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Sarti

Sarti, restaurant, Melbourne.
Sarti, restaurant, Melbourne.Supplied

Good Food hat15/20

Italian$$$

Sarti has changed. Much-travelled new head chef Paolo Masciopinto has revamped the menu with seasonal Italian classics and just a hint of quirk. The first-floor dining room has had a few nips and tucks, with a nifty neon sign, bare wooden tables and fresh glassware and crockery. Start your meal with fritto misto - a wooden board piled with lightly battered calamari, soft-shell crab, whitebait and zucchini slices served with a tangy chilli tartare. Mozzarella roll with cured ocean trout and avocado is an '80s flashback, garnished with fiery 'chilli paper' and pops of caviar. A bright, rich saffron risotto alla milanese features medallions of salty veal, sweet tomato and a spike of bone marrow, while a pink rack and fillet of lamb with pistachio crust is juicy and creatively presented. Desserts are daring and inventive, especially a bittersweet dark chocolate semifreddo with honeycomb and Tasmanian pepper that is a riot of textures and temperatures.

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