Mantecato

Great food, friendly staff and close to home. We had a great lazy Sunday lunch! Worth a visit, make sure you try the rose, Bella

EVERYONE needs a local neighbourhood gem. A place where they can walk to in their neighbourhood, be welcomed and eat good home cooking made from the heart. Mantecato in Balmain is one such place.
Located in a quiet end of Balmain near White Bay (but still only a stone’s throw from four Balmain pubs), Mantecato is a small Italian trattoria that is warming the hearts and exciting the taste buds of Balmain and Rozelle residents (and the odd blow in now and again).
Its name comes from the Italian cooking term meaning to stir in butter — the essential technique when making risotto — a dish which is the prominent house speciality here.
Run by Paolo and Marco Orso, the menu and the hospitality reminds me of what Primo and Secondo’s New Jersey restaurant would be like if it was real (Big Night fans would know what I am getting at here). You may also be forgiven on busy winter nights thinking that you may be dining in a Piedmontese village such is the atmosphere of the place.
The menu will not let down the fussy Italophile. Entrees feature traditional simple staples like fritto misto (excellent) but the main feature here is the risotti. Don’t dig rice? Then there are superb pasta and meat and seafood dishes and popular Italian desserts with some added modern pizzazz.
There is also a specials blackboard menu (that will usually feature a special risotto, pasta and main course), which for regulars is worth studying. The trattoria also has the occasional theme night (this year’s winter truffle menu was sensational), as well as a monthly degustation event.
A highlight for me about Mantecato is the wine list which just screams «mio dio!» (OMG! to you). It would have to be one of the best Italian wine lists in any Sydney suburb — Barolo and Barbaresco a main feature (say no more). Just when you recover from the sensory overload of the wine list you catch a glimpse of the grappa cart in the corner of the restaurant — primed and ready to be summonsed for that after-​dinner digestive.
Mantecato is a piece of Piedmont in downtown Balmian.

Hidden from the the lights of the CBD, Mantecato in a real gem in the heart of Balmain. The restaurant is small but cozy, it can caters up to 40 people.
You’re welcomed by their super friendly italian staff, all really well dressed and smiling. Italian style
Once you are seated (don’t forget to book in advance!), prepare yourself for a night of fantastic food!
We got arancini to start along with prosciutto, burrata, zucchine with fonduta, bread and olive oil, mushroom and roasted potatoes. Divine!
We then got into serious business with our mains. Being vegetarian, I got risotto with zola, pere e noci and it was one of the best I ever had! If you eat meat, then go for a classic Risotto alla Milanese with Ossobuco, it looks really good!
We ended our night with Tiramisù which was simply to die for
One of the best Italian restaurant in Sydney, I’ll defenitly go back every time that I feel home sick!
Bravi ragazzi!

This is the real deal. Part of the Rosso Pomodoro group and as authentic as it gets.
Keeno and I and my little blister and Mark went on Wednesday night for a Degustazione Della Mozzarella. They only do these nights once a month with the theme changing each month. This month was Bufala Mozzarella… and how!
1.Golden crust fried mozzarella sandwich with caprese salad + Rose Prosecco
2.Risotto agli scampi e mozzarella di bufala + Cantine Barone Campania
3.Ravioli di Burata with basil and pesto + something I have now forgotten but which was a light red
4.Rollé di Tacchino (turkey involtino) with a 2012 Rosso Provincia Verona– Torre D’ Orti — Veneto, which was NOT a light red, and a Balsamic salad.
5.Torta Di Formaggio (cheesecake) which I only looked at in fear but which came with a Moscato desert wine which I allowed myself.
So much food and so much cheese could be overpowering except that the food is so delicious that you just can’t stop, well I couldn’t, at least until that cheesecake. I had one bite and knew that anything but a taste would be gluttony on a scale even I could not rationalise. Plus I had a few of Keenos leftovers. And some of my sisters.
The service is perfecto — the twins know their stuff and the explanation of each dish and each wine was wonderful. The wine was brilliantly matched and the cost at $ 80 pp is fine.

Went there for dinner, just after finding out that this one is praised as among the very top Italian restaurants in Sydney. But unfortunately it was not as expected (thinking of a top restaurant).
This small place is quite remote (to get by mass transit) and serviced by nice Italian folks. The atmosphere is very basic, not something Italian whatsoever.
The menu was not varied. I got some white fish for the main. It was good, no doubt about that, as it was the service.
But drinking wine there is a horrible experience, since those people did not hear about insect repelling machines: vinegar flies were swarming around the glasses of wines on the table. Lame.
The prices are quite high, more like meant for fine dining, which it was definitely not. More like a taverna-​like dinner.
Definitely will not come back since one cannot even enjoy a glass of wine because of the flies, and the menu selection is quite poor for an Italian restaurant.

I was Italy for a few hours last Saturday night, but it was called Mantecato. The food was outstanding — the best Italian food I’ve eaten in a long time. Probably since I was actually, not metaphorically, in Italy. The waiters spoke Italian at me (I looked very blankly at them in reply), there was a light hum of conversation in the background and we sat at a bar looking out to the street. It was perfect.
And the practical shit: it’s small, so book. Book now.