When it comes to parentage, Restaurant Leo is born of Sydney's culinary elite: a child born of LuMi and Oscillating Wildly, it is Italian fine dining with just a smidgen of alley-casual-chic; the kind where the friendly, unobtrusive yet helpful staff take little mouthfuls of red wine between expertly serving tables and suggesting wines. I was immediately charmed.
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| Adam & Eve, $19; Travel Nostalgia, $19, GLS Garussin Complet, $16 |
There is a small but creative cocktail list, and an interesting wine list. The Adam & Eve is a tequila and bitters based cocktail topped with a slice of peach - it is sweet at first and then it hits you with just enough bitterness to make it count; the Travel Nostalgia is whiskey based, with banana-miso, and is a heady, sweet saunter down memory lane; and the GLS Garussin Complet is a chilled red wine that is perfect for an end-of-summer lunch.
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Bread with anchovy butter, complimentary
The bread is a soft panini still warm from the oven, and served with whipped butter made umami and salty by anchovy paste. I have always believed that one can judge a restaurant by its bread. Beautifully chewy on the outside and pillowy inside, we're off to a great start.
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| Scallops, $26 |
The entrees at Restaurant Leo are dainty - designed to showcase skill rather than fill you up. The scallop sits on a bed of capera and is finished with some lemon. It is fresh and savoury, yet still allows the natural sweetness of the scallops flesh to shine through.
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| Beetroot Carpaccio, $19 |
Beautifully glossy and paper thin, the beetroot carpaccio somehow makes vegetable taste just as delicate as the more traditional kind of carpaccio of the beef variety. Silky soft and wonderfully seasoned, I highly recommend this starter to set the tone of the meal.
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| Maccheroncini Scampi, $35 |
This, my friends, is beautiful. Perfectly cooked maccheroncini (so perfectly al dente the "bite" isn't powdery at all, but rather, a reluctance of your teeth to let go of the pasta) is paired with gently sweet scampi, and a broth so rich and umami it entirely coats the mouth with the essence of the sea and the venerable crustacean.
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| Mafaldine Duck, $31 |
Mafaldine is quite an unusual type of pasta - I wish I could see more of it, becuase when it comes to grabbing sauces and not letting go, this twisty ribbon is where it's at. The duck is cooked until the meat is but a gorgeously savoury, deeply flavourful mash. I might even go as far as to pronounce this my favourite dish amongst strong competitors.
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| Veal Saltimbocca, $35 |
Fall-apart goodness wrapping around salty pancetta, the veal looks small and unassuming, yet packs a flavour punch. The veal is beautifully soft, and the sauce has a salty creaminess that pairs wonderfully with the veal.
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| Polenta corn, $19, with additional truffle, +$20 |
We are coming to truffle season again - let it rain with the black gold, I say. The polenta corn is like a thick corn chowder that acts as a perfectly comforting base on which to shave some additional mushroomy, earthy goodness.
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| Green Beans, $12 |
How do the restaurants do it? How do they make something as simple of beans taste so utterly delightful? Some would tell me it's salt and butter and olive oil, which must be true, but there is something additionally wonderful about the beans at Restaurant Leo - so fresh, so delicate, and so sweet.
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| Burnt white chocolate semi-freddo, $19 |
This is one incredible dessert. The semifreddo is so rich that it immediately coats your entire mouth is the most fragrant sweet milky flavour, and the strongly salted pretzel topping balances the sweetness of the ice cream perfectly. There are also little shards of burnt white chocolate folded throughout the ice cream - a truly inspired dessert.
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| Panna Cotta, $16 |
This panna cotta is a wake-up call at the end of a rich meal that lulls one's senses! It is surprisingly tart, and yet balanced at the same time - it wouldn't be so memorable without the bold hint of lemon and mint, yet it maintains a comforting silkiness that we have all come to associate with a good panna cotta. Texture-wise there is not even a hint of gelatinous-ness: just smooth and wobbly.
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| Dark chocolate tortino |
When they say dark chocolate, they mean it: this rich, slightly gooey chocolate cake is unapologetically rich and bitter, and will be perfect for those who wish to settle the stomach but don't have a particularly sweet tooth.
Cost: $120-$150pp
Address: 1/2-12 Angel Pl, Sydney
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