Team behind two-hat Pilu open harbourside Italian restaurant (minus one thing)

When the duo behind northern beaches dining jewel Pilu at Freshwater snared a site overlooking Circular Quay, the plan was always to name it Flaminia. After all, it was the ship that started the family’s Australian migrant journey generations ago (chef Giovanni Pilu jokes he arrived late to the party, by plane, in 1992).

Now, 66 years after the vessel Flaminia docked at Circular Quay with the mother and grandmother of Pilu’s wife, restaurateur Marilyn Annecchini, onboard, the pair will opened Flaminia restaurant on Friday.

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“Flaminia is a great name, easy to remember. Like anything, there has to be a story behind it,” he said.

“There’s an old black-and-white photo of the ship we’ve blown up and put in the restaurant,” Pilu said. MS Flaminia’s eight-to-a-cabin passengers would enjoy the space of its reimagined namesake: its textured stone, curved timber joinery and porthole-free water views through ceiling-to-floor glass.

It has taken more than two decades and numerous offers for the duo to expand south from their chefs’ hatted restaurant, Pilu at Freshwater. And Giovanni Pilu is keen to skip Italian cliches, like Sydney’s burrata plague, at Circular Quay’s newest arrival.

“We’ve seen enough burrata,” Pilu said. The menu is broken up by major port cities in Italy, so diners can select an entire meal exclusively from Genova, or start with a fried mozzarella, anchovy and red pepper sandwich from Naples, plunder Palermo for the prawn gamberoni with olive and capers, then finish the meal with a Venetian dessert of fried custard cream with honey and candied orange.

Pilu said the ubiquitous fritto misto is made “with whatever the local fishermen have that day”, but he’ll tie his fried seafood dish to Cagliari by partnering it with a bottarga mayonnaise. There’s even an occasional port-of-call with Australian ingredients, with lemon myrtle sliding into a pasta dish, and Murray cod the star in a Venetian cod dish.

“The ports of Italy have their own rhythm, bold flavours, honest cooking and a hospitality that makes you linger,” Pilu said. He’ll rotate the featured ports on the menu from time to time, and there’s a crudo bar where diners can choose dressings from different Italian regions.

“We’ll do suckling pig, but you’ll have to order 24 hours before,” Pilu said. Flaminia is also responsible for the food at El Vista, the new bar with cocktails crafted by the Maybe Sammy crew, also located inside the Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour (part of the iconic Toaster building), but the floor above Flaminia.

Pilu opted for a chorizo hot dog rather than a burger at El Vista: “[Sydney] has enough burgers, enough burrata. I love them both, but it’s been done.”

For Marilyn Annecchini, the opening of Flaminia is a full-circle moment that honours her family’s arrival in Australia. She continues to keep one eye on the northern beaches’ mothership, while creating something new at Flaminia.

“Diners can expect a different experience to Pilu,” Annecchini said. “A more playful, approachable take on Italian hospitality, where quality comes without formality.”

Open lunch and dinner daily

Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour, 61 Macquarie Street, Sydney, flaminia.com.au