Olio Kensington Street | Chippendale
Olio Kensington Street is not only a venue with interior designed by international award-winnig architects, it boasts spacious dining room overlooking Chippendale. Olio's award winning chef Lino Sauro showcases incredibly delicious Sicilian food with the end goal of educating us Sydney-siders of what new Italian food looks like! With the impending Valentines day approaching, it should definitely be on your hit list this February.
When you make your reservation, be sure to specify a romantic seat near the window. It's just great to take a break from the hustle and bustle and enjoy a intimate and quiet dinner located in Chippendale. Have you ever tried walking down Chippendale from Central Station during peak hour? It's manic! Everyone is heading somewhere so there's no need to push and shove. But whether you are dining at Olio after work, on the weekend or just because, you will feel peaceful and a little fancy at Olio.
Capasanta
There is nothing better than starting the night off with scallops and as such we never pass on the opportunity to order some freshly grilled scallops. The beauty of cooking with seafood is less is best, you emphasise on the bursts of flavour. The barely cooked scallops at Olio with toasted hazelnuts and fava bean maccu was a perfect combination of textures. This dish was fresh and is a welcoming change to norm. Highly recommend ordering the scallops!
It was recommended by the staff to order a few plates to share rather than having a main each. Honestly it's the best way to experience a restaurant as you get to taste a bit of the whole menu and we haven't had our own individual mains for a looooong time. The slow cooked wagyu oyster blade came our looking beautifully, but small... it was much smaller than we expected for the price on the menu. That said, the wagyu oyster blade was extremely tender. The steak was saturated in jus which wasn't largely enjoyed, there was a weird powdery (almost flour-like) texture. That said the celeric pure worked wonders and was a welcome addition to the plate.
Tagliolini
This was a highlight from our savoury selection and we had very high expectations, seeing this dish all over social media and so therefore we were extremely keen to try it. This dish solely relies on the fresh sea urchin sauce and homemade egg tagliolini pasta. It has zero meat, so be sure not to mistake this when ordering. It takes great talent to make something that can appear so bland, taste so damn good. The sauce isn't thick and the first couple bites did appear bland. But as you continue eating the pasta, you find yourself not wanting to put your fork down. If we were to criticise this dish, there wasn't enough!
Chef Lino's signature nougat parfait with toasted almond sauce is served with fresh strawberries and dried raspberry. Whilst we know it's not a light dessert, it certainly felt light and didn't leave you feeling bloated and with regret. We loved the semifreddo and with the addition of fresh fruit, it makes it that much healthier but also a whole lot sweeter. This is the ONLY dessert you should be ordering at Olio, trust us.
Mandarino
The dessert was spectacular. Ever since seeing the fruit dessert on Masterchef, we've seen a few places offering similar desserts. But boy, the Mandarino from Olio was on a whole other level. Firstly, you can see the texture and it looks exactly like a mandarin skin. It tastes so good especially with the honey mousse and spiced yogurt sorbet.
Snapshots of Food was invited to dine at Olio Kensington Street by Sweaty Betty PR