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Trattoria Emilia

Dani Valent
Dani Valent

Gnocco fritto and salumi at Trattoria Emilia.
Gnocco fritto and salumi at Trattoria Emilia.Wayne Taylor

Italian$$

Let's start with the gnocco fritto, because I'd love an excuse to think about them again. Not to be confused with gnocchi, these gnocco are fried bread puffs laced with pork fat, served very hot, and eaten with cured meats.

You tear gnocco, stuff them with salami, prosciutto or mortadella mousse and let the fat melt in your mouth. Eating is always in the present tense but it doesn't always seize a moment; this does.

Emilia has taken over the old Gills Diner premises and brightened it with charming artwork and fetching pink-striped terrazzo.

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Emilia's interior features fetching pink-striped terrazzo floors.
Emilia's interior features fetching pink-striped terrazzo floors.Wayne Taylor

It's a celebration of Emilia Romagna, in north-eastern Italy, and particularly Modena, home town of chefs Luca Flammia and Francesco Rota. The pair emigrated in 2008 and cooked at Da Noi and Tea Rooms of Yarck. Now co-owners, they're truly putting their hearts into it.

Proper balsamic vinegar is emblematic of Modena, thick black gold, as precious as unicorn tears but infinitely more delicious. Here it's drizzled over tender beef carpaccio and shaved parmigiano reggiano (also a regional treasure) and it adds tart spark to the cherry compote accompanying succulent pork.

Nearby Bologna is represented by everyone's favourite pork and beef ragu, rendered here in Flammia's secret recipe (the only snippet I gleaned is that he lets the meat catch on the bottom of the pot). This paragon of sauces is tangled with flowing ribbons of tagliatelle.

Secret recipe: Tagliatelle alla bolgnese.
Secret recipe: Tagliatelle alla bolgnese.Wayne Taylor
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If you can forgo a classic, the lasagne with asparagus, speck and scamorza (like mozzarella) is outstanding.

The offering is professional but the mood is casual; do Emilia as a drop-in (there are lunchtime porchetta rolls and they make a mean Venetian spritz in the bar) or a big night out (the $69 degustation makes good value very easy).

Service is spry and the mood is happy. Park yourself and partake.

Balsamic vinegar is drizzled over the beef carpaccio.
Balsamic vinegar is drizzled over the beef carpaccio.Wayne Taylor

Rating: Four stars (out of five)

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Dani ValentDani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.

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