Chiosco is the little sister of Ormeggio, Pavoni’s flagship restaurant, located on the other side of the pontoon. However these Italian siblings couldn’t be more dissimilar.

Ormeggio is the sophisticated, elegant style queen. It came 10th in the Delicious 100 NSW restaurants in 2018 and was named best Italian.

Pavoni’s waterfront kiosk has earned its jaunty navy and white stripes with a very different approach since opening in late 2014.

The idea was to create a little bit of coastal Italy in Sydney, wife Anna said.

“We wanted a seaside trattoria, one that you’d find on the Italian Riviera or in Puglia,” she said. “It’s a little delight that’s morphed from coffee and sandwiches.”

There’s still a daytime counter menu with coffee, bacon and egg rolls, fish and chips, burgers and panini for the takeaway set. But if you’re eating in, book a table as it gets busy especially on weekends.

For lunch, head chef Giuseppe Fuzio treats guests to a modern trattoria menu with lots of seafood, antipasti and pasta. Start with antipasti and there are 10 choices ranging from a simple plate of mixed olives to classics like vitello tonnato, the slow-cooked veal and tuna mayonnaise dish, finished with fried capers and parsley oil. If you love garlic bread, Pavoni’s signature brioche with caramelised garlic and herb butter from his Newport trattoria Sotto Sopra gets a loud shout out.

Being a Pavoni restaurant, the pasta here is all homemade. The current menu has four choices and two portion sizes including vegetarian option conchiglie, or pasta shells, topped with tomato passata, mushroom ragout and pecorino and a rich, wagyu shank ragu with homemade pumpkin pappardelle. The star would have to be spaghetti alla chitarra con Moreton Bay bugs. The name comes from the shape — chitarra is a guitar-shaped piece of kitchen equipment used to make it. The $29 decent-sized entree features half a crustacean sitting on al dente pasta in a bisque flavoured with cherry tomatoes, bottarga, basil, lemon and a hint of chilli.

Flavours that go well with bitter radicchio, fennel, pecorino and walnut side salad in a tangy citrus dressing.

One dish, gamberoni, or giant grilled split prawns with chilli and lemon, has been on the menu since day one. Fish of the day — pesce in cartoccio — is wrapped in a self-saucing packet and filled with cherry tomatoes, olives, butter and parsley. Main courses push some dishes over $40, like tagliata, a 350g sirloin steak on the bone. It comes with rocket and salsa verde. Sides and salads are extra.

Desserts follow simple Italian guidelines. There’s tiramisu and trio of gelati and if you can’t resist the combo of Nutella and doughnuts, then bombolone should hit the spot.

Chiosco offers BYO wine, too. Bring your own bubbles for $12 a bottle. Long live the leisurely lunch.