By the beach: North Bondi Italian Food

Outdoors and indoors, it's not a bad view at North Bondi Italian Food - the casual and now estranged sister restaurant of Icebergs at the other end of Australia's most famous beach.

Following a sunny and windy day out at this year's Sculpture by the Sea (see my photos here - I go from Tamarama to Bondi), nothing sounded better than a drink and a casual Italian menu aside sparkling Bondi Beach.

The view from North Bondi Italian Food, Ramsgate Avenue, North Bondi Beach

Robert Marchetti's North Bondi Italian Food (or NBIF) fills the ground floor beneath the North Bondi RSL Club, with well-heeled, -dressed and -tanned bodies filling the bar and restaurant on the early Sunday evening.

The vibe is decidedly casual but stylish with denim-shorted staff, sunnies abound, cutlery at the table, menus doubling as placemats, and good Italian sensibilities to the cocktail, beer and wines list.

The bar at NBIF

At one end of the spectrum, I've walked in with sandy thongs - sitting between tourists and families - looking out to the other end of the spectrum: a balcony of stiletto-ed clotheshorses who I'm pretty sure haven't touched the sandy beach.

Patruni e Sutta beer

The beer list featured a number of Italian imports - and the ones I hadn't seen before obviously had to be tried. The Patruna e Sutta from Sicily was a little bitter for my palate but easy-drinking nonetheless.

Menebrea Beer

The Menebrea beer from Biella in northern Piedmont was a little heavier with lovely nutty tones and is definitely my pick of the two I sampled.

Complimentary bread and olive oil

The basket of two white breads is served with NBIF's own, irresistible, fruity olive oil which sits with the cutlery set into a table cavity at every table.

Robert Marchetti's culatello

The menu listing of Robert Marchetti's salumi speaks my language. Made exclusively using black Berkshire pigs, the salami and other cured meats are equally tantalising.

We ended up choosing the culatello - cured pork like prosciutto (from the leg) but rather coming from the pig's rump.

Served tissue paper-thin, the culatello is more divine than any prosciutto I've had. Rich with a collar of fat as well as marbling, the spiced edge added pops of flavour to the gorgeously salty cured pork.

Spaghetti vongole

To mains, there is so much to choose from that I struggled somewhat and retreated to the safety of pasta. However, it appears I made the mistake of trying to go healthy, with the cheese, cream and ragu free option of spaghetti vongole.

Arriving to the table with a glass bowl over the top for the clam shells, the spaghetti was cooked simply and traditionally with white wine, garlic, parsley and olive oil, and needed a little seasoning which was available at the table.

Mouthfuls of the pasta with the small clams were fresh and so appropriate for the beach setting while the clam-less bites were a little uninspired.

Fusili carbonara

There were high expectations for the carbonara, which used long spiral fusili pasta. The first bite of pasta was a bit short of al dente while most of it was fine in the very cheesey sauce.

I imagine that it was large cubes of guanciale cured pork jowl scattered throughout but I'm not certain as my past experiences of guanciale have been more tender and deliciously fatty.

Rocket and fennel salald

Having stupidly forgone the eggplant parmigiana side, the flat rocket with fennel side dish was a must-have with the pasta mains, and seemed to have every leaf dressed liberally with oil and vinegar.

Inside NBIF

Having yet to learn to go easy on the bread in the beginning of a meal, especially when there's pasta involved later, dessert wasn't going to happen.

But just sitting, watching the Bondi world go by was sweet enough. With Sculptures ticked off for the year and a full tummy, it was the perfect prelude to summer by the beach.