The Star has added to its glittering line-up of restaurants with the launch of new Italian diner Cucina Porto. Located across from the Lyric Theatre, the new venue provides the perfect place to perch for a quick drink before curtain call or a leisurely post-show dinner. Skip the candy bar for a classic Italian spread of antipasto, housemade pasta bowls and woodfired pizza. Cucina Porto marks act one for The Star, with several new dining destinations slated to open within the entertaining precinct over the year ahead.

Design studio Tom Mark Henry is behind the sleek interiors, which combine old world charm with modern Italian sophistication. Elegant shades of pastel pink, bottle green and maroon are layered with arts and ceramics to create a warm and familiar space, perfectly matched to the unfussed Italian fare. A partially open kitchen and central stone bar offer front row seats to the action, with pizza making and cocktail shaking offering a little theatrical teaser before the main event.

Heading up the kitchen is former Pasta Emelia chef, Martino Pulito. His menu takes inspiration from his home region of Puglia and celebrates simple home-style fare. “Much like at home, my dishes at Cucina Porto use just a handful of ingredients, most of which are sourced locally, to create honest, authentic and uncomplicated food that celebrates Italian culture. There are dishes my mother and nonna would make for Sunday lunch spent around the family table,” Pulito said. The menu includes all the Italian favourites from wood-fired pizza topped with Parma prosciutto, burrata and fig to a house made schiaffoni pasta with a slow-cooked beef and lamb ragu.

Negroni takes a starring role on the drinks menu, which features a range of variations of the classic aperitif. The menu includes six takes on the Negroni, starting with the original Campari and Vermouth version, as well as the Bicicleta, which is made using dry white wine, Campari and soda, and a more modern version that’s heavy on the gin. House wines, curated by sommelier Addy Lam, showcase a selection of easy-drinking drops from both Italia and Australia.

Cucina Porto is located at The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont. It opens for lunch Fri – Sun 11am – 3pm and dinner Tue – Sun from 5pm – 10pm. For more details or to book, head to star.com.au.