Fire at Spit waterside diner prompts a rethink on the design and menu

Cala Luna chef Michell Rossetti has a lot on his plate, reopening his restaurant at The Spit after a fire, planning a providore at the old Greater Union cinema in Double Bay, plus keeping an eye on his other restaurants in North Sydney.[Substitute images]

(l to r) Owner and executive chef Michel Rossetti and Ray Finocchiaro at the corner of the balcony with some of his from Cala Luna restaurant at The Middle Harbour Yacht Club at The Spit.

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MICHELL Rossetti admits it’s a strange time of year to reopen a restaurant, especially at The Spit, plus take on opening a new providore in the old cinemas at Double Bay.

“We are refocusing the food, it’s a lot more simple, less garnish, nice plating, just really simple stuff,” he says of the new dishes on offer at his waterside Cala Luna, next to Middle Harbour Yacht Club, in Mosman, which was destroyed by fire earlier this year.

There were two options after the fire, a patch and paint job or a total refit, while working on the plans for the old Greater Union on New South Head Rd, plus keeping an eye on Cala Luna’s Italian style steak house in North Sydney, and it’s Pizza Pasta Bene in North Sydney.

“I think we hit a point where we felt, from a financial perspective, that it was going to be just as much to start all over again as it would be to patch and paint,” he says sitting on the balcony with views to Clontarf.

Whole snapper from Cala Luna restaurant beside The Middle Harbour Yacht Club at The Spit.

So Rosetti took the harder option, splashing out on a total refit and offering a new a la carte menu at The Spit focusing on a small selection of signature dishes featuring seasonal and market produce. The family also owns a farm in Bowral which supplies its restaurants with fresh produce.

Signature dishes include trout with heirloom tomato, sauce vierge, spinach sauce and crustacean oil or suckling pig with confit carrot puree, pickled red cabbage, morcilla and Marsala jus, says Rossetti, 38, who opened his first restaurant at 22.

Sardines from Cala Luna restaurant at The Middle Harbour Yacht Club at The Spit.

“It seems to be the way that trends are going at the moment, just really nice produce and that’s what I spend most of my time doing, researching and actually buying a lot of the produce,” he says.

The revamped venue will seat 175, and be available for weddings and functions and be available for smaller events in a private dining room. The venue relaunches on December 5 and will remain open throughout the Christmas season including Christmas Day.