Alio Restaurant, Surry Hills

Alio Hand Made Focaccia and Grissini

About 1 month ago, I had the pleasure of dining at Alio Restaurant in Surry Hills and tasted their special 10 course degustation menu which was to mark their 10 years in business (congratulations Alio!). Unfortunately, the 10 course degustation was only available throughout the month of July, but they do have degustation menus that change with the season, so please check their website.

Marinated Olives

Alio is run by brother and sister team, Ashley and Tracey Hughes. They add a quirky twist to traditional Italian fare. There was a little story beneath the description of each course on the menu, and I will try my best to share that with you!

Organic Reggiano Parmesan and Olive Oil

The first course was the hand made focaccia and grissini with 40 month old organic Reggiano Parmesan and warm marinated olives. From day one they have made their own breads and grissinis; I enjoyed the warm and fluffy foccaccia and the grissini was lovely to nibble on.

Stracciatella

The stracciatella is a Roman chicken broth with cheese ravioli. The signature soup is thick and flavoursome, and since the custom began in early 2000, approximately 20,000 litres of complimentary soup has been served!

Bresaola

The bresaola is air dried beef fillet served with truffled baby green peaches and a roman dressing. The saltiness of the air dried beef was paired wonderfully with the creamy roman dressing. Ashley and Tracey are fond of truffled baby green peaches, and since they arrived on our shores in 2009, they have featured on the Alio menu.

Char grilled eggplant baked with buffalo mozzarella

I really enjoyed the char grilled eggplant which had a lovely smoky flavour and was melt in the mouth smooth. The char grilled eggplant is baked with buffalo mozzarella and dressed with a 25 year old balsamic vinegar! Almost sounds too good to eat

Hawkesbury River Calamari with Fresh Chilli and Lemon

The Hawkesbury river calamari was beautifully presented, and so soft without being too chewy. The simple dressing of fresh chilli and lemon added a lovely elegant touch to this dish.

Red Wine, Pancetta and Radicchio Risotto

I must admit that when the risotto dish was placed on our table, we were not all too impressed. But looks can be deceiving and this risotto certainly lived up to it’s reputation. The redish/brownish colour lends itself to the radicchio, which works wonderfully with the risotto. The red wine sauce was lovely and cheesy, although it did get a tad too salty towards the end. All risottos are made to order at Alio, which means much care and love goes into this particular dish!

Barramundi baked in abag with Black Mussels, Thyme and Vermouth on Cavalo Nero

Probably one of my favourite dishes of the evening was the barramundi. This particular barramundi is baked in a bag along with black mussels, thyme and vermouth on cavalo nero. Apparently, this is one of the more popular dishes and one dish were the recipe is requested most frequently! And I can see why! The barramundi is so juicy and meaty and the flavours work so well together.

Lightly Beaten Char Grilled Fillet of Cape Grim Beef with Fresh Baby Peas and Potato al Forno

At this point, I was beginning to reach maximum capacity! Despite how gorgeous the piece of chargrilled fillet of Cape Grim beef was, I simply could not finish it! I thought that the meat was cooked perfectly, the baby peas added a lovely sweet touch and the potato al forno was a nice change from your regular mash. This particular beef has been used in Alio since 2009 and is hormone, chemical and GMO free.

Blood Orange Sorbet

Despite reaching maximum capacity, there’s always still room for dessert, right?! Right. So a blood orange sorbet was offered and was the perfect tang and palate cleanser.

Panna Cotta with Fruit Salad and Mint

The panna cotta at  Alio has a history of it’s own. A staple at the River Cafe, of which both co-owners were a part of, it became uniquely Ashley’s own with roots from his training in London and Italy. I thought that the panna cotta was beautifully presented and just looked like summer on a plate, however it was very sweet, almost too sweet, and too creamy. I prefer mine to be just a little bit lighter, although others managed to lick their plates clean, so it may have just been me!

Overall:

A perfect date restaurant, away from much of the hustle and bustle of Crown St. The food is gorgeously presented and you can definitely see the attention and care that is put into each dish. A real interesting take on your traditional Italian restaurant, and I like that.