Pilu at Freshwater, Freshwater

This foodie outing started with (very) late lunch booking at 2:30pm (the other choice was 12:30pm but our group would never have made it there in time). Our group made the trek out to the Northern Suburbs on a bright and sunny day with a nice cool breeze, unlike the previous day, so it wasn't overbearingly hot. Fortunately, I was able to find free street parking within 200m of the restaurant and therefore only had a short stroll down the hill to the restaurant.

On arrival, there was you walk along a pathway, past a long line of jasmine bushes and small courtyard overlooking the Freshwater Beach, and through to the main entrance:

Pathway to Restaurant

Courtyard Overlooking Beach

Front of Restaurant

Inside the main entrance is a small walkway, lined with mirrors and featuring a large (fake) orchid plant, which leads to a set of stairs up to the reception desk and bar. Once there, we were led through the restaurant to our table off to the side but with a lovely view out the open doorways to the outdoor courtyard. Most of the restaurant decor is white on white... on white.

Wine Cabinet

When seated, we were asked about our drink orders and were subsequently served but no menus were provided for another 15-20 min, which I have to say is rather odd since they're usually provided when you're seated.

After perusing the menu, we decided on ordering the 3-course set menu ($95), rather than trying out the 5 or 7-course degustation ($110/125 without wine; $175/220 with wine), which provided a sample of their most popular dishes. When ordering from the set menu, there is actually two styles of dishes - traditional or innovative (traditional vs creative/fusion flavours?) - with quite a selection of entrees to choose from... dilemma!

Whilst waiting for our entrees to arrive, we were presented with the following appetizers:

Cheese Gougères

Focaccia Bread

Entrée

Okay, the food porn starts now:

Fremantle Octopus, Potato, Pickled Onion, Caperberries and Basil

Spinach Malloreddus, Spanner Crab, Guanciale, Pear and Preserved Lemon

Myrtle Smoked Quail, Stracciatella, Grapes, Caper Leaves and Saba

Wholemeal Strozzapreti, Saffron Braised Goat, Goat's Curd and Almonds

Personally, I ordered the strozzapreti pasta with braised goat - the twisted pasta was cooked on the firmer side of al dente (but still fully cooked) and served with some seriously soft and tender goat meat, goat's curd, and a saffron-infused tomato base. Surprisingly, the goat meat didn't have a strong game-y taste that is usually associated with goat and was slow-cooked to ragu consistency.

I got to sample the spinach pasta (also good) and the smoked quail, which had a strong smoked flavour and the quail just melted in your mouth - interestingly the quail legs were served in a separate bowl (over some fir leaves?).

Mains

Two people from my table shared their infamous roast suckling pig - crispy pig skin, soft stringy pork meat, and served with some tasty roast chat potatoes with onion (could easily eat this every day,...). For some reason, the suckling pig is served as part of their 3-course meal for multiples of two, rather than serving out individual portion:

Serving of Roast Suckling Pig

'Melanda Park' Free Range, Oven Roasted Suckling Pig (for two)

Close-up of Suckling Pig

Spanish Mackerel, Shellfish Bisque, Wild Fennel, Pancetta and Bottarga

Rangers Valley Flank Steak with 'Eggplant Caponata'

Close-up of Flank Steak

I ordered the flank steak with eggplant caponata - the meat was cooked medium rare and coated in a sweet, brown (mild balsamic?) glaze. Despite being a relatively tougher cut of meat, the flank steak just melted in my mouth. According to my research, caponata is a Sicilian eggplant stew, but as you can see in the picture, the flank steak was served with a deconstructed version. The slices of relatively-firm eggplant slices (at first glance, they actually looked like mushroom) were topped by some tomato-y paste, capers, onion and micro herbs.

Dessert

Surprisingly, everyone at the table ordered different desserts:

Sardinian Pastry with Ricotta and Sultanas, Served with Local Honey

Honey Semi-Freddo, Mirto Poached Pear, Almonds and Honeycomb

Strawberries, Thyme Gelato, Pistachios, and Saba

Domori Dark Chocolate Delice, Almonds and Sheep's Milk Yogurt

For dessert, I had their dark chocolate delice, which was basically a rich dark chocolate ganache encasing a citrus filling. The filling wasn't really sweet or sour but the mild flavour reminded me of kumquat (you could see the orange-coloured peel in the yellow, fibrous filling but the flavour was definitely not orange). The delice was decorated with sugared almonds, micro mint and a miniature cannoli filled with a sorbet made from sheep's milk yogurt. I found out later that Domori is actually an Italian premium chocolate brand - yep, definitely agree it's some decadent and high quality chocolate.

I got to try their signature Sardinian pastry (not really a fan of the pastry shell) and semi-freddo (rather sweet from the honey) as well.

Overall, the food was seriously good and satisfying for all and I would definitely recommend their pasta and meat dishes. However, I personally don't think the desserts were quite as good as the savoury courses.

Additionally, I found the service tended to fluctuate. When serving our food, service was fine but we didn't get our menus until a solid 15-20min after arrival and then we spent 15min waiting for our bill before we had to follow up again. Yes, our booking was late in the afternoon but they didn't seem to care how long we sat at our table since they didn't rush nor kick us out before dinner service - we didn't end up vacating our table until almost 5:30pm, i.e. three hours to eat a three course meal (!!). By the time I got home, it was almost 7pm so I ended up skipping dinner  and went straight to dessert.

Awesome View from Courtyard of Freshwater Beach

If you do choose to visit Pilu at Freshwater, be sure to make a booking in advance! Their restaurant has some amazing views overlooking the beach and ocean so request for the tables by the windows if you're dining there during the daytime. Also, if you have a hankering for their suckling pig, make sure to ask in advance if it is available and perhaps reserve a portion (if possible) as there is limited availability.

Outside of Restaurant