Osteria Riva

There's a new restaurant in Bondi Junction that's doing practically the same food as the much-loved local Italian, Amarcord. It's even as noisy and friendly as Amarcord used to be. That's because Amarcord chef Andrea Riva has stayed on as co-owner of the restaurant's new incarnation, joining up with the owners of Balmain's Rosso Pomodoro. So the menu is still full of Riva's signature takes on the food of his native Emilia Romagna, such as slow-cooked cuttlefish with peas and tagliatelle al ragu. The value is still there, too, in a bountiful brown paper cornet of quickly deep-fried calamari, prawns and zucchini and a simple salumi and cheese platter. On the downside, rigatoni with eggplant and mozzarella was heavy with cheese, and a daily special of stuffed whole cuttlefish was over-breaded. Freshly baked apple cake is a deservedly popular order with the mainly local crowd, who, coincidentally, look a lot like the people who used to come to Amarcord.