what the waiters describe as an
entrée portion. The veal cutlet,
served with a cheek of lemon,
a tuft of rocket and a smile is
$49. The wine list offers plenty of
choice in the $100 a bottle and up
department, and I’ve been charged
$21 for a glass of Lucido catarratto,
an eminently drinkable and versatile
white from Sicilian producer Marco
De Bartoli. It retails for $35 a bottle.
But it’s mostly money well
spent. The place looks a million
dollars – a modern, boisterous,
glamorous beast, glinting with
gold highlights, marble and timber,
staggered over three levels thrown
open to plenty of glass. There’s
roughly 36,000 staff on the floor
and the Rockpool veterans among
them actually know what they’re
doing. Jade Temple, Perry’s first
restaurant opening following his
move into the hedge fund-backed
Rockpool Dining Group, was fairly
wobbly off the blocks, both in terms
of service and food, but Rosetta
has hit the ground running.
And some of the best things
on the menu are the least expensive.
The trippa alla Romana surrenders
to the fork, a little more tomato-
acidic than would be ideal, but
nicely framed by the taste of
pecorino and mint. It’s $19.
Pizzette may seem a bit naff
and off-brand – like the company
is doing R&D on a Rosetta-lite
spin-off (Rosetta-ette? Nonna
Neil’s?). But the toppings are smart:a bianca-style with broad beans, say,
or another done with smoked garlic
sausage from master butcher Pino
Tomini Foresti. Sink your teeth into
the Inferno, a spicy eight-incher
with chilli salumi, a puffy crust and
rounds of pickled yellow pepper
scattered across it, and your
scepticism evaporates. And it’s $12.
If you’re watching your purse,
you could have the $5 cannolo
for dessert – a small, crisp shell
of chocolate pastry piped with
mascarpone mousse. But that would
mean forgoing the torta di Verona,
the thinking person’s tiramisù,
served here as a creamy wodge of
pandoro soaked in amaretto and
Marsala with blueberry compote.
Barely weeks old, Rosetta
already feels like a fixture of the
Sydney dining scene – in the
best of ways. The size of its menu
invites exploration, but its plating
is confident enough in its simplicity
that it never wants for comfort.
The corporate heart of the city
might be the last place you’d
expect to find a touch of soul,
but Rosetta gets it right. ●Rosetta
117 Harrington
Street, Sydney,
(02) 8099 7089,
rosettarestaurant.
com.au
Licensed
Cards AE DC MC
V EFT
Open Daily
noon-3pm. Dinner
Mon-Sat 6pm-11pm,
Sun 6pm-10pm.
Prices entrées
$11-$35, main
courses $19-$49,
desserts $19-$21
Vegetarian Seven
entrées, two pasta,
one main course
Noise Noisy
Wheelchair access
Ye s
Minus Wine
mark-ups
Plus Unfussy,
upmarket ItalianCHINA SYNDROME
Everything’s coming up Sichuan, but
could Yunnanese be the next big
Chinatown thing? One promising
indicator is the appearance of Guixin
Yunnan Style Cuisine, a hole-in-the-
wall at Eating World offering the
flavour-packed likes of stir-fried
wheat and pork, spicy bean-curd
salad, and Dai-style hot and sour
agaric salad, plus Yunnan-style chips
and spicy wings. Don’t miss the rice
noodles with braised pork, pickles
and roasted peanuts (pictured).
Shop 212, Eating World 25-59 Dixon
St, Haymarket, 0406 389 390FITTING IN
The name might suggest rebellion
but the vibe at Redfern newcomer
Misfits leans more classically-trained-
executive-chef-writes-menu-for-
large-hotel-group than New Jersey
punk rock. And indeed chef James
Privett comes to the group-chef
gig at the W Short Hotel Group with
a pedigree that includes The Cut,
Bistro CBD and Bistro Moncur. Expect
croquettes and terrines, oysters and
mignonette, $19 burgers, steak frites
with anchovy butter. 106 George St,
Redfern, (02) 9318 1497GO WEST
It’s been a while between ambitious
restaurant projects in Parramatta.
Husk & Vine adjusts the record
favourably. Stephen Seckold, latterly
seen at Salaryman and Flying Fish,
consults on a menu that runs from
bowls of biodynamic brown rice with
fried eggs, mushrooms, chilli and
greens at breakfast through lamb
ragù pappardelle at lunch to striploin
with charred sugarloaf cabbage at
dinner. Shop 7, 45 Macquarie St,
Parramatta, (02) 7803 2323DetailsRoast pheasant, AND ALSO
veal and pork
agnolotti del
plin. Below right:
torta di Verona.Sydney review
60 GOURMET TRAVELLER