A slice of Cipro – pizza al taglio

Having been asked quite a few times about my favourite dining experiences in Sydney recently, I was surprisingly short on answers. For anyone who asks now, it's without a doubt a recent early dinner at Cipro – pizza al taglio in Alexandria.

Cipro is the casual Italian brainchild of former Rockpool Bar & Grill head chef Khan Danis and partner (and creator of Rockpool's famous date tart) Catherine Adams. It seemingly followed into south Sydney in the footsteps of fellow Rockpool alumni Mike McEnearney's Kitchen by Mike in nearby Rosebery.

Cipro's pizza concept strays from the Sydney norm of thin-based, round Neopolitan style pizzas to a Roman style on a thick base, still baked by wood fire but formed into large rectangular slabs to be served by the slice.

Pork sausage, spicy peppers and olive pizza from Cipro – pizza al taglio, Fountain Street, Alexandria

At $12 a rectangular slice, it's some pretty extravagant pizza to be had in a converted warehouse space. Pre-prepared and displayed mouthwateringly behind a glass cabinet, there are a number of colourful topping options that seem both modern and very Italian.

Dining in the airy restaurant space looking into the large open kitchen, we opted to share the fennel scented Italian pork sausage pizza slice with colourful, softly roasted capsicum and pitted Sicilian olives. The pizza slice gets reheated and dressed up with fresh parsley and olive oil, going some way to justify the price tag.

I hadn't had a thick-based pizza for years and the last one I did have was probably a franchise-delivered one. Cipro knocks thick-based pizzas out of this world. With a well-crisped bottom, the thick base is unexpectedly airy, softly chewy and not at all unbalanced in ratio to its toppings.

There's a seriously good, herby tomato sauce beneath the toppings and the thick slice is capable of holding more toppings than your Naples-style thin base – they certainly load them up at Cipro although a lot of it falls off when you pick up the slice. I resorted to cutlery to slice through the crisp-bottomed base, remembering that thick bases weren't so bad after all – in fact, the pizza was sublime.

Caprese salad

Not wanting to fill up on pizza only, we explored the rest of the quite substantial and relatively standardly-priced menu, with a full page of desserts that I regret not leaving room for. But at least I was able to discover what has to be Sydney's best take on the classic Italian insalata Caprese or Caprese salad.

Featuring a ball of fior di latte mozzarella, torn and scattered over beautifully ripe, tri-coloured heirloom tomatoes, topped with young basil leaves; I think it was the quality of tomatoes, the addition of pitted Sicilian olives and pickled onion rings, and the finally the balsamic vinegar dressing that made the salad simply spectacular.

Wood fire grilled lamb loin chops with caponata and crispy polenta

A lot of the main meals feature a stint on the wood-fired grill or oven, which I hadn't entirely expected but certainly wasn't complaining about. Lamb loin chops are rarely seen on dinner menus outside of the home so it was a delight to receive three of them off the wood fire grill, burnished with a charred aroma that had us salivating.

Much like very well-seasoned lamb chops off a barbeque, there was a pure homeliness about battling the tendons and fatty rind for the tender meat on the bone. The lamb loin chops were served dry with three perfectly golden, crisp cubes of deep fried polenta and a smattering of mushy diced vegetables in a sweet caponata.

Prawn linguine with cherry tomatoes, snow peas and parsley

The generous prawn linguine was hands-down the best seafood pasta dish I've had – ever. Without the support of a tomato base, a lot of prawn and shellfish pasta dishes are insipid at best with bits of garlic, parsley and white wine for flavour.

Cipro's prawn linguine was a superb dish in its own right and not just the pasta category. Brimming with chunky pieces of fresh prawns, sweet cherry tomatoes and julienned snow peas, it was properly seasoned with loads of parsley, garlic and a whole red chilli.

Every mouthful was a burst of flavour – firm, sea-fresh prawns or juicy tomato quarters – with the well-olive-oiled linguine. There was nothing that could be improved, save for an addition Cipro's sensational house-made chilli paste for those wanting a bit more of a spice kick.

Their opening hours – recently updated to midday till 9pm on Tuesdays to Fridays, 10:30am till 9pm on Saturdays, and 10:30am till 6pm on Sundays – indicate that the owners have some more family-friendly hours than the industry generally, which rather suits the casual air of Cipro being more the neighbourhood restaurant. With its serious restaurant quality, Cipro has certainly captured my slice of the local dining pie, or should I say, pizza.

When push comes to The Push

Posted by Hendy

I needed no nudging or pushing into a lazy Sunday lunch in The Rocks' newly renovated small bar, The Push, beneath the Russell Hotel, at the southernmost point of The Rocks precinct on George Street (or the beginning of The Rocks if you're coming from the CBD).

The Push, George Street, Sydney

Most recently a wine bar, The Push was renovated about four months ago to capture the elegant, moment-in-time feel and mood of the 1800s and 1900s. It also attempts to capture the true essence of 'The Push' gang of that time: a group of larrikins that were commonly known to harass sailors in the area back in the 19th century

Nautical remnants dot the venue including ship ropes, turbines, ship blueprints and other old artefacts that hint at a curious history in this very place.

The bar

Licensed till midnight with capacity for 120 patrons, The Push brings small bars into The Rocks area.

The plush leather couches, brass fixtures, chequered tables and relaxing ambience of The Push attracts more regular office workers during the weekdays and younger crowds on Fridays and Saturdays, and a fair share of tourists.

Larrikin cocktail

To kick off lunch we ordered the Larrikin; a signature cocktail combining Jack Daniels bourbon and Tuaca, muddled with lime, mint and ginger ale.

A refreshing cocktail served with lots of ice and likened to a mule, the Larrikin's herbaceous, slightly bitter and sticky sweetness works for some and not for others.

Strawberry Jam Mocktail

We also had a mocktail which used base elements of strawberry jam and plum bitters, topped off with apple juice. Like candy in a glass, this berry, sugary lolly-like mocktail was a clever use of the elements and pleasing to the non-drinker.

School prawns, Cajun spiced, preserved lemon mayonnaise

For food we started with a bowl of whole fried school prawns which were crunchy but not as greasy as others I've seen. Flash fried in a Cajun spiced batter, these prawns made for a great starter with a wedge of lemon and a dollop of light preserved lemon mayonnaise for condiments.

Sliders: pulled lamb, pork rib, crispy seitan

The highly-recommended sliders are available in three variations; pulled lamb, pork rib or a vegetarian seitan gluten.

Served in mini brioche buns, the pulled lamb slider was nice and moist, served with mashed peas - my pick of the three.

The pork rib slider had a curry flavouring, which was a refreshingly different take rather than the pulled pork that's still everywhere in Sydney. The vegetarian seitan slider would have been a winner with a little more seasoning on the gluten filling.

Herb battered barramundi, house made tartare, hand cut chips, mashed peas

Classic fish and chips at The Push featured barramundi fillets in a golden batter with nice crunch and quite light with herbs, lemon and maybe even some garlic. The fish was served traditionally with mushy peas and chunky potato chips in a small metal basket, while the aioli and lemon cheek were put to good use for the dish.

Shepherd's pie with slow cooked lamb shoulder, crushed peas, sebago mash, watercress

The Shepherd's pie that arrived next is one of the more popular mains at The Push. Packed with slow cooked lamb shoulder and gravy, and topped with a layer of sebago potato mash balls, it's easy to see why.

The pot pie was served with large portion of watercress on the side and more mashed peas, while the potato mash was light, fluffy and rather addictive. The lamb shoulder filling was like a hearty winter's lamb stew and appropriately filling for a cool Sunday's lunch.

House salad with frisee, radicchio and rocket, sliced radish, zucchini, white wine vinaigrette

To balance out the richness and fried-ness, we also ordered the house salad. Combining radicchio, frisee and rocket leaves with radish rounds and zucchini, the salad was fresh with a good balance of bitter, tangy and crunch.

ANZAC crumbed macadamia ice cream with rum butter sauce

For dessert, it had to be the Anzac biscuit-coated macadamia ice cream with a rum sauce, which can hardly get any more Australian, or exciting for this fan of the oats-based traditional Anzac biscuit.

Coated with a crumb of Anzac biscuits, the ice cream ball had satisfying chunks of macadamia nuts that combined for all round sweetness and butteriness.

The rum butter sauce was sharply sweeter than the ice cream, though it worked quite well with the relatively toned down crumbs and ice cream.

Endeavour Vintage Growers golden ale

To cap off the lunch, and in honour of The Push and their sailor victims who certainly wouldn't have minded a drink, we had the Endeavour Vintage Growers golden ale which is one of four beers available on tap alongside Little Creatures Pale Ale, White Rabbit White Ale and Heineken.

When it comes down to it, The Rocks is an important part of Sydney history and will always attract tourists as a result. Joining the likes of iconic pubs The Glenmore and The Australian, the newly renovated The Push will undoubtedly help to refresh the suite of traditional pubs and bars around The Rocks and nudge it into a new era.

Food, Booze & Shoes dined at The Push as a guest, with thanks to Agency G.

Sunday lunching at Alpha Restaurant

If you've ever walked through the Sydney CBD on the weekend, you'd notice it's pretty dead outside of Pitt Street shopping mall. I always wonder what tourists think of our empty city centre; and how uneconomic non-office city rent must be.

Further in CBD south Alpha Restaurant is going against the grain and actually making the most of weekend crowds, introducing a Sunday lunch service to its all-week trading earlier this year.

Dining tables at Alpha Restaurant, Castlereagh Street, Sydney

It's been a funny year for modern Greek restaurants: while there have been a few casualties and gyros are trying to become the next big thing, Alpha appears to be going gangbusters with the corporate crowd through the week, and large families and groups around that, both drawn in by head chef Peter Conistis' generous menu of traditional and modern shared Greek dishes.

The stunning, bright, contemporary fitout helps, presenting both a traditional and modern Greece, as do the high ceilings of the ground floor Hellenic Club building and the fresh, modern approach to Greek cuisine in a part of town that doesn't have many higher-end restaurants.

Bar and seating

Having sat at the marble-topped bar for ouzo on a previous occasion, I was excited to be trying 'Yia Yia's' tasting menu to share among the table, with a few extras thrown in for good measure (denoted in the caption with an *).

Pita bread with taramosalata (back) and melitzanosalata (right, centre)

We started with some of my all-time favourites in Greek food: warm triangles of soft, fluffy pita bread with a taramosalata white cod roe dip and a chunky melitzanosalata smoked eggplant dip.

The pale taramosalata was the winner of the two with well balanced acidity against the creamy flavour of the roe, while the soft dice of eggplant in the melitzanosalata could have been smokier for my liking.

Baked kalamata olives

A large serving of kalamata olives joined the starters, baked warm with an array of spices enlivening the saltiness of the olives.

Sesame leaf dolmades*

A classic Greek dish of dolmades was next, featuring an almond and herb rice wrapped in sesame leaves rather than the more common vine leaves.

As un-photogenic as dolmades can be, Alpha ups the presentation stakes by serving the leaf-wrapped rolls in a pool of foamy preserved lemon avgolemono sauce, garnished with micro herbs.

Falafel with chickpea hommous*

I was impressed by the perfectly smooth and golden surfaces of the falafel, hiding hot and well-seasoned innards of crumbly ground chickpeas.

While they're more commonly known as Middle Eastern fare, Alpha's piping hot falafels were too tasty for argument along with the chickpea hommous with tahini sesame paste and plenty of garlic.

Haloumi saganaki, ouzo, lemon, oregano

There was a collective murmur of appreciation when the frying pan full of haloumi was put down on the table. The slices of pan fried cheese were joined by sweet grape tomatoes, lemon juice, oregano and lots of olive oil.

Any ouzo addition must have cooked down as I couldn't really taste it in the salty, trademark squeaky cheese that's some of the best in town and simply gorgeous with lemon and ripe tomatoes.

Octopus twice-cooked, spinach, white beans, red wine vinaigrette*

While octopus isn't one of my favourite seafood types, the grilled offering at Alpha may have me converted. The twice-cooked tentacles were impossibly tender, finished on a grill for colour, flavour and a touch of char crispness.

Eaten with a squeeze of lemon and soft white beans which added richness, the octopus was an absolute star dish of the lunch, even if it's not what I know as traditionally Greek.

Moussaka of eggplant, seared scallops, taramosalata*

Chef Conistis' moussaka of eggplant is something of a legend - developed as a dish in 1993 and enduring time and appearances at all of his earlier restaurants since, the eggplant tower is a stunning to look at and devour.

Two thick rounds of slow roasted eggplant sandwich taramosalata and plump scallops grilled to perfection. Topped with diced and herbed tomatoes and garnished with salmon roe pearls, it combines soft and creamy textures with perfect specimens of seafood in an absolute explosion of flavour.

I, and most at the table with me, would happily eat this as a main meal at Alpha and call it a day. Legend status maintained.

Spanakopita - spinach pie, leeks, fetta, dill

I adore most savoury pastry varieties and so was pretty chuffed to see the spanakopita spinach pie, served whole at the table.

Cut spanakopita

The delicate, golden filo pastry held a finely chopped filling of spinach, leek, fetta cheese and lots of dill; the latter which added a new and refreshing flavour to a classic vegetarian filling.

Horiatiki salad - tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, red onions, olives, fetta

As the food continued to roll in, I was glad to see a vibrant salad join the offerings. Greek salad can be found at almost every salad and sandwich shop these days, but Alpha's version was worlds away in quality.

The kitchen has clearly gone to the trouble to source the very best quality vegetables to differentiate their Horiatiki salad from the masses: perfectly ripe and flavoursome tomatoes, sweet-as red capsicum strips and then, a smartphone-sized hunk of salty fetta cheese to break over it all.

Greek spiced slow roasted lamb shoulder, roast potatoes, tzatziki

The salad was served as more of a side to the piece de resistance: a slow-roasted whole lamb shoulder with aromas of oregano and rosemary, amid other Greek spices. The lamb roast was served with roasted kipfler potatoes and my favourite condiment of tzatziki mint, garlic and cucumber yoghurt dip/sauce.

Roasted lamb shoulder being served

The lamb was ridiculously tender, falling off the bone with a mere push, and seasoned beautifully and relatively exotically with an array of spices. Traditional Sunday roasts may well have a new Greek home in Alpha.

Loukamades - Greek doughnuts, spiced honey syrup, candied walnut ice cream

The long lunch was rounded off with a shared dessert of loukamades Greek doughnut balls. Even as a non-fan of doughnuts generally, these two-to-three bite-sized balls had a lovely chewiness within their golden fried surfaces, although it was the rich candied walnut ice cream that did it for me.

Light features at Alpha

It was such a nice feeling to sit back and admire the gorgeous fittings at Alpha post meal, and perhaps escape to a Mediterranean-inspired food coma.

The restaurant offers generous food that you want to dig in to with friends and family, and a unique and classy ambience (despite the occasional fire engine departure, sirens and all). For a beautiful and thoroughly satisfying Sunday lunch in the city, Alpha has to be one of the best, if not only, choices in town.

Food, Booze & Shoes dined at Alpha Restaurant as a guest, with thanks to Wasamedia.

High tea at The Loft - fit for a Queen

With the Queen's birthday coming up, celebrating with a high tea in Her Royal Majesty's honour surely wouldn't be inappropriate.

The Loft on King Street Wharf is well known for its weekend girly Traditional High Tea by the water in the gorgeous daytime bar setting, while for those not tea inclined there's also High Tea with a Twist; an alcoholic one, that is.

High Tea platters at The Loft, Lime Street, Sydney

While I've lost count of how many times I've been to The Loft for cocktails and functions (including a great night on Saturday just passed), this was my first high tea experience there.

The Loft bar

Being more of a savoury than sweets person, my high tea strategy is to go hard on the first savoury plate and ease off as I get to scones and sweets, washing down the latter with lots of hot tea.

Breakfast at Tiffany's cocktail (front) and Chandon Rose (back, flute)

The Loft's High Tea with a Twist includes either a Breakfast at Tiffany's cocktail or a glass of Chandon sparkling wine.

The bright fizz cocktail is based on Zubrowka vodka, peach liqueur, apple and passionfruit, finished with a light tea and topped with real Maraschino cherries.

Ovvio Black Rose Boudoir organic tea

The Loft uses the all-organic Ovvio range of tea for High Tea, having recently changed from using a better known brand which isn't completely organic.

The Black Rose Boudoir was a black tea fragant with rose petals and vanilla, served with milk on the side.

Ovvio Chai High Spice organic tea

I had the Chai High Spice made on water (rather than milk, which is an option with the Chai). Unlike a lot of commercial chai teas or chai lattes which aren't really chai, this black tea released the real flavours of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in smell and taste.

Ovvio Summer Pineapple organic tea

For warmer days there are also sweetened iced tea options using Ovvio tea. The Summer Pineapple was beautiful with pineapple and lemongrass flavours at the fore, and peppermint, lemon myrtle and licorice root as part of the tea, served on crushed ice with a pineapple wedge garnish.

Ovvio Sencha Green organic tea

It's probably here I should mention that High Tea at The Loft includes endless tea. For a tea lover like me, the opportunity to try a whole range of the Ovvio tea range was such a delight.

The Sencha Green tea was beautifully clean without bitterness, and would be my choice as an all-day, everyday tea.

Savoury platter

To the food, we started at the bottom of the three-tiered platter with a fabulous savoury selection. There were the customary crustless finger sandwiches on white bread, filled with devilled curry egg.

From the others, I couldn't actually pick a favourite as they were all exemplary morsels. From the tiny rectangular tarts filled with smoked salmon and caramelised red onion jam; the juicily roasted button mushrooms filled with ricotta and pesto; the creamy chicken salad served on red witlof leaf boats; or the miniature leek and gruyere quiches with beetroot relish.

It was probably the chicken salad that I liked best for being quite the unusual high tea item but overall, I was quite impressed with the savoury options (which at some venues seem to be an afterthought).

Plain and raisin scones

To the scones there was a plain or raisin-studded variety, both looking very professional and without the often rustic surfaces of home-made versions.

Both scones were light and fluffy inside but I was more taken by the whipped Chantilly cream which was infused with a stunning flavour - perhaps a tea variety.

There was also a house-made strawberry jam which was more a liquid than a jelly, but so intensely strawberry flavoured it was almost a better embodiment of the flavour than the fruit itself.

Sweets (and strawberry jam, centre)

I think the petite sweets platter is the highlight for most people. The sweets included a slightly-too-crunchy macaron (the green one anyway), mini red velvet cupcakes with a lovely crumb and texture within, and a miniature chocolate and salted caramel tart with gold leaf that was the perfect ending, and just the right size too for something so rich.

The view from The Loft balcony

With comfy lounge seats on the balcony, we lounged with pots of hot tea and satisfied bellies. The service during our high tea experience was impeccable and I probably would have lounged until beyond sunset if I hadn't made evening plans.

The Loft morphs into its night time persona around about 5.00pm so an elongated high tea could indeed turn into sunset cocktails, both quite fit for a Queen.

High Tea at The Loft is available every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3.00pm. Bookings are essential - see here for more details.

Food, Booze & Shoes dined at The Loft as a guest.

Hen’s day out at Zigi’s Cooking School

I will often have a drink while I'm cooking – beer, cider or a glass of wine – but that's generally not in a commercial kitchen with pleasingly sharp cooking knives.

It was flutes of sparkling wine in hand at Zigi's Cooking School in Chippendale late last year for a hen's day out, while slicing beef, making praline and other hen-related activities.

Chef Zigi Ozeri of Zigi's Cooking School, Abercrombie Street, Chippendale

Other than an overseas trip away, I've probably experienced the gamut of hen's nights (and days) during my adult years: from the expected – strippers, tacky restaurants, cruises and gay clubbing – to the less common, including refined wine bar sessions and shows at the Opera House.

For the food-inclined, Zigi's offers something different (potentially followed by some of the very much expected activities) and an ideal environment for groups that don’t necessarily all know each other. And a drink before noon as the cooking school kitchen adjoins Zigi's Art Wine Cheese Bar.

Drinks in the kitchen

A range of classes are available – from cooking three-course meals to much more elaborate cheesemaking – and all can be tailored to the group and budget. Our group of 10 was, aside from mid-morning boozing, cooking a two-course meal with chef Zigi Ozeri and his offsider supervising us in two groups.

Cooking class

With paper chef’s toques and silly nicknames, we were split into main course and dessert teams, with a range of tasks for everyone. Team work and cooking tips went hand in hand with bubbles and kitchen fun.

Beef fillet

On our menu for the day was grilled beef fillet with Israeli couscous and a spring vegetable salad with lime chilli vinaigrette, followed by dessert of a berry mille feuille with pastry crème and hazelnut praline.

Sliced beef fillet

Helpful kitchen tips included tightly wrapping fillets of beef in cling wrap while marinating and cooking, so that the meat can retain a neat shape for even cooking. These thick steaks were cooked on a grill and finished in the oven.

Chopping cucumbers for salad

Sharp kitchen knives are everything. Indeed, dull knives are more dangerous than sharp ones in the kitchen.

And always have a non slip surface beneath a chopping board, especially the plastic ones. Use different chopping boards for meat and vegetables.

Pastry rounds for mille feuille

Our mille feuille used store-bought puff pastry sprinkled with sugar and baked beneath a second tray, minimising the 'puff' action, but still allowing crisp, golden layers to form within the flattened pastry rounds.

Mixed berries for mille feuille

Zigi and cooking class

A cheat's version of creme patissiere was whipped up with the inclusion of custard powder - not a bad replacement if one was time short, but not quite as good as the real egg-y vanilla cream for piping.

Baked  pastry rounds

Our baked, glazed puff pastry rounds came out of the oven perfectly while a hazelnut praline was formed from freshly roasted nuts and hard sugar toffee, blitzed to a crumb when cooled.

Chef Zigi

Chef Zigi re-heating beef

Another restaurant tip imparted by chef Zigi was the use of a blowtorch to reheat food just before serving; for example, the outer surface of meat that's been resting post cooking.

Grilled beef fillet with Israeli couscous, spring vegetable salad and lime chilli vinaigrette

We feasted on our handiwork of a platter lunch while undertaking standard hen's activity.

With a well-dressed salad of Israeli couscous, tomato, cucumber and rocket, the mostly medium-rare cooked beef fillet was an ideal accompaniment to awkward questions and making sure the bride-to-be was really ready to enter marriage-dom.

Piping pastry cream

We returned to the kitchen to assemble and complete dessert, which comprised pastry rounds, piped pastry cream, berries and hazelnut praline, finished with that dessert fix-all, a shower of icing sugar.

Wild berry mille feuille with pastry crème and hazelnut praline

The mille feuille is actually a great idea for a versatile, last-minute dessert, so long as you have puff pastry in the freezer and fresh cream or an easy creme patissiere recipe and some fruit.

We probably spent just over three hours at Zigi's: cooking, drinking, laughing and having a fun, educational and belly-filling time of it all. Pretty much everything you'd need for a hen's day out. See their Facebook page for more details.