Ragazzi

Tucked away in the charming, quaint, bird-cage filled Angel Place, Ragazzi is one restaurant I have been looking forward to trying for a long time, because I have had a couple people recommend this restaurant to me a good spot to dine in the CBD. 

Having never been to Ragazzi before, I was delighted to see that they have a chef's choice menu. I am a big fan of giving control over to those who prepare the food, because I trust that the chef's menu is the highlights reel. Having said that, the fact that we chose the chef's menu is where we went wrong. There were three of us dining, and I think the restaurant actually under-served by providing two people portions for most of the main courses and dessert. 

The fact that 2 of the courses are side-salads also significantly decrease the value of the chef's menu. Having done some basic maths, it simply does not add up, I found myself significantly over-paying for the misfortune of being lumped with some courses I would never have chosen for myself, and certainly did not represent the best Ragazzi has to offer. That aside, I am particularly disappointed because under-serving odd-numbered groups is quite despicable in my eyes: if you are prepared to take people's money, you should be prepared to serve them their fair due. 

To add insult to injury, the dinner was in celebration of my mother's birthday and Chinese New Year. Ragazzi refused to allow us to have the cake we brought for the occasion citing restaurant policy (which I respect) and the wait staff said "don't worry, we will do something special". 

That "something special" turned out to be a candle stick in one small serve of the pana cotta and...wait for it...two small scoops of ice-cream, to be shared between three people. 

The unfortunate experience aside, the food itself wasn't as good as I had expected. I don't know whether it was because the chef's menu simply did not showcase the best, or that I had set a higher expectation due to the recommendation from a couple friends, or whether Sydney is such a saturated market when it comes to good Italian food that Ragazzi is simply...meh. 

Kingfish, $9 each

The amuse bouche is a kingfish crudo mixed with grapes and drenched in buttermilk, sitting on top of sesame snaps. The slight tang of the buttermilk cured the raw kingfish very slightly, and the addition of the grape gives a welcome sweetness. The grafrant, earthy snap of the sesame completed this small, yet satisfying bite. 

Cantabrian anchovy on sourdough, $7 each

I'm usually not an anchovy fan (unless it has been cooked into a sauce to provide umami), but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it slathered with butter and sitting on top of sourdough. Of course, anchovy is salty, but that saltiness worked well on the plain vessel, and it is not overly fishy. 

Burrata, $18

I highly recommend the burrata - creamy and mild as one would expect, served with peaches and presrerved lemon. The preserved lemon is the highlight of the dish for me: slightly salty, tangy yet not overly acidic. This is a perfectly summery, fresh, fun dish. 

Spaghetti, cacio e pepe, $21

Sometimes, the most simple dishes are the best. Ratgazzi is known for their pasta, and I can see why. Even the most basic pasta has perfect bite and is deeply datisfying. Unfortunately this is overly salted and that took away from my enjoyment of the dish qutie a bit. 

Leaf salad, 9

I don't know how, but leaf salads in restaurants are always delicious and not boring at all. Actually, I know exactly how: an abundance of salt and oil. 

Conchiglie with prawns, $29

This was my favourite dish of the evening. The conchiglie are beautifully al dente, the prawns bnouncy and fresh. The addition of corn and fermented chilli are inspired: the corn gave a deeply sweet flavour to the dish, ahd the fermented chilli added much interest to the dish. 

Cabbage, $9

When this salad was served, my first reaction was simply "um, what?" It looked extremely sad. It tasted OK - I enjoyed the charred cabbage bits that were hidden beneath the mound of raw cabbage; but when there are only two salads on offer at a restaurant, I expect more than having cabbage run through a shredder. 

Panacotta, $15

I really enjoyed the pana cotta, especially the balsamic glaze, which gave the dish a very interesting and deep flavour. The figs are also particualrly seasonal and went beautifully with the creamy base. On the down side, as already touched upon in the introduction, serving a small panacotta to three guests who each paid the price of a chef's menu is a tad insulting. 

Chocolate ice cream, $5

I forgot to take a photo being digging in, partially because of the surprise at being served two small scoops between three guests. We were originally served ice cream of different flavour, but before we could try them the staff realised that those ice-cream had nuts in them and one of our guests had a mild nuts allergy, so those scoops were switched out for plain old chocolate. The flavour is fine, rich and even boozy (though the wait staff did not say there were any alcohol in the ice cream so I'm assuming that not to be the case). 

Score: 2/5 

Cost: the chef's menu is $65 per person, which came to $195 for the food only. A rough (but generous) estimationof the amount of food we were served suggests we received around $177 in value. This is not acceptable -  the chef's menu is not supposed to short-change you. If you decide to go, order a la carte. 

Address: 1 Angel Pl, Sydney NSW

Website: https://ragazziwineandpasta.com/