Happy Valentine's @ Ormeggio at The Spit

Any day is a good day to show love and affection to loved ones. But when there is a day dedicated to that someone special, why not embrace it? That goes with Mother’s day, Father’s day and of course Valentine’s day! My Valentine Mr M made the effort to fly back just in time to celebrate this special day with me. It didn’t take me too long to decide on the venue this year. Somewhere romantic, still, with good food and a nice view to linger over. Ormeggio at The Spit ticked all the boxes.

Ormeggio is a two hatted contemporary Italian restaurant with a stunning waterside setting in Mosman. It is said that the Italian chef and owner, Alessandro Pavoni, with his team of chefs boast 39 Michelin stars between them. That is certainly reflected in their offering of exciting dishes. We started with a warm rye sourdough that has the crunchiest crust and we knew we are in good hands. As I am not a fan of raw meat, the chefs arranged a lovely, thick pea emulsion as a substitute. It is delicious alone, and delicious as a dip for the sourdough.

Our next dish, the carnaroli risotto, had us questioning. A crunchy risotto cooked Al dente? According to our waiter, this is how risottos are supposed to be like from Alessandro’s home region of Lombardy. I am somewhat undecided about the risotto. I welcomed the creaminess of the buffalo mozzarella, but I would have preferred slightly less sourness from the tomato essence.

Then came the hero dish that proved the restaurant worthy of its reputation. The slow-cooked suckling pig, with its glorious crackling and the succulent, mouth-watering meat. I effortlessly split the meat from the crackling and offered the crackling to Mr M. I loved watching the smile grow on this boy’s face. This is indisputably our favourite dish tonight. Even the accompanying dutch carrots and mustard seeds are scrumptious. An ultimate knock out dish!

I normally head straight from mains to desserts, but tonight’s Valentine’s degustation included a cheese course. This isn’t an ordinary cheeseboard. The mountain man wash rind is hidden beneath a bed of dehydrated powder that has an unique taste, sort of like popcorn, with sweeten apricot and hazelnuts. Our final course, a carrot dessert with fennel seed ice cream, farro cream and vinegar caramel left us with a lot of question marks. What are vegetables doing in our dessert? Why does our dessert taste savoury, sour, bitter and sweet? Could this be the chef’s interpretation of love? A combination of all the flavours and a lot of question marks. As much as I appreciate the effort in creating such a daring dessert, I would prefer the vegetables to stay where they belong... in entrees and mains.   

Even without a strong finish, it is a memorable meal. The food here is all about who the chef is and where he’s from. The service is attentive and the setting is impeccable. And surpass anything I have Mr M beside me on this day, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Picturesque sunset view from our table

What a splendid view to linger over our Valentine's dinner

Warm sourdough, freshly churned sour butter, sea salt

Grass fed beef battuta - shiitake - horseradish - nasturtium 

L Loves... Pea emulsion with asparagus, broad beans and green peas

Carnaroli risotto - buffalo mozzarella - tomato - capers - olives – basil

L Loves... Suckling pig - dutch carrots - fennel - mustard seeds - elk  - garlic

Mountain man wash rind - apricot - hazelnut 

Carrot - fennel seed ice cream - farro cream - vinegar caramel

The beautiful scenery from our table as we finished our memorable meal

L's Verdict:

·   Taste: 7/10

·   Ambience: 4/5

·   Value: 3/5 

·   Service: 4/5

· Creativity and other WOW factors: 4/5 

Overall rating: 22/30

Ormeggio at The Spit

D'Albora Marinas

The Spit, Mosman 2088

Ph: (02) 9969 4088

Open Lunch - Wed to Sun 12pm-3pm

Dinner - Wed to Sat 6pm-11pm, Sun 6pm-10pm

Visited Valentine's Day February 2013

Friendly advice: They offer a lunch special from Wednesday to Saturday – 3 courses including a glass of wine for $59 or 4 course degustation for $69 only. They also do Stressless Sunday dinners which offer 6 course degustation for $69 only. Make sure you book in early!