Society Pizza e Pesce

The Faro siblings have built a small empire on Neapolitan-style pizza with a Sicilian twist. Jonathan Faro and his sister Vittoria’s woodfired product is made with minimal toppings and cooked at extremely high temperatures so the base makes a satisfying crack when bitten.

They have opened pizzerias in Bondi, Potts Point and a 180-seat all-day venue in Rooty Hill. This venue branches out from that idea slightly; it adds an element of seafood to their fourth restaurant.

Like the pizza, the seafood honours the siblings’ Southern Italian heritage and makes sense in a beach suburb. Much of the seafood menu is cooked on a robata-style charcoal grill, from the plump yamba prawns, to the tuna and salmon skewers. Grilled dishes are finished with a simple, tart Sicilian salmoriglio dressing of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, parsley and salt.

There’s an octopus carpaccio that’s slow poached, pressed and thinly sliced to achieve a tender dish balanced with salty black-olive crumb and tart lemon balm. It pairs well with the Marco Polo cocktail made with vodka, ginger, mint and guava.

There’s an extensive pizza menu, too. The gamberi (prawn) and chilli pizza is simple and delicious. For something with serious heat, the diavola – with creamy fior di latte cheese, spicy salami, roasted capsicum, onion and olive – is unbeatable.

Like the other venues this one is bright, and the pizza oven and open kitchen are central to the space. Its trademark Sicilian hand-gesture artworks also decorate the walls.