Just Opened: Flaminia, Sydney

Flaminia at Pullman Quay Grand Hotel brings the Pilu family to Circular Quay with an Italian port inspired menu. There's fresh seafood, a stunning raw bar and fantastic Sydney Harbour Bridge Views. Get the lowdown on the menu and what to order here.

It's a sunny Saturday night when Mr NQN and I arrive at Flaminia, on the first floor of the Pullman Quay Grand Hotel. Circular Quay is busy; there's a cruise ship in at the overseas passenger terminal and there's a sense of excitement in the air with impending NYE celebrations.

It's amazing what can be achieved in six months. That's how long it took to open Flaminia from the first conversations between the Pullman Quay Grand Hotel and chef Giovanni Pilu and his business partner and wife Marilyn Annecchini. Their iconic restaurant Pilu at Freshwater was about to celebrate its 21st birthday and Flaminia opened in mid December 2025. Flaminia is named after the ship that brought the Pilu family to Australia. This is also the couple's first restaurant outside of the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

Giovanni is at the raw bar while Marilyn is taking care of the front of house. The menu is set out differently from a typical Italian restaurant menu and features five pillars representing different Italian port cities with an antipasto, pasta, secondi and dessert for each.

The idea is to change up the ports every 6 months or so but Sardinia, where Giovanni's family comes fron, will always feature. There is also a 5 course sharing menu for $89 per person that features a trip throughout the ports.

We start with cocktails. My favourite cocktail is a Paloma so I'm excited to see it on a menu. This version has Zucca amaro, maple syrup, lime and grapefruit and a salt rim and it is pitch perfect. The Bellini Estivo (Estivo is Italian for all things summer) is made with watermelon, citrus, Cointreau and Prosecco and is delicate and delicious too.

Food wise, we basically went with everything that Giovanni recommended. The menu has a Crudo bar selection with four types of raw fish (Bermigui yellowfin tuna, Spencer gulf kingfish, Albrolhos Western Australian scallops and Tasmanian ocean trout) with 5 dressings from each Italian port. We choose the tonno, a deep blood red tuna topped with fresh tomato, fried capers and rosemary and basil and plenty of olive oil.

There are also 3 types of oysters and marinated seafood dishes. Giovanni recommends the Royal Miyagi from Tasmania, which are divinely creamy Pacific oysters served with a parsley, eschalot and black pepper dressing. Usually I order Sydney Rocks but Miyagi oysters will change my mind.

Make sure to try the Focaccia Pugliese. Puglia is famous for their focaccia made using potatoes and this is a light, spongy and delicious focaccia brushed with tomato and herbs with pitted olives. It's the perfect bread to scarpetta any sauces with.

We choose one marinated selection: the Mooloolaba prawns with pickled onions, tomato and shaved celery. The prawns have a perfect texture to them and the baby Roma tomatoes are incredibly sweet and they go well with the oil and vinegar dressing.

There is one antipasto dish that is a must-order: it's the mozzarella in corozza or fried breaded mozzarella sandwich topped with a whole anchovy and dabs of red pepper cream.

The mozzarella is obligingly melty and eases apart with a long cheese pull but it's not just for show - this is salty, creamy, and utterly divine thanks to the balance of the creamy mozzarella and salty anchovy. Don't even think about sharing one - get one each for the full flavour experience.

We also try the Baccala Mantecato which is whipped salt cod on toasted sourdough. I remember Monica made this for us one Christmas and it was so delicious that I had to try it again.

For our pasta dish, we go back to Cagliari, Sardinia, for the spaghetti alla bottarga with spanner crab, lemon myrtle and Pilu branded bottarga. The spaghetti is perfectly al dente although you'd expect nothing else. The gorgeous, glossy sauce coats the spaghetti and there is a generous amount of spanner crab meat and a generous shaving of bottarga on top

Our main is from Genova (Genoa), and it is the Polpette Liguri or the pork and veal meatballs that come four to a serve. They are cooked with roasted peppers and a delicious sauce made with the juices of the meatballs and the roasted peppers that is sweet and savoury at the same time. Make sure to save some of the focaccia Pugliese to mop up all that sauce.

This comes with the sweet heirloom tomato salad with red onion, buffalo feta and croutons, which is perfectly seasoned with some ripe tomatoes and creamy and salty buffalo feta. This is summer in a bowl thanks to the sun kissed tomatoes.

It's time for dessert and the Limoncello Baba features a limoncello-soaked brioche with swirls of mascarpone cream and lemon pearls on top. Mr NQN loves limoncello so he devours this with not a bit left.

My dessert choice is the fried custard from Venezia with two triangles of crumbed custard bathing in a divine sauce of honey and candied orange. The custard is creamy and liquid when you break it open, and the slightly tart, aromatic orange honey is at the bottom. It is as glorious as it sounds. No notes.

Giovanni also brings out an extra dessert: the Pandolce is a traditional Christmas sweet bread with fruit, nuts and spices from Genova. You tear apart with your hands and dip it in the airy and light bittersweet chocolate mousse that is as light as a whisper.

So tell me Dear Reader, would you sit at the raw bar or at a table? And would you try something from each port?

Flaminia

Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour

61 Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 9256 4000

Lunch: Monday - Friday: 12pm - 2:30pm, Saturday & Sunday: 12pm - 3pm

Dinner: Monday - Friday: 5pm - 10pm,‍ Saturday: 5pm - 11pm, Sunday: 5pm - 10pm

www.flaminia.com.au