It’s supposed to be Spring here in Australia right now. Not that you could tell from the weather, being that it has been pouring all day and windy. So we’re ever so glad that we have a booking at an Italian restaurant, recommended to us by S, who dined here 2 weeks previously. In Annandale, a suburb that we don’t get to often, it’s nicely outfitted and service from the owner is very friendly in that gracious Italian way from the second we enter the door.
Our fellow diners are all on the older side with a lot of Italian people which is always a good sign. There are romantic couples as well as groups of families and friends and the lighting is dim. S notes that the menu has changed entirely from when he dined a couple of weeks ago.
We’re given bread while we look over the menu (although these floury rolls are not my favourite and have difficulty soaking up the olive oil). We order a mix of dishes that they recommend and when they ask us if we’d like olives we accept. Whilst the owner is lovely and charming, our waiter appears uncomfortable and unsure.
Olives $7.50
The olives come with some breadstick like circles and the olives are flavoured with fresh rosemary and other herbs. They’re small but good.
Wagyu beef bresaola with fried goats cheese stuffed green olives $18.50
M & S have ordered entrees but since my husband and I had a huge food fest earlier today we aren’t as hungry. M has ordered the wagyu beef bresaola with fried goats cheese stuffed green olives. It’s sliced thin and cured, resembling proscuitto and the crumbed green olives add a strong flavour punch.
White anchovy, tomato, buffalo mozzarella & basil insalata $18.50
S’s white anchovy, tomato, buffalo mozzarella & basil insalata is pretty with the fanned tomato slices contrasting against the white of the buffalo mozarella. I didn’t try this although S seems happy with his selection and should you wish to make it, they’ve provided their recipe for it here.
Veal stuffed with spinach in a tomato sauce with spring peas $29.50
After a brief break our mains arrive and my veal stuffed with spinach with tomato sauce and spring peas whilst looking brilliant, doesn’t quite have the harmony of flavours that I want.
Gnocchi with braised rabbit ragu $25
In contrast, my husband’s dish, the gnocchi with braised rabbit ragu, whilst on the small side, is endlessly satisfying. I wish I had ordered this, with the soft gnocchi delicious against the soft, flavoursome rabbit ragu.
Lamb cooked “the Roman way” $31
I try some of S’s lamb cooked “The roman way” and it is fall apart lovely and just the trick for this cold spring evening, the white wine and herbs giving it the necessary flavour and the long cooking time giving the lamb pieces, still on the bone, that soft touch.
Sardines
M’s sardines are a bit of a disappointment as they still have the scales on them. She tries to eat as much as she can but gives up towards the end, hailing our waiter and quietly whispering to him the problem. He nods but doesn’t do anything about it so in the end she speaks to the owner who apologises and speaks to the chef. They comp the dish and smooth over any wrinkles over the matter. Another thing that we don’t realise until after we’ve left is that the side salad that we ordered ($12.50) hasn’t materialised.
Zabaione of marsala with ‘zeppole’ (warm Italian doughnuts) $15
We’re waiting a while for our desserts as the item I ordered has a 15 minute waiting time. My Zabaione of marsala arrives with three ‘zeppole’ which are freshly cooked donuts rolled in fragrant cinnamon and sugar. It’s absolutely delicious with the fluffy Zabaione contrasting well against the crunchy spongey donuts although I need about double the amount of these donuts (about the size of donut holes) for the amount of Zabaione.
Semifreddo of crushed Italian nougat ‘amarena’ cherries & pistachio nut $14
I try M’s semifreddo of crushed Italian nougat ‘amarena’ cherries & pistachio nut and it’s fluffy, light and delightful and gorgeously presented.
36 month aged reggiano parmesan with pepper poached pear, truffled honey & walnut bread $18.50
S’s 36 month aged reggiano parmesan with pepper poached pear, truffled honey & walnut bread pleases him greatly and he particularly likes the truffled honey. To me, it’s strongly scented of truffle oil, rather than truffles themselves but the pear is gorgeous against the reggiano (a favourite cheese of mine)
Affogato al Cafe $9.50
My husband’s Affogato al Cafe has him chuffed, the ice cream and coffee going together perfectly. At the base of the martini glass are small coffee flavoured chocolates in the shape of coffee beans which I know he likes.
There’s some definite hits and the occasional miss and it’s not cheap but for a friendly warm evening, it’s just what we needed (except for the scales!).
Da Gianni Trattoria
127 Booth Street Annandale Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9660-6652
Dinner Monday-Saturday 6pm - late
Lunch Friday 12pm - 3pm.
BYO available Monday-Wednesday only
http://www.dagianni.com.au/
Vegetairan options: a couple plus desserts
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18 Comments | Add your own
Food looks great! Just the kind of thing I’d like to have if I go out for Italian. Fish still with all it’s scales on is a surprising oversight though!
You know, I’d love to go here, my only concern is the serving sizes, all the dishes look a bit on the small side for my appetite
blythe likes it when meals get comped. if only they could have comped all the dishes that were duds (some of the mains looked uninspiring, but the desserts looked quite good).
The bresaola looks great! Pity about the side dish not appearing, especially as the lamb dish looks as though it is just meat
Why did they give you those kind of rolls? Why not sourdough bread or little herb rolls? I love bread in olive oil…drooooolll….
It’s almost dinner time, and I am very hungry after seeing all of this! The semifreddo won me over - nougat + semifreddo + delicious!!
Mmmmmmmm Anchovies… That insalata looks amazing and I want to make some right now.
Hi
Compliments on your food photos They are always stunning Other blogs have them but often they look aenamic
Hi Y-There were definitely some great dishes although we don’t know what went wrong with the scaly sardines!
Hi Cappucino-Ahhh well they were not too bad size wise I have to say! Not huge servings but not tiny either
Hi blythe-That would be excellent if all restaurants did that although we’re usually pretty happy with the food (I didn’t choose this restaurant though).
Hi Annie-I can’t believe we didn’t notice it but I guess mine has vegetables in it so I didn’t really think about it
Hi Blond Duck-Good question! My guess is because they were complimentary so they didn’t want to go for the more expensive ones? Although I haven’t seen rolls like that in a restaurant in about 10 years!
Hi Cakelaw-The semifreddo was divine I have to say, I wish I had gotten that one too!
Hi Shannon-They have the recipe for the salad on their site so you can indeed!
Hi John-Thankyou so much! That’s lovely of you to say!
the scales on the fish would be the least of my worries–the EYES are still there, for crying out loud! talk about the heebie-jeebies.
Hi grace-Haha yes you don’t like fish do you?
Love your dessert + the presentation of the semifreddo! Your hubby’s main looks Mmm Mmm…
I love the idea and look of the Wagyu bresaola (never tried bresaola before, I always think of an episode of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ though when I hear/read about it). I’ve also never had olives deep fried before - I’m sure I’d enjoy them!
That Roman lamb seems fascinating - infact most things here do!
Hi Maria-The desserts were my favourite part!
Haha Everyone Loves Raymond is where I first heard about it in fact 
The roman lamb was really good, so soft!
those ‘breadsticks like circles’ are called Tarallucci, they are typical of the Apulia (Puglia) region and are made with olive oil. Ciao from Italy
Hi FS-That’s great to know, thanks very much for stopping by!
That really is pretty hit and miss, isn’t it? It almost sounds like the owner is a little too relaxed if the chef is forgetting about scaling fish and the waiter is forgetful/unsure.
Still, the Roman lamb and semifreddo look divine!
Hi Angela-Yeah, such a pity because it could be great. I’d love some more of that roman lamb and the desserts though…
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