roots with a delightful authenticity in his menu. One highlight is the selection of imported cheeses and cured meats. The pecorino, made from Tuscan sheep’s milk, is mild and creamy, while the bresaola (cured, aged beef) is lean and not too salty. Also excellent are his capocollo (pork neck salami) and pork nduja – the latter with a fiery but divine chilli kick.

“Not many restaurants in Sydney offer as extensive a selection of cured meats as ours,” says the chef. “Our plan in the future is to establish our own pig farm. I’m recreating the taste of what I used to eat as a kid.” With pasta handmade from scratch in the open kitchen, guests can be sure of the real thing. Among the mains, the fettuccine al cervo – slow-braised venison ragu – yields hearty flavours, while the costoletta di vitello – two milk-fed veal cutlets seared on a wood fire and served with veal jus – is utterly satisfying. A beautiful finish is provided by the tortino al cioccolate caldo.

Charming barman Stefan from San Remo makes it impossible to resist the list of a dozen Italian aperitifs made with interesting Italian liqueurs, syrups, wines and fresh fruit. Try the Invidia, a handcrafted lemon sorbet mixed with Italian wild strawberry liqueur and topped with Prosecco.