Buzo

If you didn't know where you were, you would as soon as the bowl of warm Sicilian olives with lemon and fennel hits the table. Top end of Jersey Road, Woollahra. This is, after all, how Buzo has been kicking off every meal since it first opened in 2001.

Buzo defined the eastern suburbs Italian dining scene of the new century with its rich, lasagne-squared vincisgrassi​ of porcini​, prosciutto, truffle and parmigiano (2001), its shaved savoy cabbage with pecorino and pine nuts (2004), and its rosticciana​ of braised beef short rib with rosemary, lemon and vincotto​ (2008).

But time moves on, as time does, and in 2013, Buzo became the high-impact but short-lived Pinbone, home of the chocolate crackle pate and caviar fairy bread. The original owners Traci Trinder, Todd Garrett and James Hird split, with Trinder then taking ownership of the Buzo site with new partners Mark Campbell and Phillip Fikkers of Potts Point's Macleay Street Bistro.

In a way, it feels as if the site has been taken away from the kids and given back to the parents. The little bar downstairs now has tall tables and stools, and there's a sensible, well-run, comfortable style to the refurbished first floor dining room, now decked out in indigo, hung with striking photography by Brycen Horne, and charmingly cared for by six-year Buzo stalwart, Lisa Tate.

The menu is close as damn it to that of the original Buzo. Yes, everyone loved the original, and yes, it must have been tempting, but there's a line of thought that goes "If you always do what you always did; you'll always get what you always got".

And so, you do – get what you always got, I mean. Gnocco fritto ($20) is the perfect starter, a long-time (2003) Buzo signature of crisp golden pillows of light, puffy dough filled with fresh goat cheese and topped with a furl of prosciutto San Daniele. They nail that whole Bermuda triangle of texture, taste and smell – and then, of course, disappear.

Main courses are hearty and well-executed. The beef short rib ($35) is a big, sticky, meaty, braised-in-beer hit, with an almost-too-sweet pomegranate molasses finish. Much plate envy is generated by a massive pile of sliced and layered roast leg of lamb, crusted with pangrattato and pecorino ($35). Lightly sauced with red wine and rosemary jus, it cries out for more red wine, as does a winey dish of lamb kidneys in marsala ($29). Trinder has put together a mainly Italian list of quality drinking, with plenty of biodynamic and low-intervention boxes ticked. A 2013 Traversa Arneis ($62) is minerally and disconcertingly effervescent; but a 2013 Marion Borgo Marcellise valpolicella from the Veneto ($80) is velvety, and food-friendly.

The long-serving, shredded savoy cabbage salad ($19) is rich with pine nuts, raisins, pecorino and pangrattato, while asparagus – unnecessarily peeled – is buried in stretchy stracchino cheese ($20).

And yes, the torta di Verona, is still here. Conceived by the late Ian McCullough at Taylor's in Surry Hills in the 1980s, its extravagant mix of pandoro cake, mascarpone, fruit, booze and nuts is as decadent as ever.

Chef Tom Williams will be introducing new dishes as time goes on, but don't expect any boats to be rocked or bridges to be burned. What you can expect is comfort-driven, well-serviced, wine-friendly Sydney/Italian dining, that kicks off with a bowl of gently warmed olives, same as it always did.

THE LOW-DOWN

Best bit: An old favourite makes a comeback.
Worst bit: Only three wines under $60.
Go-to dish: Roasted Sicilian leg of lamb, pecorino and pangrattato, $35

Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for the Good Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system.