Saturday, April 12, 2014
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They're everywhere. Pizzerias are as almost ubiquitous in the city as your garden variety frozen yoghurt store or Thai eatery. Popolo in Rushcutters Bay has managed to distinguish itself enough from the others since its inception earning a chef hat and a loyal following.
Thick with strong accents, the waiters are as Italian as you get. Which is good because with a sauve, darkly lit and smooth interior like Popolo's you'll need people running things along well to keep up the high spirits and good night.
Dinner warmly starts with ciabatta on the house with sea salt and fruity extra virgin olive oil.
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| Polipo 23 |
Presented very 'chefily', there's actually not much on the plate for the asking price. What was on there was sublime; creamy tender octopus, slightly spicy nduja salami meat and fruit notes of orange and apple. I nearly burned a hole through my tongue going for one of those compressed dried chillies. Y'know... for kicks.
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| Regina Margherita 16 |
Our order of a margarita is plain simple and well done. It's crispy on the outside and the ingredients aren't so wet that it ruins the perfectly smoky base and roll off.
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| Gnocchi 26 |
Plump pockets of ricotta find their way home in a steamy mix of creamy eggplant puree and sweet cherry tomatoes. The flavours are grounded and simple but the execution is flawless. Note picture is just a serving from the actual plate.
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| Calgero 22 |
Similar flavours are found in their calzone which comes with the added bonus of smoked mozzarella. The exterior's all gnarly and beautifully blistered but tends to get a little doughy as you get towards the ends.
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| Patate 9 |
A side of potatoes are okay at best, ranging inconsistently from crispy exterior and fluffy inside to just plain leathery and tough.
As one of the only hatted pizzerias, Popolo is an exemplar excuse to splurge on fine Italian food. Inconsistencies aside, it's a solid mix of old-school really professional service with classic techniques and cutting edge cooking.
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2 comments:
The octopus sounds amazing. Sometimes quality does triumph over quantity!
ooh i love the look of the gnocchi!
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