The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Ibla Cucina Italiana

Gemima Cody
Gemima Cody

Fitzroy newcomer Ibla Cucina Italiana.
Fitzroy newcomer Ibla Cucina Italiana.Wayne Taylor

14/20

Italian$$

Apologies to our readers far from the CBD: we're back in Fitzroy this week. But only in its defence. There's been a lot of hand wringing over a series of closures lately: of Huxtable, Northern Light and the Commoner, and arrival of a gigantic Coles where edgy holes-in-the-wall once lived. And while some accusations stick – competition is top level and the party vibe on a Saturday makes it hard work for restaurants – there's another story unfolding. And it's pretty delicious. 

The Commoner is becoming a '50s-style Sicilian; Peter Gunn has downed roots on the old Lee Ho Fook site, turning his always-booked-out Ides pop-up into a restaurant, and then there's Bar Liberty, home to crazy wines and mighty chicken-skin-crackling BLTs.

But perhaps the greatest sign of hope is how hard it is to get into this new little Italian, even though no one noticed its opening in the hubbub.

Advertisement
Insalata pomodoro.
Insalata pomodoro.Wayne Taylor

​Emilio Tiesi – late of Caffe e Cucina – has delivered the stupidly simple formula that Melbourne never gets tired of: pared-back Italian staples with a couple of cultish hooks as bait (see the pizza topped with french fries and frankfurts, and the fritelles – fried dough pillows – with Nutella for dessert) backed by Peroni on tap. With just 28 seats and the skills of fellow Caffe chef Gianni Chiofalo to enjoy, book if you want to get an Aperol spritz.

Emotionally it's in line with Pietro Barbagallo's hole in the wall, Kaprica. It's an urban little set-up of brick with an earthy rainbow of recycled wood slats and cast-iron pipes. The vibe is distinctly Italian in that it's very … inclusive. One hot night, our waiter pulls us behind the bar to see how hot it is next to the dishwasher. It's not unusual to see staff take a seat to take orders, nor for diners to jump in on others' conversations. 

The pitch is mostly Sicilian, but for us the crowning glory is Emilia-Romagna's prize jewel, gnocco​ fritto, that you can start or end the meal with. A plate arrives piled high with the soft, salty golden pillows of deep-fried dough that take the finely shaved sliced of mortadella, capocollo and prosciutto to the next level.

Go-to dish: Gnocco fritto and salumi.
Go-to dish: Gnocco fritto and salumi.Wayne Taylor
Advertisement

There are tables outside where people are seeing out the last of summer armed only with this and frosty bottles of Italian Ichnusa beer for those with IPA fatigue, though there's also local Hawkers Pilsner if you want something with extra kick.

Less is more is the general food philosophy all round. Eggplant melanzane is prepped a little like a cannoli. The slices of eggplant, all bitterness removed from a slow cooking with olive oil, cocoon a pesto-blitzed ricotta filling and are drenched in a tomato sugo of pitch-perfect sweetness.

That excellent sauce reappears on physics-defying gnocchi that seem to be all aerated potato, somehow immortalised as bites that hold their form. A little fresh mozzarella and basil rounds it out. 

Gnocchetti sardi with lamb ragu and pepper-infused pepato cheese.
Gnocchetti sardi with lamb ragu and pepper-infused pepato cheese.Wayne Taylor

You'll be stretched to find anything that's unfamiliar – with the exception, perhaps, of the rustic wet-braised goat forequarter with waxy potatoes and peas; it's deeply tender in the fattier rib sections (a touch drier in the thicker parts), and delicately de-funked with a light, cinnamon-spiked braising liquor. Stick the chianti from the short but tidy Italian wine list next to it and you're set for the winter ahead. See also the gnocchetti sardi – tight, squat pasta – with a slow-cooked lamb ragu of brilliant depth punched up with Sicily's biting pepper-infused cheese, pepato. 

Advertisement

We've over-carbed ourselves on both visits and so haven't tried the infamous French fry and frankfurt pizza, but the San Daniele prosciutto number freshened up with a little rocket has all the hallmarks of great dough command and a quality oven – it's a salty, chewy crust with tips of char. We probably wouldn't try their take on the pizzoli again, in which two pizza bases sandwich fillings. Admittedly ours is taken back with apologies for lack of mid-section, but that's still a lot of carb to face. 

Dessert is simple to a fault: affogato for a final shot in the arm of ice-cream and espresso, or more of those fried pillows and Nutella. The cassata – ricotta folded with pistachios and fruit – is a little wet for us, though the sesame wafers bring a great savoury note. 

Diavola pizza with spicy salami, capsicum and olives.
Diavola pizza with spicy salami, capsicum and olives.Wayne Taylor

So what's the lesson here, aside from proving that we're still as hopelessly devoted to Italian as we were in the '50s? Only that if these are death throes, Fitzroy's not going down without a fight.

THE LOWDOWN
Pro tip
It's a great group joint, but book ahead.
Go-to dish
Charcuterie seems too simple to shout about, but those gnocco​ pillows are gripping ($22).
Like this? Find the similarly pitched Kaprica in an ex-garage in Carlton, 19 Lincoln Square S​outh.

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up
Gemima CodyGemima Cody is former chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Food.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement