Restaurant Review: Carpaccio, Sydney

Yesterday, I went for lunch at Carpaccio on Norton Street in Sydney with some friends.

Norton Street has a large selection of Italian restaurants. To emphasise the Italian, set back from the main road there is a sunken piazza, filled with cafes and surrounded by flats clad with faux shutters in a supposed European style. Don't let the kitsch put you off. Carpaccio is situated just round the corner from the piazza and is somewhat more stylish.

The service seemed friendly and efficient. When we asked the waitress a question about the menu she replied with a certainty and precise answer that can often be lacking in part time waiting staff.

We started with some olives and garlic bread. The olives and been warmed, a great touch I am not sure I have seen before.

For the main courses, Dave and I both had the papardelle with duck and porcini ragu. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the ragu was a delight, neither the duck nor the porcini were overly heavy. Dave and I were both mopping up the juices from our bowls at the end.

Ali had the chicken breast stuffed with ricotta, lemon, thyme and sage, wrapped in proscuitto and served on a bed roasted pumpkin. Sounds like a mouthful, was presented perfectly and by all accounts tasted delicious. The ricotta filling was the star of the show.

Pen had the mussels in a napoletana sauce and served with homemade bread. While Clint had the white bait and pumpkin fritters. Neither plate had a crumb left on it by the end of the meal.

Reading other reviews suggests Carpaccio is a cut above your average Norton St. Italian restaurant. I can't make any direct comparisons, but from the food and service received I can believe the reviews.

UPDATED: As Dave has pointed out in the comments, about half way through our meal some live music was put on for our entertainment. To give the singer his dues, he wasn't that bad and the number of out of tune notes was acceptable. It was also at the right volume to be background music and didn't prevent us chatting. However, what wasn't so acceptable was the dreadful song selection. He also had with him a violin, that he didn't play once (that might have been a good thing). It's the credit crunch and I think the owners should save themselves some money, by scraping the live music. Your punters wouldn't miss it!