Does Sydney really need another smart Italian restaurant in which to eat seafood by the sea?

We already have so many great ones, from Ormeggio in Mosman and a'Mare in Barangaroo, to Otto at Finger Wharf, Pilu at Freshwater, and the newly refurbished Icebergs Dining Room in Bondi.

But nobody, ever, has said: "I've eaten enough lobster pasta as the sun sets over the water." So here we are at Sala Dining. Prior to being the short-lived Chuuka, it was the long-lived Flying Fish, which rewrote the rule book on waterside seafood dining when it opened in 2004.

Now, those same Flying Fish restaurateurs Con and Kerrie Dedes have business-partnered with highly regarded Italian chef Danny Russo to open Sala. He's hand-picked a more-interesting-than-usual head chef in Michael Lewis, fresh from three years of cooking in progressive Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy.

You can, of course, arrive by sea, with direct water taxi and boat mooring access just metres away. Otherwise, it's a rather nice walk along the marina to the end of the pier, the terrace bar, and the darkly glamorous two floors of dining, tables angled to face Jones Bay.

The chairs are newly comfortable, the colour scheme muted, but the main difference is that formal-but-friendly Italian hustle-bustle that comes from the professional, approachable Italian staff. And the menu.

Prices look a little scary – that goes with the marine territory, I'm afraid – but there are plenty of choices across snacks, crudo, pasta, grilled fish, and a few lobster and no-lobster mains. Lewis has a gift for desserts – if that's your thing, then permission to speed-read ahead to the mention of mango.

If you're still here, then you should know about the crisp risoni fingers ($30 for two), a snack that taps into childhood nostalgia and takes a swerve into adult luxury. Soft nursery food inside, luxurious French Kaviari caviar and a dusting of parmigiano outside, it's great with one of the 10 plays on a negroni.

A bread basket is brought (no cover charge, as in Italy), showing off good baking skills across grissini, taralli and ciabatta. From the crudo bar, tuna tartare is the star, clinging to a crisp raft of house-made carta di musica ($34), prettied up with green peas, florets of anchovy mayo, bottarga and white linaria flower.

From the pasta menu, cavatelli is interesting, the small, hollow shells similar to Sardinian maloreddus combined with fleshy, lightly cooked mussels, erbette (spinach-like chard), peas and bottarga ($39) in a brothy sauce. The bottarga is like the cheese of the sea, adding a savoury textural note that reeks of Italian tradition.

Sala shines a light on high-end fish species such as coral trout, Murray cod, Glacier 51 toothfish, and King George whiting. As in Italy, they're simply grilled, and all the better for it.

A wing-shaped fillet of Murray cod ($58) comes with a pool of tangy salmoriglio emulsified with Murray cod fat and olive oil, and a little clump of ice plant, a salty, crunchy succulent. Shoestring fries ($14) are crisp, dry and salty.

The wine list has reliable all-rounders such as a sensibly priced Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio from the Veneto ($16/$65), which hasn't changed in the 30 years I've been drinking it. The same straw yellow; clean, intense, refreshing character; and lingering aroma of freshly picked apples.

Dessert fans and mango lovers rejoice, for the Celebration of an Australian Mango ($25) brings together all the things you love about both.

Crack the crisp mango chocolate shell of what actually looks like a mango to reveal a heart of soft mango bavarois, and dip into the tangy quenelle of sorbetto on the side.

It's a signature trompe l'oeil move of Lewis', and will hopefully play out across different fruits and different seasons.

So, yes, another smart Italian restaurant in which to eat seafood by the sea, ferries at your feet. I think we can manage to make room for one more.

The low-down

Sala

Drinks Classic Italian cocktails, multiple Negronis, and an Italy-meets-Oz wine list.

Vibe Darkly glamorous Sydney seafood big-nighter

Go-to dish Cavatelli, erbette, peas, $39