Blackboard specials, a serious meat-slicer and a legendary dessert: tick, tick, tick. Cicci Food & Wine is the cosiest of cosy neighbourhood trattorias.
14.5/20
Italian$
A few years ago, I sent a polite request to all our Good Food Guide reviewers to please, for the love of God, stop describing every suburban pasta joint as a “cosy neighbourhood trattoria”.
Writing about tiramisu was also banned, not because I have anything against the stuff, but because there’s so bloody much of it on Sydney menus these days. There’s only so much coffee and cream a copy editor can handle. (Other forbidden words include “bellissimo!” “tipple” and, worst of all, “Instagrammable”. “Moist” is fine because, sometimes, there’s no other way to describe a nice bit of sponge.)
Anyway, both decrees are temporarily lifted. Nestled (whoops, that’s also banned) into the curve of Darling Street before Balmain becomes Rozelle, Cicci is the cosiest of cosy neighbourhood tratts. Blackboard specials, a serious meat-slicer, loaves on the counter: tick, tick, tick.
Co-owner Peter Zuzza’s father, Giuseppe, is also credited as the guy who brought tiramisu to Australia. He learnt how to make the dessert at L’Incontro Ristorante in Treviso – tiramisu’s birthplace – and put it on the menu at Darcy’s in Paddington in 1977. Giuseppe took his tiramisu recipe to Glebe in 1980 when he opened The Mixing Pot. Peter eventually worked there, too, and developed a keen interest in wine. In 2009, he took over La Disfida in Haberfield, sold it a couple of years ago, and launched Cicci in April. Co-running the show is Zuzza’s childhood friend, Steven Romanini. They’ve known each other since their dads worked together at Darcy’s.
Darling Street is a dead zone after 8pm most nights, save for Gigi’s Pizza, but that’s frequented by blokes who smell like Acqua di Gio and most slices are more puffed-up crust than topping.
On a recent Thursday at Cicci, I witnessed a couple roll in and order food at 8.45pm. I can’t overstate how monumental this is for dining on the peninsula. They only lucked on a table because we were leaving. Cicci is busy; book in advance. (Zuzza does hold spots for walk-in guests, and you can hang at The Cat and Fiddle nearby if there’s a wait.)
Chef Naomi Lowry’s menu is short and mostly traditional with a few, vermouth-friendly small plates, three pastas and one secondo del giorno. Across two visits, that rotating main has been a cotoletta alla Milanese of juicy pork, crisp sage and buttery, crunchy breadcrumb. Bellissimo. Sometimes, there’ll be a steak special or ossobuco instead, but that schnitzel has already developed a loyal fan base.
Sweet and tangy caponata is a deep-red mix of long-cooked eggplant, tomato, sultanas and pine nuts made for spooning on grilled bread and drinking with something fruit-forward and Sicilian.
Zuzza also runs online wine store Atelier DeVino – and Cicci’s bottle and by-the-glass list is rich with dynamite producers. I’ve enjoyed a crisp Andrea Occhipinti procanico from Lazio with mozzarella enveloped in fried carrozza bread, as well as a zippy, lightly salty Inkwell grillo from McLaren Vale with mafaldine pasta glossed in a cavalo nero and hazelnut pesto with a whisper of gorgonzola cream.
If I’m feeling flush, I might return for the Lake’s Folly 2016 Cabernets ($175) and another round with the winter-busting pappardelle and lamb ragu – and then, maybe, something simple but significant from the top shelf of whiskies. “Giuseppe’s [very good, maybe perfect] tiramisu” loves a splash of booze to cut through the yolks and mascarpone.
Judging by Cicci’s popularity, Balmain locals would love a few more cosy neighbourhood trattorias. (End copy, all bans reinstated.)
The low-down
Atmosphere: Dependable Italian wine bar run by seasoned professionals
Go-to dishes: Giuseppe’s tiramisu ($14); cotoletta alla Milanese ($28); caponata ($16); mafaldine with pesto ($29)
Drinks: Broad-but-approachable list of Australian and Old World wines, plus a smart line-up of spirits and pre-dinner cocktails
Cost: About $90 for two before drinks
This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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