Bambini Trust team open La Riviera Dining in former stomping ground

La Riviera Dining might be fresh out of the blocks, but the team behind the newly arrived restaurant is one of Sydney's most seasoned.

It's a rare spin-off venture from Michael and Angela Potts, the duo behind Bambini Trust, which has had an impressive quarter-century run. And it's fair to say they've gone for experience in the kitchen rather than a dude-food newcomer.

"Our head chef is Teofilo Nobrega," Angela Potts tells Good Food. "He was at Fratelli Paradiso for 12 years, eight of them as head chef." They'll be hoping for a similar innings at La Riviera.

Potts has some experience of her own, right on La Riviera's Phillip Street turf, as operator of Simpatico cafe 30 years ago. "A lot of my old clients have popped in [over the restaurant's opening days]," she says.

La Riviera sweeps Italy and France with both its menu and interior (the bar front is bluer than the Med). Potts describes the ground floor as possessing "an Italian vibe" while "upstairs is more French".

Given Nobrega's pedigree, the menu leans slightly in favour of Italy – with a cotoletta Milanese and spaghetti alle vongole with wakame butter part of the opening volley of dishes.

Frenchies can head to steak or lobster mornay frites. The tuna nicoise is new school. "There's a beautiful piece of grilled tuna on top," Potts explains.

From mid-November they'll add pizza to the line-up. And given Potts' 1990s moniker as the "Cappuccino Queen of Phillip Street", the all-day eatery is already serving breakfast, with a luxe-sounding crab omelette.

"It's bigger than Bambini but a little more casual," Potts adds. "We haven't done [a new venue] for over a decade. We know the area and felt La Riviera was right for it."

Open Mon-Fri breakfast, lunch and dinner; Sat dinner.

170 Phillip Street, Sydney, larivieradining.com.au