A Tavola - Darlinghurst, Sydney

The lovely Miss J was back in town, from Melbourne, for an early birthday dinner at the Italian restaurant A Tavola.  Situated on the bustling Victoria Street in Darlinghurst, conveniently located across the road from Gelato Messina. 

Nestled in our cosy table for 8, we check out the tempting options on the specials menu. Our waiter carefully explains the dishes on the menu once our whole party is seated - especially recommending that the must try is the Parpadelle con Ragu.

Complimentary bread to start off the night

Peach bellini 

Aperol Spritz

Baked olives - I'm not a fan of olives but these were freshly fried and tasty. 

Swiss brown mushrooms, green peas, mint, ricotta salata - this dish smelt amazing!

TONNO con FINOCCHIO e CRESCION - Seared tuna, fennel, watercress, finger lime, avruga, caperberry

FARAONA con SEDANO RAPA -  guinea fowl, lardo, pistachio, celeriac, witlof, baby beetroot

This dish was so good, I ended up having dish envy and preferred this over the seared tuna dish I had ordered.

PAPPARDELLE con RAGU di MANZO

Hand cut pappardelle pasta, slow braised beef, red wine, tomato, bay, sage 

Definitely the highlight dish of the night, so rich and flavoursome. 

MEZZELUNE con RIPIENO di PISELLI e RICOTTA
Half moon shaped ravioli filled with peas, ricotta, oregano, heirloom carrot, truffle pecorino 

ERVO con FUNGHI e CAVOLO NERO

Venison, pine mushroom, cavolo nero, thyme, cranberry

We skipped the dessert at A Tavola as we only had eyes for Gelato Messina...

It was a crazy night.

Dr Evil's Magic Mushroom - a gelato cake recommended for 10-12 people, shared between 8. Chocolate overload!!

Nom nom nom