Latest news with #Pavoni
The Age
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Ormeggio team opens Vineria Luisa in Enmore with a focus on G&Ts and ‘best ever' lasagne
Regional Italian cooking rules at Vineria Luisa, the next chapter in Anna and Alessandro Pavoni's inner-west expansion. Previous SlideNext Slide With a facade that's barely been touched for 70 years, the former home of Marie-Louise Salon – and more recently Bar Louise from the Porteno team – will attract all eyes in Enmore this week when Anna and Alessandro Pavoni will relaunch the iconic inner-west site as Vineria Luisa. The downstairs bar at Luisa, on Enmore Road, opens today, followed by the first-floor dining room on Thursday. It's equal parts vineria and gintoneria, and Alessandro Pavoni says they've tapped the gin boom happening in Italy over the past decade, with gin from around the globe, gin-based cocktails and house-made tonics, not to mention a 'Euro-centric' wine list. But it's food Pavoni is best known for, with a growing stable of venues that sweep Ormeggio at The Spit, a'Mare at Crown Sydney and Postino Osteria in nearby Summer Hill. Pavoni says he's flexing some Italian muscle and exploring new territory with Vineria Luisa's opening menu. Buoyed by the adventurousness of locals at Postino Osteria, where tripe is a popular headline ingredient, Vineria Luisa will push the gondola out further on offal by way of tonnarelli with chicken giblets, heart, liver and tomato sugo. The chef describes the pasta as 'fashionable in Rome'. Meanwhile, the frittatina of spaghetti alla nerano is a dish seldom seen in Sydney. Eggs are added to day-old pasta with zucchini and the resulting frittata is finished with provolone cream and more zucchini. Also: strudel. 'Nobody does strudel in Italian restaurants, but you find it in the north of Italy,' says Pavoni, describing it as lighter than the strudels common to Central Europe. The dessert menu will also travel closer to the toe of Italy's boot with a Sicilian almond gelato infused with orange oil. There's still plenty of familiarity on the opening menu, however, and Pavoni is backing the 'best ever' lasagne to be a Vineria Luisa favourite. 'Not too dry, not too wet,' he said. The pothole of lasagne failings, he says, is using meat that's too lean. Other dishes include tuna crudo with pickled onion and cannellini beans; a wild greens pie with roots in Emilia-Romagna; and salted and fried ling fish cooked in sugo with pine nuts and sultanas. When the Pavonis and long-term business partner Bill Drakopoulos acquired the Enmore Road site in March, it had already undergone a sizeable renovation, so a major refit wasn't required. Drakopoulos' interior designer son Perry Drakopoulos was brought in to give the space a 'more feminine' edge, though. 'Perry had recently done (Greek restaurant) Akti at Woolloomooloo,' says Anna Pavoni. 'He's grown up in hospo, and has done a great job,' There are now frilly skirts on the chairs, which are painted mocha brown on the ground level and green upstairs. Perry Drakopoulos says the room, with its booths and hidden corners, is 'mafia in an elegant way.' Spot the Frank Sinatra album cover on one of the walls.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ormeggio team opens Vineria Luisa in Enmore with a focus on G&Ts and ‘best ever' lasagne
Regional Italian cooking rules at Vineria Luisa, the next chapter in Anna and Alessandro Pavoni's inner-west expansion. Previous SlideNext Slide With a facade that's barely been touched for 70 years, the former home of Marie-Louise Salon – and more recently Bar Louise from the Porteno team – will attract all eyes in Enmore this week when Anna and Alessandro Pavoni will relaunch the iconic inner-west site as Vineria Luisa. The downstairs bar at Luisa, on Enmore Road, opens today, followed by the first-floor dining room on Thursday. It's equal parts vineria and gintoneria, and Alessandro Pavoni says they've tapped the gin boom happening in Italy over the past decade, with gin from around the globe, gin-based cocktails and house-made tonics, not to mention a 'Euro-centric' wine list. But it's food Pavoni is best known for, with a growing stable of venues that sweep Ormeggio at The Spit, a'Mare at Crown Sydney and Postino Osteria in nearby Summer Hill. Pavoni says he's flexing some Italian muscle and exploring new territory with Vineria Luisa's opening menu. Buoyed by the adventurousness of locals at Postino Osteria, where tripe is a popular headline ingredient, Vineria Luisa will push the gondola out further on offal by way of tonnarelli with chicken giblets, heart, liver and tomato sugo. The chef describes the pasta as 'fashionable in Rome'. Meanwhile, the frittatina of spaghetti alla nerano is a dish seldom seen in Sydney. Eggs are added to day-old pasta with zucchini and the resulting frittata is finished with provolone cream and more zucchini. Also: strudel. 'Nobody does strudel in Italian restaurants, but you find it in the north of Italy,' says Pavoni, describing it as lighter than the strudels common to Central Europe. The dessert menu will also travel closer to the toe of Italy's boot with a Sicilian almond gelato infused with orange oil. There's still plenty of familiarity on the opening menu, however, and Pavoni is backing the 'best ever' lasagne to be a Vineria Luisa favourite. 'Not too dry, not too wet,' he said. The pothole of lasagne failings, he says, is using meat that's too lean. Other dishes include tuna crudo with pickled onion and cannellini beans; a wild greens pie with roots in Emilia-Romagna; and salted and fried ling fish cooked in sugo with pine nuts and sultanas. When the Pavonis and long-term business partner Bill Drakopoulos acquired the Enmore Road site in March, it had already undergone a sizeable renovation, so a major refit wasn't required. Drakopoulos' interior designer son Perry Drakopoulos was brought in to give the space a 'more feminine' edge, though. 'Perry had recently done (Greek restaurant) Akti at Woolloomooloo,' says Anna Pavoni. 'He's grown up in hospo, and has done a great job,' There are now frilly skirts on the chairs, which are painted mocha brown on the ground level and green upstairs. Perry Drakopoulos says the room, with its booths and hidden corners, is 'mafia in an elegant way.' Spot the Frank Sinatra album cover on one of the walls.
News.com.au
27-04-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Top Sydney chef says we're eating a classic pasta dish entirely wrong
A Sydney Michelin-trained chef has revealed we're eating a classic Italian dish entirely 'wrong' – but fortunately, there's an easy fix. Alessandro Pavoni, an Italian-born chef, has explained that while 'spaghetti bolognese' is a dish eaten around the world – that's not how it is eaten in its native country. The restaurateur, who opened a'Mare, the hugely successful fine-dining Italian restaurant in Crown Sydney in late 2020, said the mistake lies in the shape of the beloved carb, highlighting many sauces are commonly served with the wrong pasta. 'People love using thin or smooth pasta with chunky sauces — like Bolognese on capellini or pesto on penne,' he told 'It just doesn't work — the sauce slides off or gets lost. You need the right shape to catch the sauce properly.' Traditionally, Bolognese is dished up with tagliatelle verdi, a fresh pasta recipe made with spinach to give a naturally vibrant, verdant bright green hue. 'The wide green ribbons carry the meat sauce perfectly,' Pavoni said. 'Spaghetti is served with vongole. A light, delicate dish, that lets the clams and garlic shine.' Using the wrong shape isn't the only mistake Aussies are making when cooking pasta at home, with Pavoni – who first moved to Sydney in 2003 – explaining there are other 'no-nos' to avoid. 'Too much sauce, overcooked pasta, and skipping the final toss in the pan are all things people get wrong when recreating iconic Italian dishes,' he said. 'Pasta should be al dente, coated — not swimming — and finished in the sauce with a splash of pasta water. That's how it all comes together.' His top tips for mastering the art of pasta at home include, salt your water, use a big pot, and never rinse the pasta. 'Always finish it in the sauce — that's where the magic happens,' he added. 'And don't overthink it. Keep it simple, respect the process, and the pasta will speak for itself.' The top chef however isn't immune from making mistakes of his own, revealing he recently switched the pasta shape in the iconic pesto dish sold at a'Mare. 'The pesto pasta is one of the most popular items on the menu, but we have moved away from trofie, a short, twisted, spiral-shape, and now use the trottole, a thick twirl,' Pavoni said. 'It scoops more sauce, adds texture, and elevates the dish. 'Customers love it because the pesto is made fresh table-side — the smell, the colour, the texture, it's completely different. It doesn't oxidise, it's vibrant. It's a full experience, not just a pasta dish.'
