Bianca

Spotted: Charli XCX was snapped dining at Bianca on Friday night before her Laneway appearance. Will her next album be a certain shade of peach or was she just there for the pizza fritta and burrata? Either way, we applaud your choice of restaurant, Charli. 

Taking over the spot almost right next to Same Same by The Calile Hotel, Bianca is a peach-hued stunner. Terracotta tiling covers almost every inch of the venue, including the massive central salumi bar surrounded by stools, while the ceiling—lined with a perimeter of wine bottles—is covered by metal gridwork (pink, of course). 

The best seats in the house are undoubtedly the counter stools around that salumi bar, where you can watch the kitchen team at work slicing up plates of mortadella, prosciutto and salami, and artfully assembling antipasti plates like creamy burrata, marinated mushrooms and pickled fennel. But it wouldn’t be Italian without pasta, and pasta there is—the fresh, light, flavoursome kind with just a few ingredients, as all good pastas should be from ricotta-filled agnolotti on a bed of fermented pumpkin and burnt butter, to pappardelle lamb ragu and spaghetti alla chitarra with prawns. 

For those with the willpower to skip over the pasta section, there are a handful of main dishes, including a crackling-edged porchetta alla Romana, and the epic Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a massive T-bone steak to share. Pair them with sides like grilled broccolini with almond cream or crisp garlic and rosemary potatoes.  

All this plus an Inglorious Basterds-themed cocktail menu (don’t ask us why), a lengthy list of wines and a handful of negronis that feature spirits bottled in the 50s, 60s and 70s (yes, they will cost you a pretty penny)? You should already be booking a table. 

Read more about Bianca here. 

Image credit: Grace Elizabeth Smith