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Cafe Di Stasio

Cafe Di Stasio Article Lead - narrow
Cafe Di Stasio Article Lead - narrowSupplied

Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Italian$$$

A meal here can feel like the start of something. For two decades, discussions have become deals, attractions bloomed into affairs and lunches stretched into dinners. There's an intensity and clubby intimacy about the tight L-shaped dining room with its dark carpet, slatted blinds to the street, and blotchy walls dotted with theatrical masks. Double-clothed tables are set with fine stemware and tea-lights glow from within paper-wrapped wine glasses. Sharp, formal waiters wear white jackets and deliver - along with the odd cheeky aside - simple, smartly executed Italian favourites. The carpaccio is a case in point - petals of raw beef with olive oil, shards of parmesan, leaves of rocket and a lemon wedge. Every ingredient is top-quality: simple and superb. Duck comes crisp-skinned with tiny shreds of spaetzle; suckling pig is variously moist, crunchy and chewy, accompanied by baked apple and a salty, anchovy-spiked pile of wilted chicory: seasonings may tend to err to the salty. Foamy zabaglione makes a warm, marsala-scented finish.

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