First Look: At Flaminia, the Pilu Team Anchors a Lengthy Menu in Five Italian Port Towns

Giovanni Pilu and Marilyn Annecchini have owned and operated Freshwater’s Pilu since 2004, luring Sydneysiders and visitors alike to the beach-house-inspired restaurant where they focus on Sardinian flavours. Now, they’re taking the town on a trip through Italy’s greatest port cities, opening Flaminia this Friday, December 5, inside the Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour.

“Italy is three-quarters on the water. You’ve got all these incredible port cities up and down the coast,” Pilu says. “Everyone knows the big ones like Venice, Palermo, Napoli – we want to bring those flavours to the most beautiful port in Australia.”

The couple want you to drop by for a pre-theatre drink, grab a fresh crudo before you hop on the ferry home, or settle in for a “trip through the ports” with Flaminia’s five-course sharing menu, spotlighting signature dishes from across the coasts.

“We call this trattoria del mare, or a trattoria on the water. It sits in the middle – not super fine dining but not totally casual.”

The restaurant’s named for the ship that brought the Annecchini family (Marilyn’s grandparents and mother) from Italy to Sydney in 1959. And the restaurant’s interior ­– by Adelaide’s Studio Gram (Fugazzi, Arkhe, Osteria Oggi) – has an appropriately nautical theme. Warm timber, curved banquettes and sculptural lighting reference the geometry of a ship. A harbour-facing entry opens onto the main dining room, filled with vibrant artworks. There’s also a private dining area and a dedicated crudo bar where chefs put on a show, slicing fresh fish and shucking oysters.

“In Naples, all they put on fish is lemon and olive oil. Because the fish is so fresh, the last thing you want to do is charge it up with a lot of things. Simple dressings, beautiful fish, incredible,” says Pilu.

The chef believes Sydney rock oysters are best dressed simply in a parsley, eschalot and black pepper mix. And the raw bar makes way for a menu structured into five regions – each one home to a major Italian port.

To open, you’ll trip from Cagliari, on Sardinia’s southern coast, to Napoli, Venice, Genoa and Sicily’s Palermo. You can stick to a region, or mix and match.

You might start with mozzarella in carrozza (a fried sandwich that’s popular in Campania), before moving onto spaghetti with spanner crab, lemon myrtle and bottarga – a dish inspired by Pilu’s hometown in Sardinia. To round out the meal, a Genovese favourite: polpette Liguria (pork and veal meatballs).

There are classics like eggplant parmigiana and a seafood medley of calamari, mussels, vongole and whitefish cooked in cherry tomatoes, served with paccheri. Save room for dessert and be rewarded with a limoncello baba, crema fritta – a fried custard cream with honey and candied orange – or the ever-faithful affogato.

For all the coastal fanfare, devotees of Pilu’s slow-roasted suckling pork won’t be disappointed. With 24 hours’ notice, you can order half a pig to share among four or five people. It arrives with crispy skin, roast potatoes and the utensils you need to get busy with it at the table.

“We had to do suckling pig,” Pilu says. “Already, I’m getting questions about it. But instead of cutting a portion and plating it with a garnish, we’ll send out half a pig into the middle of the table so you can just dig in, break it up and share.”

Pilu’s enthusiasm for the new venture is palpable. “We’ve done Sardinian cuisine for 21 years. And that’s great, because it’s an island and obviously unique to the rest of Italy. I’m really excited to get to do something so different.”

Flaminia
61 Macquarie Street, Sydney

Hours:
Mon to Fri midday­–2.30pm, 5pm–10pm
Sat midday–3pm, 5pm–11pm
Sun midday–3pm, 5pm–10pm

flaminia.com.au
@flaminia_sydney