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The Lemon Tree

Terry Durack
Terry Durack

Amalfi inspired: the CBD diner has an open-to-the-sun beach house look.
Amalfi inspired: the CBD diner has an open-to-the-sun beach house look.Sahlan Hayes

13.5/20

Italian$$$

Nobody ever said "I can't wait 'til I'm on holidays so I can eat osso buco in a cold, dark basement." When you think of holidays, it's summer holidays you think of: eating outdoors, cheeky beers before lunch, fresh seafood, and lemons on everything.  So here we are at The Lemon Tree, clearly set up by people who have been on more summer holidays than is decent, and who are now trying to turn their working day into yet another summer holiday.

Why else would the place look like an open-to-the-sun beach house, albeit one on the fringe of a CBD food court underneath a notable Harry Seidler building. And be so freshly painted in bright white with pops of fluorescent lemon that it could have sprung fresh from a citrus-scented washing powder commercial.

The funny thing is my fellow lunchers are all straight from the office in suits, cuffed shirts, heels or tailored frocks, while the bloke on the floor wears  floppy striped shorts and a wafty polka-dot shirt as if he's stepped straight off a boat at Positano. And he's the one who's working.

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Crowd-pleaser: Calamari tossed with chilli, garlic and parsley.
Crowd-pleaser: Calamari tossed with chilli, garlic and parsley.Sahlan Hayes

In fact, all three owners – the polka-dotted former Sneaky Sound System member Daimon Downey and Tim Holmes a Court of Double Bay's Med-styled Pelicano Bar, along with Catalina's restaurant-royalty Kate McMahon – are good at working hard while looking like they're goofing off.

Inspired by Italy's sun-drenched Amalfi coast, the menu is bikini-brief, with just one column devoted to food, and two to aperitivi and wines. Chef Peter Streckfuss has been seconded from Catalina with a brief to keep things fresh and simple, and sticks to it, especially with the pasta. There's a spaghetti vongole ($26) that's not mucked about with, and a saucy little linguine called sciue sciue ($23), that is Neapolitan for 'quick, quick', which best describes the spontaneity of a sauce thrown together from summery tomatoes, garlic, basic and olive oil. Fused with almost-too-fine ribbons of house-made pasta, it's like a spaghetti al pomodoro on holidays.

There's a well-sourced and well-rested grass-fed scotch fillet ($36); good eat-in-the-fingers lamb cutlets ($7 each), and a crowd-pleasing fried calamari ($18); a tumble of tender, golden squiddy bits tossed with chilli, garlic and parsley. Simple, simple, simple.

Ilaria's ricotta cake.
Ilaria's ricotta cake.Sahlan Hayes
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There's a fine line between simple and plain, however, and an insalata caprese of tomato, basil and mozzarella ($22) needs riper, deeper tomatoes and more basil to balance the classy curds of soft, white Shaw River buffalo mozzarella.

The only people not getting the 'la dolce vita' vibe are the waitstaff, who are so flat out they're virtually turned into plate-ferries.  Their jobs aren't made any easier by the restaurant design, with little wiggle room between the squeezy tables.

There's no summery Campagna wine like Greco di Tufo on the shortish list, so I go pink instead, with a Mazzei Belguardo Tuscan rosé ($10/$48) that's an unusual, surprisingly summery blend of syrah and sangiovese. Likewise, there could be some fruit options on the dessert list amongst the tiramisu and affogato. A wedge of Ilaria's ricotta cake ($14), however is light and lemony, served with naught but a swirl of creamy bush honey.

Simple: Linguine sciue sciue.
Simple: Linguine sciue sciue.Sahlan Hayes

It can be a bunfight at night in the adjoining courtyard, when the city collectively loosens its tie and stands around, beer in hand. The noise is alarming and the overall effect vaguely threatening. Better by day, when the sun is shining, the rosé is calling, and you can pretend you're on summer holidays, if only for an hour or two.

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THE LOW-DOWN
Best bit Genuine effort to keep things simple.
Worst bit No wiggle room between tables.
Go-to dish Calamari, chilli, garlic, parsley $18.

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.

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Terry DurackTerry Durack is the chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food.

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