RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK
A PERSONAL REVIEW OF RESTAURANTS AROUND THE WORLD

ITALIAN VILLAGE RESTAURANT
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

This is an eatery located in The Rocks section of Sydney and it's just a minute's walk from the Park Hyatt Hotel.

We didn't ask anybody about this place but just stopped in one night after a long day of sightseeing.  The place, while certainly in a touristy zone, seemed to attract quite a few locals so we gave it a shot.  It was a good decision!

My wife started out with an order of bruschetta.  It came with four rounds of Italian bread and was topped with ripe tomatoes and was gently seasoned with garlic.  It was pretty good but not sensational.

I ordered an starter of "bresaola carpaccio" which turned out to be air cured beef.  With a little salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon it was quite tasty.

My wife chose lasagna for her main course and it was good.  She gave it an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.  I ordered linguini marinara with seafood and it was a perfect 10!  It was steaming hot, full of shrimp, squid, fish, mussels & scallops in just the right amount of broth.  I had to ask for a spoon to finish the broth.  It was that good!

I nursed a brandy at the end of the meal and my wife indulged in a rich and sinful warm chocolate pudding.  I could smell the aroma on the other side of the table but I didn't give in!

We highly recommend this place to you.  And on top of a fine meal, you get a stupendous view of the famous Sydney Opera House.

The Italian Village web site is here.

ADDITIONAL AUSTRALIAN RESTAURANT REVIEWS

Bondi Surf Seafoods - Bondi Beach
Cushion - Coogee Beach
Doyles At the Quay - Sydney
Deep Blue Restaurant - Coogee Beach
Harry's Singapore Chili Crab - Sydney
Jordans - Sydney
Manly Fish Cafe - Manly
Ribs & Rumps - Manly
Waterfront Restaurant - Sydney