No expense has been spared at this luxe new Italian restaurant in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills, which features a plush cocktail bar and lounge, an onsite craft distillery and its own Mercedes-Benz chauffeur service. Housed within the multi-level Mullane’s Hotel in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills, the new venue serves up sophisticated Italian fare, with plenty to splash out on, from the wood-smoked meat and fish to a selection of rare whiskeys and housemade Italian liqueurs.

Designed by PBD Architects, the lofty first-floor restaurant is home to plush furnishings, from circular lounges to herringbone floors, with the entire dining room enclosed in glass. Groups can also retreat to one of three private dining rooms, with one discretely hidden behind a secret door. Across from the dining room, a sprawling cocktail bar and lounge area offers an intimate place to sip aperitif and snack on antipasti.

Executive chef Joe Cavallo has put together the dining menu, which focuses on Calabrian fare. Dishes range from fresh buffalo ricotta ravioli with burnt sage butter to Kurobata spit-roasted porchetta and a 1.2kg bistecca alla Fiorentina, prepared in a central open kitchen. There’s also a standalone antipasti menu stocked with artisan salumi from Italy and Australia, with offerings like cured lonza pork loin and Sardinian fennel salame.

Sarino’s Bar has an extensive beverage offering, which includes over 200 wines and a collection of rare single malt whiskies. The cocktail list is made up of Italian classics, with the house specialty a Sunday Roast negroni spiked with rosemary and butter-washed gin. Adjacent to the bar, a craft distillery produces fresh limoncello using lemons from the family orchard and almond liqueur for affogatos.

Sarino’s is located within the Mullane’s Hotel at 24-26 Brookhollow Avenue, Baulkham. It opens Thursday 4pm–12am, Friday 12pm–12am and Saturday 4pm–12am. For more details or to book, head to mullanes.com.au.