Il Piavé

By Franz Scheurer

Located on busy Darling Street in Rozelle, this narrow terrace houses one of the most enjoyable Italian restaurants in Sydney. A small room flanked by a bar in front, a narrow walkway past the kitchen to a larger dining room in the middle and a cosy, fairy-lights adorned, covered patio area in the back, give you a choice of ambience, three rooms, each with a different feel. Personally I like the ‘secluded’ feel of the middle room; preferably a table backing on to what was obviously once a fireplace. A beautifully restored wooden floor adds warmth to the simple off-white décor and noise levels are low, making conversation perfectly viable.

The menu is appetising and enticing and specials are recited early. We ordered an ‘Antipasto del piave’ to buy us time to peruse the menu at leisure and make our selection. The platter, which arrived quickly, contained perfectly barbecued, marinated baby octopus, baked ricotta, tiny button mushrooms, beautifully sweet roasted capsicum, tiny eggplant parcels, figs with Gorgonzola and grilled zucchini slices. Great presentation, accompanied by good bread and great olive oil.

Finally we manage to reduce the number of dishes we want to try from the impossible to the manageable and order a ‘Sformato di formoggi misti con fegatini di pollo’ an Italian version of a twice baked cheese soufflé, served in a tiny pot accompanied by a shallow dish of braised chicken livers in balsamic and a tiny portion of tangy salad of lamb’s ear lettuce. Gorgeous!

The ‘Tagliolini Neri con seppie’, a thin and perfectly al dente squid ink pasta tossed with cuttlefish, a little white wine and a decent dose of chilli is every bit as good as it looks and a very generous plate of ‘Gnocchi con pomodoro e granchio’, delicate potato gnocchi served with blue swimmer crabmeat in a light and full-flavoured tomato sauce, is sublime. The daily special of tripe cooked in tomato sauce served with polenta convinces with flavour but falls down a little in the texture department: the tripe is so soft it has lost any trace of bite, which I personally find a little disappointing. The best main course without a doubt is the ‘Stinco di vitello disossato’, deboned veal shank, filled with sausage mince and spinach braised in white wine. The meat almost falls apart when you just look at it and the creamy, earthy texture and taste of the sausage mince balances the gelatinous, slightly stringy texture of the meat. A superb dish!

The wine list offers a great variety of Italian and Australian wines at reasonable prices. The ‘Benotto Rupestsris Barbera Superiore 98’ from Asti certainly holds its own with the food and works particularly well with the veal.

We can’t help ourselves and order one of each of the desserts on offer. They are sensational. Little crusty, deep-fried rolls filled with sweet ricotta are an early favourite, but soon equalled by the Mandarin Torta and eventually surpassed by the incredibly rewarding chestnut-flour crepe filled with a Belgian chocolate mousse, topped with a buffalo milk ice cream. The Tiramisu is pretty good, as well and a good range of dessert wines, grappa, limoncello, cognacs and fortifieds helps you cope with your sins.

Service is excellent, attentive and friendly. Value for money is terrific and the quality and presentation of the food exemplary. We will be back!

Score: 7.5/10

For more information or bookings:

Il Piavé Ristorante Café

639 Darling Street

Rozelle NSW 2039

Tel.: 02 9810 6204