There’s something both quietly elegant and refreshingly unpretentious about Cecilia. Tucked beneath a glassy corporate monolith in North Sydney, you might mistake it for just another lobby-side café. But step in — or better yet, sit down — and Cecilia has one clear intention: to remind you that Italian food is a comforting favourite for a reason.
The design and vibe
Opulent and so very North Sydney. By that we mean decadent, refined and upscale while also being warm and friendly – less pretence than across the water (shhh I didn’t say that out loud)!
A bar, a coffee machine and a sliver of a kitchen present some of the finest dishes perfect for breakfast, long lunches, meetings and soon – after work drinks and dinner.
The Menu
We kicked off with the Burrata Caprese ($22), but this wasn’t your standard tomato-cheese handshake. The rich, creamy burrata came crowned with nectarine — yes, stone fruit in a Caprese — alongside blushing heirloom tomatoes and crunchy pine nuts. It’s sunshine on a plate, and a clever nod to Cecilia’s rule-breaking elegance.
Then came the Beef Carpaccio ($23), brightened with pickled mushrooms that added a welcome, briny counterpoint to the richness of the hand-cut beef, parmesan and nori dust. A quietly confident technique that is perfect flavour perfect for a bold and heavy chardonnay.
Then came the melt in your mouth Anchovy Toast ($16) miso bagna cauda & pickled cucumber. Rich, salty, bitesize and unlike any other bite. Again we imagine ourselves with friends with a wine in one hand and one of these in the other.
The Melo’s Meatballs ($28) Oh, mama. Three pillowy meatballs submerged in a glossy, basil-laced tomato sugo that demanded to be mopped up with a side of their house-made focaccia. The hand-made meatballs are meaty – fresh and herby. We have a little place carved in our hearts for this body-warming and soul-affirming dish.
The Porcini Risotto ($30) a deeply umami dense flavour with porcini and Swiss brown mushrooms, enriched by nutty Parmesan. It’s the kind of dish that warms you from the inside out and makes you wonder why anyone bothers adding truffle oil to things when mushrooms alone can sing like this loud. Risotto is so often disappointing but this was 15/10. With the meatballs, this is also a must eat (so many must eats, you need to eat there at least three times!).
A Rocket & Parmesan salad ($13) on the side offered sharpness and crunch — necessary contrast for the richness that came before and what was to follow…
Deserts is a tiramisu worth cancelling your next meeting for. Cecilia’s Tiramisu ($15) is not a deconstructed, pipette-filled spectacle — it’s the real, classical opera, type of deal. A soft, cocoa-dusted crown hides a cloud of mascarpone layered with espresso-soaked sponge. It’s unapologetically boozy, barely sweet, and impossibly light. It’s big enough to share, which is almost unheard of!
Frankly, if you’re not ending your lunch with this, you’re doing it wrong.
Final word
For the gluten free, which I am, Italian is almost always off the menu, but instead the team at Cecilia’s is kind, accommodating and can make any pasta gluten free, and will provide gluten free bread – it’s this type of evolution and consideration that makes Cecilia a perfect break from the (working) world.
Cecilia doesn’t shout for attention. It whispers in perfectly romantic Italian. From the sleek design to the quietly attentive staff, everything here works in harmony. It’s the sort of place you want to keep secret — but already know you’ll be dragging your team, your clients, and your best friend to next week.
