K and I had dinner at Pilu at Freshwater a month ago to celebrate our one-year anniversary. We originally booked months in advance for Berowra Waters Inn, which has since gone into administration, but had to rebook for Pilu after Berowra Waters Inn closed down.
Pilu is a multiple award winner – consistently earning two chef hats in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide, two stars in the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide, and other prestigious awards of excellence in the category of Italian cuisine. It is by far the fanciest restaurant I’ve been to in Sydney – perhaps evidenced by the fact that I had about a dozen pieces of cutlery to contend with over the course of the night?
Upon arrival, we were shown to a semi-private table in a corner of the terrace dining room, with views overlooking the water. While it was a dark night so we were unable to enjoy the ocean views to their full extent, the lights glimmering off the black waves still made for a very picturesque scene. The decor of the restaurant also lends itself to the nautical atmosphere, with a strong emphasis on clean white linen and exposed wooden ceilings in what was formerly a seaside residence.
Having examined the menu online prior to reaching the restaurant, I had a strong idea about what I wanted. For this special occasion, I went all out and had the degustation menu with the matching wines. K had the degustation menu as well, but without the matching wines as one of us had to drive home!
Pesce spada affumicato, cachi, filu e ferru, e condimento al balsamico bianco (Smoked swordfish, with persimmon, grappa and white balsamic)
2011 Mesa ‘Primo Rosato’ – Isola dei Nuraghi IGT (75ml)
Tender and an amazing blend of flavours. The persimmon was particularly nice, if strong-flavoured.
Fagiano in brodo, fregola fatta in casa, pecorino stagionato (Glenloth pheasant in a pheasant consommé, hand rolled fregola and one year aged Pecorino)
2000 Contini – Vernaccia di Oristano DOC (60ml)
I’ve never had fregola before, and found it quite interesting. The smaller size meant that the flavour really seeped into the fregola. The consommé was amazing – particularly clear and tasty without being overpowering. It was a good segue into the next dish, which had more flavour.
Malloreddus, polpa di granchio, guanciale croccante e pane carasau (Malloreddus with Queensland Spanner Crab, guanciale and crispy Sardinian bread)
2010 Santadi ‘Pedraia’ – Nuragus di Cagliari DOC (75ml)
Mmmm, crab. This didn’t fall into the trap that many other crab dishes stumble upon, with the other ingredients being subsumed by the crab. Instead, the flavours of the various ingredients blended really well.
The most interesting part about this dish was actually the wine. The Santadi Pedraia was very aromatic, and smelt like a strong sherry. While full-bodied on the first sip, it didn’t leave a cloying stickiness in my mouth, which a sherry can do.
Granita alle arance rosse e panna acida al timo (Blood orange granita and thyme crème fraiche)
A nice crisp palette cleanser in-between courses. I have a bit of a love affair with blood oranges at the moment, so really fell in love with this. I could have quite easily given up the cream for more granita.
Filetto di salmone alla Vernaccia di Oristano e olive verdi (Salmon fillet with Vernaccia and green olives)
2011 Contini ‘Karmis’ – Bianco Tharros IGT (75ml)
This was K’s favourite dish of the night. The salmon was done perfectly, with a crispy skin and soft flesh that melted in your mouth. Paired with a simple butter-based sauce and olives for a flavour contrast, the salmon was clean, simple, and delicious.
Porcetto arrosto (Free range roasted suckling pig, served on the bone with condiments)
2010 Santadi ‘Antigua’ – Monica di Sardegna DOC (75ml)
Suckling pig. Seriously one of my favourite dishes ever – suckling pig can do no wrong in my eyes. Served with sides of mustard, apple, and salsa verde, the pig was done perfectly though the crackling was not as crispy as I have had elsewhere. The accompanying roast potatoes were well done.
This was the second Santadi wine of the night, and when compared to the previous heavy sherry-like wine, was very much clean, crisp and unpretentious.
Seadas ripiena di ricotta con miele di corbezzolo (Sardinian fried pastry filled with fresh ricotta and sultanas, served with warm corbezzolo honey)
2009 Dolianova – Moscato di Cagliari DOC (60ml)
The dessert was quite plain and simple – something I actually found quite surprising. While the warm honey was a revelation as it was more bitter than sweet, and the filling was well done, the pastry itself was nothing in particular to write about. It was quite underwhelming.
Overall
The food and wines were really perfectly matched, and the sommelier really knew what he was talking about. We spoke with him for a few minutes about the wine menu, and he gave us some good tips for purchasing these Italian wines in the future.
On the whole, the food was quite remarkable. There were parts that were less impressive than others (particularly the pastry and crackling), but I really couldn’t fault the meal.
I rate Pilu at Freshwater a 9.5 out of 10.
Yum! I was lucky enough to visit Pilu just over two years ago but I also went at night time.. I would love to return during the day for the view! I remember being so surprised at that bitter honey as well hehe, it was quite surprising!