Appetito - Restaurant Review

such a charming interior - and a cute Vespa or 2    

This may sound like sacrilege, but I (almost) never go out to an Italian restaurant.  I could count on the fingers of one hand the times I have done so.  "Why", you may ask? 'Cos I have these weird rules in my head about never eating in at certain places like Chinese, Indian, Thai or Italian.  Give up asking me why; I dunno!

Nevertheless, while in Sydney recently we met up with an old Brissie friend who had moved there for work.  She just happened to be at a seminar near our hotel in the Rocks, so we picked a random place for dinner.  Appetito won out.  Never mind it was Italian.:=)

prosecco of course - $11  

I had a glass of prosecco to start while Mr P. had lemon lime and bitters.  Our friend Ms. TWX (that stands for 'the writer extraordinaire') tried a glass of chianti, which she said was wonderfully smooth and creamy.  I know that's an odd thing to say about a glass of wine but I had to agree after having a sip.  It was really drinkable, and creamy was the best word for it.

Melini chianti $12 

complimentary nibbles with a (small) slice of bread each to mop up the oil   

L L & B - $5

Appetito's banner is Pizza Pasta Bar.  They do have mains like steak, lamb and veal dishes but we all chose pasta.  I chose fettuccine with bacon, tomato, mozzarella and spinach.  Curiouser and curiouser, those who know me may say.  But you don't eat pasta and you don't like tomato!  What can I say?  This was a night where life was topsy turvy.  And it was worth it, as my meal was full of flavour, and the pasta tasted like nonna would have made it. Chunks of fresh tomato and lots of bacon had me forking it up with gusto.  

   

fettuccine $27   

Ms. TWX chose tagliatelle with a bolognese sauce.  She said it was delicious and scoffed it all down (as did we all with our own meals).  I didn't get any details from her but I am guessing it was tasty as she joyfully cleared her plate.

tagliatelle bolognese $26.50      

Mr P. went for the ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta, floating in a sea of burnt butter, sage and pecorino.  He said the sauce was wonderfully buttery.  It looked so moonlike, and even a bit like fried eggs.  Well, you don't need me to tell you Mr P. was happy as a clam with his meal.  Pasta (and bread) is his friend.

 

ravioli $28     

Well, I guess when you are having carbs, why not go all out?  So yes we also had chips -mm, chips in an Italian restaurant? - which went down well with all of us.  They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside as a good chip should be.  And it was nice to have both aioli and tomato sauce accompanying them.

chips with aioli and tomato sauce $8      

Of course we had salad to make up for all the carbs.  Sorry to say there were too many "weeds" for me.  I am notorious in the family for not liking my salad greens, so it is no reflection on the salad. There were black olives, tomatoes and cucumber to enliven the greens, with some lemon oil as a dressing.  Have you noticed that you get very little dressing on salads these days?  Dunno why, but I would like a bit more please!

  

garden salad $9  

The Writer and I decided we could fit in one more thing - gelato. This was a pleasant way to end the meal, just enough to satisfy the sweet cravings. 

Belgian chocolate $4  

Appetito is in a lovely historical sandstone building.  And even though it looks like a church with the beautiful Gothic windows, it was formerly a bank.  All 3 of us enjoyed our meal here.  The wait staff were warm and friendly; the food was tasty and filling, and the ambience calm and appealing.   

We thought we had better try to walk off our huge carb-fest, so we wandered around the Rocks, even though it was raining lightly. The Opera House was glowing under those thick, dark clouds like a beautiful beacon in the night.  I may be a Brissie gal, but I do love me a dose of Sydney now and then.

a showery night in The Rocks  

Appetito
135 George St., The Rocks
Sydney NSW
Ph: 02 9247 1920