Ormeggio at The Spit

Is powder the new foam? It makes sense, reducing an ingredient to its essence and using it to enhance other dishes. Mussel powder on a charred fillet of blue mackerel; chorizo powder in a kangaroo tartare; white sesame powder and black sesame crumble over a fine slice of wagyu beef flank all add a certain umami. Tomato water brightly balances a risotto, the rice left assertively al dente, as the waitress helpfully explains. Dessert dishes aren't too sweet, and vinegar tempers the caramel under an outstanding fennel seed ice-cream. Relax in this large room, spare, wooden floored, white walled where it isn't glass, a cruiser's prow at the end of your nose. As small portions become progressively larger, Alessandro Pavoni's take on Lombardy cuisine might surprise and disconcert fellow natives. However, they'd be comfortable with the generous slices of toma brusca cheese.