Review : Acqua Pazza Ristorante - CLOSED

1 Bent Street Sydney 2000

02 92470851
info@acquapazza.com.au

Open Weekdays 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm;
Sat 6pm-11pm

We don't tend to eat out in the CBD during the week....don't know why, but we tend to restrict our midweekers to Surry Hills or the Inner West.
That said, we have been very keen to try Mario Percuoco's (not so new) restaurant Acqua Pazza for a while now.

We arrive at around 6.30pm & locate the restaurant (which is part of the Winter Garden complex) easy enough.

The room is spacious, not too dark (which we love), with large tables & comfy chairs. It is a very inviting space.

We kick things off with a glass of Prosecco each while looking over the menu.
It all sounds fantastic & we once again have trouble deciding what to order.

'Tortina Di Melanzana' eggplant and mozzarella tart with parmigano and basil, is first up for Buggles. The flavours all meld together so beautifully. The Napoletana sauce is rich, sweet & delicious.... the perfect foil for the slightly salty parmigano. The seasoning is spot on. A great dish.

'Carciofi con Polenta' fresh artichoke hearts with black olives, pine nuts and grilled polenta. A divine dish. I particularly enjoy the grilled polenta, so wonderfully crisp outside & lush and creamy within.

'Spezzatino D'Agnello' braised lamb served with ragu of piselli. Ok, so not the most visually appealing of dishes, but who cares when it tastes this good. The lamb is pull apart tender and the dish as a whole is very good. Buggles is well pleased.

'Lombata Di Manzo Alla Griglia' 400g Dry Aged Angus Rib Eye grilled and served with Radicchio. Not much to say really...the steak is cooked to absolute perfection, is very tender and has great flavour & is served with a lovely red wine jus. Steak as it should be. Enough said.

We also enjoy very much the Roasted Rosemary Potatoes with Sicilian Sea Salt...alas, neither one of us can taste the rosemary though.

Finally for Buggles, the 'Zeppole'....basically light as air donuts, filled with a very rich, melted chocolate. Utterly delectable.

And for me....'Sfogliatella Riccia Napoletana' Neapolitan pastry filled with ricotta, semolina candied fruit & served with house made vanilla bean gelato. The pastry is very crisp with a really lovely flavour, the ricotta is abundant and very lush and creamy with the occasional hit of candied fruit. The vanilla bean gelato cuts through the richness and really balances the dish. So good.

Service for the most part is very knowledgeable, friendly & a little cheeky.

We enjoyed our meal at Acqua Pazza immensely & hope to make a return visit soonish.

Squeak