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Good Food hat15/20

Osteria Ilaria

Updated ,first published

Pork cutlet.
1 / 11Pork cutlet.Bonnie Savage
Osteria Ilaria’s dining room.
2 / 11Osteria Ilaria’s dining room.Supplied
Slow-cooked pork jowl with crispy skin, burnt apple puree and house semolina bread.
3 / 11Slow-cooked pork jowl with crispy skin, burnt apple puree and house semolina bread.Supplied
Intriguing flavour combinations.
4 / 11Intriguing flavour combinations.Kristoffer Paulsen.
Paccheri pasta with prawns.
5 / 11Paccheri pasta with prawns.Arsineh Houspian
Pork neck, with green tomato mostarda.
6 / 11Pork neck, with green tomato mostarda.Supplied
Dessert at Osteria Ilaria.
7 / 11Dessert at Osteria Ilaria.Supplied
Porcini mushroom croquette.
8 / 11Porcini mushroom croquette.Bonnie Savage
Gippsland duck.
9 / 11Gippsland duck.Arsineh Houspian
Grilled baby calamari.
10 / 11Grilled baby calamari.Kristoffer Paulsen
Paccheri pasta with crystal bay prawns.
11 / 11Paccheri pasta with crystal bay prawns.Arsineh Houspian
Good Food hat15/20

Osteria Ilaria

Italian$$$

A pared-back room to match elegant dishes from The Boot.

Finger lime twinkles among dark strands of squid ink spaghetti with scallop, and ocean trout crudo pops with samphire and lemon myrtle. There’s new-school cooking at this svelte tunnel of a restaurant, yes, but it’s tempered by old-school hospitality from start to finish.

Cheerful staff provide guidance on ordering, split dishes and pace courses with polished expertise. Consult them, too, on the broad list of French and Italian wines then relax into the buzzy hum, as a calm brigade in the open kitchen keeps the hits coming. Pork jowl with burnt honey and apple spectacularly walks the sweet-savoury tightrope, and blackcurrant sorbet brings pucker to juniper meringue.

Wine bottles continue to amass along the long white walls like ghosts of celebrations past, or a visual reminder of how Tipo 00’s younger sister continues to grow in confidence and class.

Good to know: Pre-theatre? Heading to the footy? Pop in for a cocktail and snacks.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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