Lucio’s Sydney: restaurant review

Lucio’s in Paddington, Sydney, is an institution - for a good reason. Almost a perfect score.

TWAM 16 Jan 2016

Houston, we have a problem. Aldo, senior waiter at Lucio’s, is making pesto at our table. It’s an off-menu special and, frankly, how could you say no to an haute couture version of the sauce that was played more often than Madonna in the ’90s?

“Two cheeses?” I ask, curious as Aldo – a Roman – works the basil and garlic with a mortar and pestle. He tells us the pesto should be pecorino only but that the boss, who is Ligurian, likes a little parmigiano in there too. He shrugs that peculiarly Italian shrug as if to say: “Whattayagonnado?” And, in fairness to Aldo, a first-class waiter who deals with the television powerbroker at the next table and our corner of relative poverty with equal charm, the pungent pesto is bloody fantastic served with fresh pici, a hand-rolled pasta.

It’s Friday lunch at Lucio’s, an institution among a certain crowd, and it seems many diners know each other. So there is talk of money, property, cattle stations… it’s a club, in a sense. Deep pockets and bad restaurants with stamina have an unfortunate history of coexistence, but that’s not the case here.

Lucio Galletto greets us, proprietor of this simple thing: a place where people go for respite, hospitality, good food and wine, discretion. Fundamental things, really. And in exchange? Well, nobody would believe more in free markets than your typical Lucio’s regular. It’s not inexpensive.

Famous for the paintings that line its walls, these are rooms of sunshine and colour as the rain falls outside; quickly we are made to feel there’s no better place to be. “How long have you got?” asks our host. “I’ll need the table back by seven.”

It doesn’t take that long; here is a place where all the rules are observed – I mean, you could learn it from a textbook – and then smothered with an extra thick smear of good-natured warmth and experience. With its white linen and staff in waistcoats and ties, a menu without a single coastal succulent, and no music, Lucio’s may be old school but an uncompromising approach to food quality is what makes it such a wonderful package.

That pile of worm-like pasta, made today, tossed with a truly memorable combination of basil, Ligurian oil, garlic, two cheeses and, finally, super-fresh, untoasted pine nuts… Tagliolini alla granseola – a firm, square-section spinach-green pasta – with an amazing fruity/savoury tomato sauce studded with swimmer crab. As they say, if you’re going to do something so simple, every element needs to be perfect.

A baby cos salad is almost a course in itself (and charged accordingly) with a buttermilk dressing, crisp-fried chickpeas, pancetta and grated pecorino. A fat, perfectly roasted veal chop, laced with sage and pancetta, is served on the bone with garlic puree, broccolini and a light, white wine/butter sauce. And the same simple brush tars a fillet of perfect snapper, served with chargrilled cos lettuce and a butter/caper/lemon/herb sauce. Timeless, satisfying stuff.

Aldo pooh-poohs a few wine choices and recommends alternatives. I’m glad. There is just the right balance of cheekiness, warmth and servility here.

Dessert? We have time. A white chocolate and nougat semifreddo, wrapped in macadamia, crowned with fresh berries, is technically perfect but too sweet. For me, anyway. Better is a combo of lemon cream and poached Italian meringue, mulberries and shards of sage meringue. There’s just the right combination of sweetness, acid, crunch and luxurious mouthfeel to it all.

And that’s the thing about Lucio’s, generally. There’s just the right measure of every element that makes dining out such a pleasure, when it’s right. You can argue over the cheeses; the end result is far less subjective.

Address: 47 Windsor St, Paddington

Phone: [phone] Web: lucios.com.au

Hours: Lunch, dinner Tue-Sat Summary: Special

Typical prices: Starters $29; mains $45; desserts $18

Like this? Try… Cafe di Stasio, Melbourne,

Chianti Classico, Adelaide

Stars (out of five): 4.5