Otto Ristorante

Otto Ristorante Overview

Otto Ristorante is undoubtedly one of the finest Italian restaurants you are likely to come across in Sydney. The restaurant is blessed with a beautiful waterfront location in the newly developed wharf area of Woolloomooloo and tables face out to the million dollar yachts bobbing in their bays over to the city beyond. The restaurant is a stone’s throw away from Russell Crowe’s apartment (who is a regular) and although it is a short walk to the city centre (attracting a lot of suits) this is a peaceful, luxurious slice of Sydney.

As soon as we sat at our table we were met with a basket of different bread varieties and the waiter poured a saucer dish full of olive oil. Fresh, nutty bread and a good olive oil is something of a weakness of mine and so I indulged and had two pieces. For starters look to try the creamy, smooth four cheese risotto, the wagyu beef carpaccio with truffle dressing, fresh rock oysters or the ribbon pasta with Macleay Valley pork ragu and parsley. I opted for the Kipfler potato gnocchi with crispy burnt sage, muscatel butter and parmesan; each individual potato parcel was deliciously rich, beautifully soft and scrumptious.

For mains we had one of the two fresh fish of the day which was a meaty, flavoursome Jewfish cooked with its skin on, sitting in a white creamy, parsley sauce with baby carrots and the 450 gram milk-fed veal rib eye with rosermary oil and lemon which was juicy and tender but requires a serious appetite. For dessert we tried the selection plate of Otto desserts in miniature, when they arrived however my heart sank, these mini dessert were not so mini, in fact it looked like we had just ordered five normal dessert on one long plate. However the deliciousness of each one meant we were fighting over our favourites which included the baked passion fruit tart, the redcurrant semi freddo with blackcurrant sorbet and fresh berries and of course the milk chocolate mousse with rose water marshmallow.

Well I didn’t know who to blame, perhaps Otto for making even their bread taste good, but by the time we had seen off the last of our 5th dessert, I felt like I needed to be airlifted out the restaurant. Fortunately I had a great view and the final drops of my Pinot Grigio to enjoy. Otto would be the perfect choice to entertain clients over lunch, go to for a bit of a celebration or to just enjoy a good catch up with friends. My tips would be to dress smart, don a large pair of sunglasses and give yourself plenty of time to succumb to fine wine and food; there are no rushed lunches around here.