Sick of seeing your friends eating, drinking, swimming, shopping, just generally lapping up la dolce vita in Italy while you’re trying to stay warm this winter? If you’re not in Europe, don’t worry, all hope is not lost. A few wines and a big bowl of truffle pasta at Olio, and you won’t be thinking about anything except your next mouthful.

Chef Lino Sauro brings us Sicilian fare all the way from the source – transporting bold pastas, serious seafood and big meat dishes straight to Chippendale’s Kensington Street. Olio sits above the street in the Old Rum Store, which is also home to East Side Kitchen and Bistrot Gavroche. It’s modern Italian meets historic Sydney, with exposed brick walls and ceiling beams, a green dropdown ceiling and lots, and lots of wine. Waiters reverently carry around a glass domed cloche covering a plate of fresh Australian truffles that are too tempting not to have shaved over fresh pasta. Through the open kitchen pass you’ll spot chefs plating up plump saffron rice arancini, charred Fremantle river octopus and wagyu beef carpaccio.

Sicilian never looked so good! Image by Dominic Loneragan

With a heavy focus on seafood, the menu makes the most of local ingredients and bold flavours – marinated razor prawns and stracciatella cheese, bucatini pasta, saffron and fresh sardines, homemade tomato fettucine with seafood ragu. Designed for two, the 900g salt baked Snapper is served at the table, presented in its salt pastry glory before being unveiled and sliced up. Meat eaters will love homemade paparadelle wrapped around a hearty wagyu beef ragu, or a 48 hour Clover Valley lamb neck served with pumpkin puree and black truffle jus.

Save room for dessert – a deconstructed ‘Rice and Honey’ cheesecake with toasted rice gelato, or a perfectly domed 70% dark chocolate tart dusted in praline chocolate soil.

Olio 
2/2/10 Kensington St, Chippendale
https://olio.kensingtonstreet.com.au/