T
here’s something about having a
Sgroppino on the drinks list that
says this is going to be a good
time. Alberto is the sort of place
where you can order a flute of lemon
sorbet and vodka topped up with prosecco,
and before you know it you’ll be asking for
a second plate of focaccia to mop up the
dregs of the paccheri alla Bolognese you
just finished, then backing it up with
a half-bottle of red that, in their words,
would make Pavarotti scream.
You might be halfway through the
bowl of trippa alla Romana before you
notice the Indian spices. Confronted is
the word an Italian friend used when I
raised it. In certain circles tomato is even
considered something of a departure, so
when Daniel Pepperell decides to take the
dish in the direction of butter chicken –
throwing in garam masala and fenugreek,
enriching it with cream and going heavyon the burro – you can’t help but
wonder if he’s just doing it for kicks.
And yet. Here are strips of honeycomb
tripe melting into the sauce. Here are
wilted mint leaves and a crumble of
pecorino. Needless to say, Pepperell
has a firm grip on his fundamentals.
And it’s one damn good bowl of tripe.
It’s been a little while between Italian
restaurants for the former 10 William
Street chef, who’s spent the past few
years on the terrines and Tatins in the
basement at Restaurant Hubert. With
Alberto, brothers Anton and Stefan
Forte (The Baxter Inn, Shady Pines
Saloon and Frankie’s Pizza) and colleague
Toby Hilton have given Pepperell a
new playground in which to reignite
his interpretation of la vera cucina. And
he’s fallen straight back in the groove.
Funny thing, though, it looks a lot like
the other playground. Pocket Hubert, say.Left (from left): Alberto’s Allie Webb, Stefan
Forte, Daniel Pepperell, Toby Hilton and
Anton Forte. Below, clockwise from top left:
paccheri alla Bolognese; crudo di tonno;
insalata; peppers acqua pazza; swordfish
con sardine; bucatini all’Amatriciana;
affetati misti; and (centre) gnocchi al
cacio e pepe and trippa alla Romana.Most traces of Berta, the ristorante that
once inhabited this site, have dissolved
into a background of plush carpet and
wood. Wine bottles and vintage posters
line the walls, and the brick out the back
windows (windows!) has been painted with
a mural by Sydney artist Allie Webb, who
does the graphics at their other venues.
The cocktails flow just as easily as at
Hubert, there’s often a queue to get in,
and there’s that same sense of stepping
back into a golden age that has long since
passed. Clearly, Alberto embraces his
billing as the Italian cousin with gusto:
same soft-lit charm, but a little more
bustle, and (just maybe) a little more fun.
Pepperell can still play it straight – take
the Amatriciana: house-made bucatini in
a sauce of guanciale and its rendered fat
with pecorino Romano, chilli and tomato
that’s both rich and slippery, in a good
way. But when he does stretch a little,
it’s with a clear sense of how to turn
up the tastiness in ways that, though
unconventional, stay consistent with the
tone and flavour of the rest of the menu.➤The fun Italian cousin to Restaurant
Hubert is a strong sequel for one of Sydney’s
finest, writesDAVID MATTHEWS.
In the family
Sydney review
GOURMET TRAVELLER 51PHOTOGRAPHY DANIEL BOUD (ALBERTO’S LOUNGE).