Three years in and Popolo still stands as one of the best and most popular restaurants in the Rushcutters Bay. Their award-winning Southern Italian food has built owner Flavio Carnevale a solid reputation, and he’s set to further this with the recent addition of Naomi Lowry (ex-Biota Dining; Pilu at Freshwater) as Head Chef, who is dedicated to introduced new dishes every week to keep things interesting.
The kitchen certainly seems to be in good hands. Lowry comes to Popolo after working as the Head Chef at the acclaimed Biota Dining in Bowral, bringing with her a sense of creativity that is necessary to keep up with the standard the restaurant has been held to in the past.
Staple dishes on the menu include Misto Do Maiale which is crispy pork belly with braised and charred ribs, zeppa, and crackle. This is of course in addition to the daily fresh hand-rolled pasta dishes and generous array of desserts, centered around unexpected flavour combinations such as rosemary, orange, and olive oil.
“I think part of our job is to surprise customers with flavours they never would have considered, yet ones we know they’ll never forget”, says Lowry of her recent appointment as Head Chef.
Not only re-working their kitchen, Popolo have also up-sized their leafy courtyard and are expected to make further refurbishments in the near future, adding to the softly lit piazza dining experience.
Popolo
Address: 50 McLachlan Ave, Rushcutters Bay NSW 2010
Contact: (02) 9361 6641
Website: www.popolo.com.au
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