Well that was Spezia

I was invited to the launch of Florence Guild’s first Sydney restaurant, Spezia, last night. And it was fancy!

I say “Florence Guild’s first Sydney restaurant” in a confident way … but I actually had to look it up.

I thought Florence might be a talented female chef, but Florence Guild is actually a hospitality and lifestyle group known for operating high-end venues like Melbourne’s hatted Nordic restaurant Freyja.

I also thought the name of the restaurant, Spezia, meant ‘special’, but it’s actually Italian for spice.

Oh and foodie royalty were in the room!

Terry Durack and Jill Dupleix stopped by our table and I naively asked who they were after they’d moved on.

If you know, you know. But it would seem I mostly don’t.

Spezia is located in the stunning new The Lands by Capella precinct at Circular Quay. Nestled between the heritage-listed, sandstone walls, the open-air Italian restaurant draws inspiration from the flavours of the Silk Road.

Sadly for the owners it was a rainy Tuesday night, so there wasn’t much open air on offer, but that didn’t spoil our fun.

Bizarrely I was seated opposite someone who’d recently moved back to Sydney after 20 years in Singapore and was living a few doors down from my old house, while another person at our table grew up a block away from the same spot. Spooky.

As for the food .. The kitchen is being led by the group’s executive chef Jae Bang, who was a three Michelin-star chef at Norway’s Re-naa restaurant.

Bang and head chef Aaron Caccia – who also worked at Re-naa as well as the award-winning noma in Denmark – have crafted a spectacular menu.

We sampled this delectable selection …

My favourites included this pretty crudo dish …

I also loved the saffron risotto with ragu. And the rib-eye was melt in the mouth.

The drinks menu features more than 500 bottles from Italian, Australian and other vineyards around the world.

There are 36 wines available by the glass as well as a small selection of cocktails.

I enjoyed the refreshing Approdo – limoncello, Prosecco, lemongrass, ginger, basil, gentian and lemon. Check out my arty shot …

Spezia occupies two greenery-filled courtyards within the The Lands by Capella precinct.

The spaces are connected by two carriageways that once enabled horse-drawn carriages to turn around inside the building, while nestled between them lies the restaurant’s Tangier red, Venetian-finished bar, as well as a sprinkling of tables among the wine-bottle-lined walls.

Such a gorgeous evening, although it was a bit stressy having to duck home after work to walk and feed the dogs before racing back into the city.

And the dinner went way past my bedtime, so I’m going to be a bit sleepy today.

No rest for the wicked though, as I have the Australian Gin Awards tonight.

Song of the day: Garbage “Special”