Best Pasta Dishes in Sydney 2016

I love pasta! It’s one of the few things I love eating out as much as I love cooking at home. And the best pasta dishes in Sydney follow the same rules.

Best Pasta Dishes in Sydney 2016 - Strozzapretti with Kale - ACME (Mitch Orr) - HERO

Don’t overcook it (dried pasta should be al dente and fresh should be tender with a little ‘bite’), serve it fresh (never pre-cooked) and keep the sauce simple (maximum 3 or 4 ingredients). Particular shapes work best with specific sauces, so avoid anywhere that offers a mix-and-match selection of shapes and sauces. See the video below to learn how to cook pasta like a Nonna. Here are the the best pasta dishes I had in Sydney in 2016 – with honourable mention to Mitch Orr’s strozzapretti with kale at the much missed ACME (pictured).

Best Pasta Dishes in Sydney 2016 - Baccalau-filled Culurzones - Pilu at Freshwater

Culurzones Pilu at Freshwater
Culurzones are a distinctive Sardinian ravioli that always appears on Giovanni Pilu’s menu in one form or another. At their most classic they’re filled with potato and mint and served with a simple tomato sauce. Giovanni sometimes mixes up the filling (my favourite were with baccala), but they always have that traditional plaited shape – like an ear of wheat – that takes years to perfect!

Best Pasta Dishes in Sydney 2016 - Cacio e Pepe - Buffalo Dining Club

Cacio e Pepe Buffalo Dining Club
Cacio e Pepe is the quintessential simple pasta dish (to add anything more would be a crime): hot spaghetti, black pepper and parsley, tossed in the hollow of a wheel of Pecorino Romano cheese. It picks up all that cheesy flavour – and I love the theatre of it too!

Best Pasta Dishes in Sydney 2016 - Buon Ricordo - Truffle Egg Fettuccine

Truffled Egg Fettuccine Buon Ricordo
No list of Sydney pasta dishes can be complete without the creamy fettuccine topped with a fried truffle-scented egg created by Armando Percuoco. Today, under new owner David Wright, it’s still deftly tossed together tableside with freshly grated parmesan, by a white-coated waiter. It’s still as rich too, but you won’t regret it!

Best Pasta Dishes in Sydney 2016 - Maybe Frank - spaghetti with burrata and collatura

Spaghetti, Burrata & Colatura di Alici Maybe Frank
This cool Randwick pizzeria and bar also has a short pasta menu. And, in 2016 when they were still in Darlinghurst, I had a punchy spaghetti there with creamy burrata, colatura di alici (anchovy fish sauce modelled on Ancient Roman garum), confit tomatoes and fried breadcrumbs that I’ve never forgotten! It wasn’t pretty – but it was irresistibly good!

Best Pasta Dishes in Sydney 2016 - Best Dishes in Sydney 2020 - Lucio's black handkerchief pasta - also Pasta

Black Handkerchief Pasta with Seafood & Chilli Lucio’s Italian Restaurant – CLOSED
Lucio’s fresh pasta was the finest and smoothest I ever tasted, and always with perfect texture. His fazzoletti neri ai frutti di mare, jet-black irregular strips of pasta tossed with chunks of prawn and cuttlefish (they left the mussels out for me) with a touch of garlic, chilli and chervil, is still one of my benchmark pasta dishes!

Published 18 Mar 2017

How To Cook Pasta Like A Nonna

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Mark (Mosman, NSW)
Mark (Mosman, NSW)
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I was lucky enough to attend one of Roberta's Duck and Pinot walks with a group of friends. It was a fantastic afternoon and I can't recommend it highly enough. Roberta is great company and a fantastic guide to the best food experiences Sydney has to offer.
Deborah (Camperdown, NSW)
Deborah (Camperdown, NSW)
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Roberta organises really enjoyable and relaxed dinners where you not only get to eat delicious food from a wide range of cuisines, but also find out more about the cooking techniques and produce with the chefs and producers. I highly recommend 'Be Inspired' dinners.
Errol (Chatswood, NSW)
Errol (Chatswood, NSW)
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Went on the Duck & Pinot tour wonderfully hosted and curated by Roberta - thank you. There was a lot of duck to eat and other dishes as well. Plus I learned about wine and the people who run the restaurants. An event for multiple types of occasions. Can't wait for the next one.
Rita (Glengarry, Tas)
Rita (Glengarry, Tas)
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What an amazing morning touring Sydney Produce Market with Roberta - meeting the growers & agents of some amazing produce & tasting things along the way. My favourites were the red & yellow prickly pears, jujubes, longans, & fresh pistachios. Next was Gozleme for breakfast in Auburn then a tour & tasting at Gima Turkish supermarket & Harkola Middle Eastern warehouse. Highly recommended.
Clare (Sydney, NSW)
Clare (Sydney, NSW)
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Geoff (Cherrybrook, NSW)
Geoff (Cherrybrook, NSW)
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I recently joined Roberta with friends & colleagues on the Duck & Pinot Walk - incredible afternoon visiting 3 duck restaurants, each very different to the other. Superbly organised! Roberta's first hand knowledge of each dish and her relationship with the restaurant owners made for an extremely enjoyable & memorable time. Would recommend this for families, work functions or just friends getting together.
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