Capriccio Osteria, Leichhardt

I was invited to celebrate a friend's birthday at Capriccio Osteria and on the day, I ended up carpooling with friends to get here. This was probably the first time I've stepped foot in Leichhardt so was interesting to discover a long food strip filled with cafes and restaurants (mental note to visit again during the daytime). As there is limited street parking, it took a while before we found a spot a few blocks away and walked back to the restaurant.

Outside of Restaurant

Capriccio Osteria is just one of many popular restaurants on the main food strip that serves up some interesting Italian fusion cuisine.

Due to the large number of guests to the dinner, the birthday girl organised a custom banquet meal for all of us to partake in. Food trickled in over the next three hours, offering a variety of foods such as:

House Made Rosemary & Sea Salt Focaccia Bread

Stracciatella with Roasted Pumpkin, Persimmon & Wattle Seed

Arancini Rice Balls with Pea & Saffron with Aioli

Baked Rolled Zucchini

Chicken Wings with Pickled Celery with 'Nduja Mayonnaise

Roast Pumpkin & Ricotta Ravioli with Sage
Brown Butter and Almonds

Squid Ink Spaghetti with Blue Swimmer Crab, Chilli & Basil

I found the homemade foccacia to be was rather dense, lacking in the small air pockets that are typical of the bread and therefore give it a light, fluffy texture. The stracciatella one of the most peculiar soft cheeses I have ever seen and tasted (being stretchy and gooey), and am still not sure whether I like it. As per usual, the arancini was a hit withe crunchy, golden crust encapsulating the moist arborio rice and peas. The ravioli were filled with fresh pumpkin and ricotta, topped with a crispy sage, but was let down by the browned butter, which left a slightly bitter aftertaste (the butter was most likely burnt). Unfortunately, the blue swimmer crab meat wasn't fresh - it had that mushy texture and lacked its natural sweetness - but the squid ink spaghetti was still cooked perfectly to al dente.

The ultimate highlight was the roast suckling pig - porchetta, whole suckling pig rolled with fennel & apricot:

Roast Suckling Pig

Rolls of Suckling Pig, served with Herb Dressing

Oh, such tender, juicy meat! The skin wasn't quite as crunchy as the usual (Asian) roast suckling pigs that I've eaten before but it was still mouth-wateringly good. Apparently, their suckling pig is a special order item so you need to book ahead and ask if it's available from the kitchen.

The pork was served along with a light, yet slightly bitter, salad to help cut into the greasy pork fat:

Radicchio, Iceberg Lettuce, Rocket, Fennel & Corella Pear

Then came dessert - cannoli filled with chocolate cream, dusted with cocoa powder:

Cannoli

I have to say that the cannolis were rather disappointing. The pastry was unexpectedly thick and different from the usual cannoli that I've tasted - it reminded me of a failed attempt at puff pastry with thick, overworked pastry instead of thin, buttery layers.

There tended to be hits and misses in tonight's banquet but feedback was generally positive from the group. There was a wide range of dishes that showcased authentic Italian cuisine that was outside the standard pizza or pasta fare. Given the shared serving sizes (generally 4 plates of each dish shared between ~22 people), my dinner companions and I were a little worried whether we would be full by the end of the meal, especially given that the meal was stretched out to three hours. By the end, I was felt satisfied (80+% full) and didn't need to seek additional dessert from the Peanut Butter Bar next door like my friends.

They have one of the steepest stairs leading to the second floor that I've ever walked on - I'm not quite sure it's code compliant but fortunately there are sturdy hand railings to hold onto as you ascend/descend.


Food: ✰✰✰ 1/2
Service: ✰✰✰✰
Atmosphere: ✰✰✰ 1/2
Overall: ✰✰✰ 1/2
Summary: Roast Suckling Pig!