Restaurant 16

There's Italian-Italian, Aussie-Italian and, in this unassuming blackboard eatery with ungainly though well-intentioned service, there's Japanese-Italian. Neutral Bay is Sydney's Tokyo Town, after all. And chef Toru Ryu has earned his white, red and green stripes, training under Naples-born Armando Percuoco at Paddington's Buon Ricordo Ryu channels his inner Napoli in the rich tomato sugo draping meltingly sweet, crumbs-and-seafood-stuffed squid tubes. But his tour of Italy doesn't stop there. There's a side trip to Rome in sweetish braised tripe ribbons with parmesan shavings, and a stop in Lombardy for al dente mushroom risotto packed into expertly tunnel-boned spatchcock. Cime di rapa greens are wilted with olive oil and chilli, just as nonna might make. And then Japan creeps in, via a dot of chillied yuzu paste sparking up immaculately pink duck breast slices, fanned over mash and a rich jus. A shiny-topped chocolate mousse cake is a pretty universal way to say dessert.