Sydney fine diner Ormeggio at The Spit hasn’t just reopened, it’s relaunched. Sailing into its 11th year, the marina restaurant has thrown open its doors to reveal a new Italian Riviera-inspired seafood restaurant and gelato bar.

Chef-owner Alessandro Pavoni has loosened the sails with a relaxed new menu that revolves around sustainable seafood.

“I’ve become more mature as a person, as a chef, as a restaurateur, and I like to eat in a different way now,” Alessandro said.

“I like to eat how Ormeggio is now, not like how it was before. I don’t like to have a 10-12 course degustation anymore. I like a sharing approach and more relaxed fine dining.”

The new menu reveals breezy Italian plates from bruschettina topped with Cantabrian Sea Angelachu anchovies to a grissini-crumbed tuna cotoletta and swordfish tonnato.

Pavoni is renowned for his risotto and that will remain on the menu, this time around it will feature tomato and freshly picked crab and will be served straight in the shell.

Desserts will revolve around the new gelato bar, with flavours whipped to order. Not just the usual cup and cone offerings, Pavoni will be focussing on coppa gelato, an Italian ice cream sundae (and they’re not just for kids). The house specialty will be a buffalo yoghurt gelato topped with Amarene Fabbri wild sour cherries and crunchy brioche croutons.

The drinks list has also been rejigged, with Ormeggio’s impressive wine selection now bolstered with fresh and vibrant cocktails, easy-drinking beers and Franciacorta, the Lombardian answer to Prosecco.

New interiors reveal a casual, yet refined dining area, where stucco walls come together with neutral shades and earthy textures – “more light and more white,” says Alessandro.

However, not everything has changed. The incredible water views across the D’Albora Marinas complete with bobbing pleasure craft remain in view as always.

Ormeggio at the Spit
Thu – Sat 5:30pm – late (dinner), Sat and Sun 11:30am (lunch), all-day dining on Sunday
D’Albora Marina, The Spit, Spit Road, Mosman
(02) 9969 4088
ormeggio.com.au