G’day folks, Tony here reporting on another quality Italian meal in Sydney. I recently celebrated my anniversary over dinner at Haberfield’s Dolcissimo Restaurant. Well, I was not disappointed. I couldn’t help myself by reading a few Eatability reviews prior to dining there, so it was with mixed emotions that I commenced the evening, as some of the reviewers weren’t too happy with the service, some even unhappy with the food.
As far as I’m concerned, it was a perfect dinner. Coming in at around $70 for two plus wine (licensed and BYO), it was exceptional value too. In some Sydney city-east and eastern suburbs equivalent restaurants you’d pay 50% more at least, and likely for poorer quality food.
So what did we eat. For starters, how about home-made whitebait fritters, and classic penne carbonara. The fritters were so light they melted in your mouth, complemented by a green salad and mayonnaise. Just delicious. The carbonara was rich, creamy, and balanced - not gluggy nor too sweet - with the pasta cooked perfectly, retaining a slight bite to it (al dente)
- Whitebait Fritters
- Penne Carbonara
For “Secondi” we enjoyed the Gamberi pizza, complemented with a rocket and parmesan salad. Sublimely good pizza. Thin crust, simply done with large fresh prawns, garlic and chilli, with mozzarella cheese lightly seasoned with chopped parsley. One of the nicest pizzas I’ve ever had.
- Gamberi Pizza - Prawns, Garlic, Chilli, Mozzarella
For “Dolci” we enjoyed a made to order Cannoli - sweet ricotta filled biscuit with crushed almonds. We shared that - then each enjoyed some of the finest gelato in Sydney - pistachio, chocolate, vanilla, Zabaglione and coffee flavours. These guys can justifiably say “Sydney’s finest Gelato” (no offence Ciccio, your gelato rocks, but this is very good)
Haberfield is a gem of a suburb spoilt for choice in Italian food and culture here in Sydney. It’s so accessible now from the city and east via the Cross City Tunnel - about 25 minutes from the airport. Earlier I blogged about Napoli in Bocca, just a few doors up from Dolcissimo. Years ago I visited La Disfida and I noticed it too is still busy so I hope to get back there soon too. To have 3 top Italian restaurants all busy in one small neighbourhood, really says something about the quality and value to be found. Happy Haberfield Eating all!
Dolcissimo
96-98 Ramsay Street Haberfield (corner Dalhousie Street), +61 2 9716 4444
http://www.dolcissimo.com.au/
Link to Google Map
G’day folks, Tony here to report that a favourite pizzeria of mine is better than ever. 15mins west of Sydney’s CBD (Anzac Bridge - City West Link) is the incredible suburb of Haberfield. Haberfield was one of Sydney’s first “1/4 acre block” suburbs settled just after Federation in 1901. Today it has a strong Italian community supported by cafes, restaurants and quality produce in the local commercial precinct around Ramsay St.
Last night we picked up a takeway pizza from Napoli in Bocca restaurant - the Caprese pizza. This is so simple - Bocconcini cheese, tomoto and basil leaves. Thin crust cooked to perfection. It was delicious. Here’s how it looks (with thanks to the SMH article here.
We also picked up a spaghetti bolognese and this was perfect - the pasta cooked “al dente”, and the sauce rich with tomato.
Not surprisingly the restaurant was as usual completely packed - with whole families on long tables down to intimate tables for two. The atmosphere is amazing here, and the service fast and friendly.
We’ll defnitely be back as soon as we can.
Napoli in Bocca Restaurant
73 Dalhousie Street
Haberfield, Sydney, NSW 2045
P: +61 2 9798 4096
Link to Google Map
