Chiosco by Ormeggio brings a modern trattoria food to The Spit

Waterfront Chiosco is the little sister of award-winning Ormeggio. Its focus is simple modern trattoria-style food.

Chiosco’s rocket, pear and parmesan salad, slow roasted lamb shoulder, organic sourdough bread and baby snapper.

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The pop of champagne corks, a backdrop of swanky boats and a balmy autumn day, all sound like a warm and welcoming way to start a leisurely lunch date with the girls.

Add on casual Italian food from one of Sydney’s top chefs, and Chiosco – the waterfront kiosk with its jaunty navy and white fitout – is the place to be.

Chiosco is the little sister of award-winning Ormeggio at The Spit and that’s exactly what Alessandro Pavoni set out to do with his take on simple modern trattoria-style food when Chiosco opened in late 2014.

Chiosco gnocchi

It’s been so successful that two more are on the way.

One will be in Balmoral; the other in Newport. Both expected to open in time for summer.

There is a daytime counter menu with coffee and a range of bacon and egg rolls, fish and chips, burgers and panini. But book a table – it gets busy.

For lunch, head chef Mattia Rossi treats us with a modern Mediterranean menu featuring grilled meats and fish, antipasto and homemade pastas.

Lunch starts in style with a glass of Prosecco – what could be more Italian? BYO is an option too, and so is buying a bottle of wine from Ormeggio’s wine cellar.

With eight different antipasti, we decide to share one of them. Ignoring the home-baked organic sourdough with extra olive oil, our choice is hiramasa kingfish, a pretty light dish, finished with a tomato dressing, basil crumble and basil oil.

Chiosco’s head chef Mattia Rossi.

Our charming and ever-attentive waiter recommends the chargrilled octopus tentacle along with the spaghetti alla chitarra for the main courses.

The pasta gets the nod of approval; the octopus doesn’t. Instead we go for the trota all’acqua pazza, or trout fillet with cherry tomato, capers, chilli, white wine, olives and parsley. It is delicious and in retrospect some of that homemade bread would have been ideal to mop up the sauce.

Chiosco has a counter food menu too.

Homemade pasta comes with prawns, bottarga (fish roe), tomatoes and lemon.

The name comes form the shape, we’re told, Chitarra is a guitar-shaped piece of equipment used to make it.

Lunch winds up with a shared lemon panna cotta, coffee and time to chat.

Bubbles and conversation are still flowing at other tables too. Long live the leisurely lunch.

Twitter: @beverley_hudec

ESSENTIALS

Chiosco by Ormeggio

D’Albora Marinas, Spit Rd, Mosman

Phone: [phone]

Open: Seven days, from 8am. Lunch, noon to 3pm; dinner from 6pm

Go for: spaghetti alla chitarra, $24; gamberoni – grilled split king prawns with chilli lemon dressing, $36; burrata, $19; $39 Sunday night Roman dinner

Coffee: Locale

BYO: $12 a bottle

Vibe: Italian holiday

Bottom line: $109.50 for two, plus parking