Cucina Galileo(Inside Club Marconi)
121 Prairie Vale Rd
Bossley Park, Sydney
Cucina Galileo is the premium Italian restaurant inside Sydney's largest Italian club - Club Marconi.
You know it needs to be good Italian food in a place like this - the judges are experts having grown up with this food and also from cooking it themselves!The food at Cucina Galileo is mainly Southern Italian influenced, although there are plenty of menu items from right across (or in reality up and down) Italy.You really would never know that you're in a very large club once you set foot inside this restaurant - it's another world with decor to match its Italian influences.
They also have a strong focus on taking things back to traditional simple flavours done well.
We started with drinks - shock horror! As it was Italian we stayed in theme and had two aperitive - an aperol spritz and a bellini. It was a great start to the evening and very refreshing.
Our first bite was a classic - Panzanella Caprese Salad. It's an old school salad that was a staple in World War 1 and 2.
It was wood fired toasted bread soaked in extra virgin olive oil and mixed with fresh tomato, basil, artichokes, Spanish onion and olives.
It was such a simple dish that had a real wow factor to it - and we just couldn't stop eating it.
It was wood fired toasted bread soaked in extra virgin olive oil and mixed with fresh tomato, basil, artichokes, Spanish onion and olives.
It was such a simple dish that had a real wow factor to it - and we just couldn't stop eating it.
Next we had some of their cured meats - and they weren't house cured - they were "Dad" cured. Tony, the owner, has grown up eating the great cured meats his dad has made all his life - and now he's sharing the same goodies with his customers. They were great too. We tried pork neck with a nice spread of black peppercorns in it - a nice bite but not overpowering. We also had salumi. This came with some bread - good hearty food! Brilliant!
They were filled with ricotta and porcini mushrooms then lightly battered and fried.
It was a colourful presentation reflecting the Italian flag, the red of the tomato, the white of the batter and the green from the sprig of dill. It was patriotic and very tasty all at once!
Then their hearty and delicious polenta alla Gorgonzola arrived - a Northern Italian specialty. This was polenta wedges slathered in Gorgonzola cheese sauce.
It was rich, it was indulgent and it was mega tasty.
Drinks time again and we had a favourite and Southern Italian staple - a Luma Nero d'Avola-Syrah.
Our next dish was simply amazing - the goat pappardelle. This was slow slow cooked goats meat in a simple sauce served with wide ribbon pasta (pappardelle). It was delicious and dissolved when cut - or pulled apart.
Mlady generally prefers fish over meat but even she said this was her favourite dish of the night - it was that good! Sir agreed!
The grilled swordfish steak was another simple but effective dish. It certainly was fresh and extremely colourful - again reflecting the colours of the Italian flag - possibly even unintentionally.
The fish steaks were perfectly cooked and the sauce and flavour combinations worked so well together having some nice tang, but not too much.
Dessert time saw us tasting their semifredo al limoncello.This was a limoncello infused semifredo served with a simple strawberry reduction and a garnish of fresh mint leaves that went so well in appearance and taste.
This was such a smooth and creamy dessert and was also surprisingly subtle as well.
Finally it was time for the Sfingi d'Anna con Nutella - doughnut holes dusted with sugar and cinnamon served with a rich Nutella dipping pot. We then had some lovely limoncello to cap everything off - oh yum.
The decor at Cucina Galileo was elegant - very in theme but not over the top. They seat 120 people but also have a private room that seats up to 10 people for those special evenings. However, you need to come here for the food - it's traditional, simple and so well done!
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Cucina Galileo. Special thanks to owner Tony for looking after us and Anna for inviting us and looking after us.
