Delicious Australia – (12)December 2019

FORCESOFNATUREhave
a wayofimposing
themselvesonyou–
cyclones,floods,confident
egos.Attimes,theycanbe
toopowerful.Buta combinationofthe
rightelementscancreatea perfectstorm.
TakeCicciaBella,thenewBondiItalian
osteriabyrestaurateurMauriceTerziniin
theformerbonesofhisDaOrazioPizza+
Porchetta.He’scorralledtheculinarynous
ofMitchOrr(ACME)andgrape-juiceguru
JamesHirdfora triowithstrongCVs and
ahealthyconfidencetomatch.
CicciaBellais a darkerpropositionthan
DaOrazio.Witha disco-meets-post-punk
playlistsettingthetone,CicciaBellahas
woodpanelling,rippledblackmetal,
tie-dyedclothsanddimlighting,andyou
cansitat thebar,counterorbanquettes.
Thewine,andindeedcocktaillist,is
a cracker.HirdveersustowardsItaly
witha GuttaroloVerdecafromPugliahe
describesas“likea chardonnaywitha
mullet”,butweoptfortherumblingred
thunderofanAntoniottiPramartelHird
describesas“abitheavyatfirst,like
‘MasterofPuppets’byMetallica,butlike
thealbum,onceyou’rein it’sa smooth
ride.”It hadmereadytoswirlandsip.
InthekitchenchefMitchOrr,foreverthe
over-confident kid, has built a career on

talentanda willingnesstotestyour

toleranceontongue-in-cheekcreations

• thinkDukeandACME.Buthere,it’sjust
  beautifullycookedsouthernItalian.
  Alongantipastiofferingcouldinclude
  broadbeansandedamamein a puddleof
  oliveoil;yellowfintunatartaretossedwith
  Calabrianchilli,orgremolata-toppedbone
  marrow– alldelightfulwitha lightgarlic
  pizzafritta. Pasta,Orr’sstrongsuit,takes
  thingsupa notch.Blisteredcherry
  tomatoesgetanumamioomphfrom
  shavedbottargatossedthroughlinguine.
  Thenmaltagliatimatchesbraisedrabbit
  withpistachio.LikeDaOrazio,thereare
  pizzas,butheretheyaresmallerpizzette.
  Thin,blistered,smokyandmalleable,the
  puttanescais perfectandyou’llbehard
  pressedtonotorderanother– if so,the
  ’nduja,oliveandmozzarellais wheretogo.
  Formains,NZflounder,porkchop,ora
  charredRiverinaangusflank– delightful
  onitsown,butservedatopanintense
  cafecucinabutter.Finishwitha nofrills
  butfunmacadamiasemifreddo with
  coconutandmango.
  Sureit’sbrashandloud,butforthose
  drawnin,it’sgoodtimes,greatfoodand
  crackingwine.Andthere’sthatperfect
  stormofconfidence,talentandexperience
  thatputsCicciaBellain therealmsofone
  of the best openings of the year.

There’sa newosteriain Sydney,headedupbya fearlesschefwith

undeniableskill,writesAnthonyHuckstep. Theresultmaybe

audacious but it’s also one of the best Italian experiences in town.

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL

@huckstergram @anthuckstep

For more of our critics’ dining picks.

REVIEWEDONLINETHISMONTH

6 Head,TheRocks,Sydney

Brae,Birregurra,Vic

Bund,Barangaroo,Sydney

Botanic House, Sydney, NSW

CICCIABELLA

CUISINE

Italian

CHEF

MitchOrr

VISIT

75-79HallSt,BondiBeach,NSW

OPENINGHOURS

MondaytoFriday,5pm-10pm

SaturdaytoSunday,12pm-11pm

BOOKINGS

cicciabella.com.au

PRICE

$$$$

BYO

No

delicious.com.au

BOOKA

TABLENOWAT

FROMLEFT:CicciaBella’sofferings

includethegremolata-toppedbone

marrow;therestaurant’ssleek

furnishings; head chef Mitch Orr.

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

NIKKI TO

54 delicious.com.au

REVIEW.