Cavallino in Sydney, NSW

IT can be exhausting going out to dinner and deciding what to eat. Menus tend to fall into two categories: things that make you go hmmm, or "I'll have the lot thanks".

cavallino

IT can be exhausting going out to dinner and deciding what to eat. Menus tend to fall into two categories: things that make you go hmmm, or "I'll have the lot thanks".

There's nothing I love more than eating out on a night off (from work) and just saying "feed me" to the chef.

Every Thursday night at Cavallino, a pizzeria and Italian restaurant in the northern suburbs wilderness, Sardinian chef Giovanni Pilu heads up the hill from signature restaurant Pilu at Freshwater, to serve a fixed-price, three-course meal he calls "tavola calda" (literally, hot table).

Giovanni's inspiration is a countryside agriturismo, a sort of Italian farmstay where they serve up a pot-luck meal as part of the deal.

Cavallino is a collaboration between Giovanni and Lido Russo, the brains behind the excellent waterfront pizzeria, Ventuno, and Bacino espresso bars. It's a meandering, warehouse-like space that feels a bit like a hunting lodge with its deer-antler chandeliers, heavy timber beams, hearth, sandstone walls and floors and lush, colourful furnishings.

It's a beautifully lit, from the bar lounge, to the long passageway past the hanging smallgoods and open wood-fired pizzeria where the kids are propped up at the bench watching the action and into the atrium-like dining room.

Tavola calda takes place in the adjacent glassed-in private dining room, where the food is laid out of the large wooden communal tables.

Round up friends for a generous, shared meal that won't break the bank, especially with the $45 price including carafes of house wine, red and white, made by Geelong's Scotchman's Hill, which seem to be related to the Magic Pudding and never run out. As part of the deal, everyone sits down to eat at 7.30pm and Giovanni comes in and chats about the meal.

If you don't want tavola calda, there's a serious a la carte menu if you must think. The menu includes antipasti such as slow-braised baby octopus in a spicy tomato and red wine sauce, $17, or prosciutto-wrapped asparagus gratinee with parmesan butter, $18, and mains such as Sardinian sausage with sauteed chicory, potato and lemon, $27, and Milanese-style veal cutlet, $35, as well as extremely good pizzas. The naia, $19, a margherita topped with fries, may lead some to suspect the chicken-loving Italo-Irish chef, Darren Simpson, has been fiddling with the menu, but it's actually one of Italy's popular latter-day creations.

And given it's a nation that keeps electing Silvio Berlusconi as leader, it's not the first time Italy's strayed from good taste.

It's forgiven when, just as you're mopping up the last of the extra virgin olive oil with the crusty white bread, Giovanni appears with a big platter of Puglese-style orecchiette with sauteed broccoli, anchovies and pecorino, the pasta slippery yet firm to bite, the flavours rustic and masculine.

The meal normally begins with pasta or risotto - sometimes eggplant parmigiana followed by a roast, perhaps lamb shoulder, or come spring, whole snapper, with salads, potatoes, beans, sauteed mushrooms or even cime di rapa - you never know, but rest assured it will change from week to week because there are plenty of regulars.

Tonight it's the utter joy of slow-roasted suckling pig, so gorgeous it almost leads to tears of joy. Giovanni's cooked it as a special treat for frequent flyers because normally, ordering this signature dish at Pilu costs $95 for two.

Dessert is a big bowl of tiramisu, creamy yet gripped by coffee, with a wicked and welcome alcoholic kick.

Perfect. I don't have to think, just eat. And eat well.

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HOW IT RATED

CAVALLINO

Food 14/20

Staff 8/10

Drink 3/5

X-factor 4/5

Value 9/10

Total score 38/50

Address: 1 Yulong Ave, Terrey Hills; ph 9450 1777

Food: Italian

Drink: Licensed, great list of Italian-style wines from here and mama country.

Hours: Tavalo Calda Thurs, 7.30pm; Lunch Wed-Fri & Sun noon-3pm, Dinner Tue-Sun 6-10pm.

Wheelchair access: Yes

Parking: Free and plentiful

Price guide: Tavola Calda $45; Entrees $10-$18; Mains $18-$36; Desserts $10-$16

Snapshot: Every Thursday night, Giovanni Pilu cooks a $45 three-course set menu with wine that's fun, great value and packed with great flavours.