Oliveto Ristorante & Bar

It's the noise that first hits at this attractive riverside venue - all those clean lines, glass walls and hard edges. Weekdays see Oliveto packed with suits from nearby businesses; weekends, locals enjoying lunch, dinner or rite-of-passage functions. A wood-fired oven pumps out good, thin-crusted pizza, as well as charred baby octopus served on crostini and a jumble of shredded bitter leaves and red onion for a chilli-packed entree special. Wood-fired scampi is sweet and redolent of garlic, though as an entree small for the price ($33). Spatchcock is scorched to tenderness and served with radicchio and an intense, vincotto-spiked jus. A special of good house-made tagliatelle with a capretto ragu and chilli was not so special; while the pasta was perfectly al dente, the ragu lacked depth, unctuousness and any hint of chilli. But a raspberry souffle served with a fruity raspberry sorbetto is a feather-light triumph of sweetness and tartness.