Best new restaurant - Sydney Food Awards 2010

01 Berta

Sydney, meet Berta – the new restaurant from Vini owner and chef Andrew Cibej. Berta is a concrete bunker on Alberta Street filled with Italian wine, share plates of Italian food and people having a good time. While Berta is distinctly un-Vini-like on the plate, there's a very similar aesthetic at work: the food and wine menus written on big chalkboards; the dark palette; the dim lights; the lively atmosphere. Oh, and the whole no-bookings thing.

While you could easily construct a meal for one, the food is far better translated as an Italian-style feast of shared plates. Try the likes of viscous, inky cuttlefish and zucchini dressed in olive oil and brightened with preserved lemon. Fried cauliflower and chickpeas may sound like a healthy salad but it's more like a bar snack. Here, both ingredients are deep fried with leaves of crisp rosemary - perfect with a beer. Make sure to order the radicchio, pan fried with sugna ('soonya'), which are little nibs of rendered, whipped pork fat with fennel seed. These bitter greens are sweetened up with caramelised red wine vinegar topped with toasted breadcrumbs. Break it up with a broth of oxtail and bits of oxtail meat interspersed with little knots of tortellini filled with wild greens that pop in your mouth with chlorophylly badassitude. Then go for the big ol' plate of mixed suckling pig bits (leg, loin, belly, wiggly little tail) with crisp, scorched golden skin. And order a side of braised green lentils with leeks and chicory - perfetto.

Chef O Tama Carey is behind all these tasty snacks, and while we're on the subject of people who make Berta awesome, there's Kristen Allen on the floor. She's from Vini too, and knows more than a thing or two about booze. Just as well, considering Berta's exciting all-Italian wine list and very impressive range of grappa. Sydney doesn't need any more fine dining restaurants. What we need more of is Berta. 17-19 Alberta St, Sydney 2000. (02 9264 6133).

RUNNERS UP

02 Manly Pavilion

Manly Pavilion's kitchen is firing on all cylinders, thanks to chefs Jonathon barthelmess and Jimmy parry. While you can pick and choose from the modern Italian menu, Manly Pavilion recommends you try the five-course menu at a fixed-price of $88. And we agree. West Esplanade, Manly 2095. (02 9949 9011).

03 Ad Lib

At Ad Lib, you'll find all the restaurant finesse of Berowra Waters, only in a bistro setting. While you won't find brass railings or specials written in lipstick on old mirrors there's all the hustle and bustle of a proper French bistro. 1047 Pacific Hwy, Pymble 2073. (02 9988 0120).

04 Ormeggio

Ormeggio delivers, from service to wine to food, in a convivial setting. Plus, it’s not outrageously exxy. Get a group of ten together and book ahead for the Brescian spit roast. If this doesn’t sound like the perfect long lunch to you, we’ll eat our hats. D'Albora Marina, The Spit, Mosman 2088. (02 9969 4088).

05 Saké

Saké is a knees-up, good-time restaurant you'll want to visit again and again. It's brought to you by chef/restaurateur Shaun Presland – ex-Sushi e – whose take on Japanese food is inventive, bright, fresh and exciting. 12 Argyle St, The Rocks 2000. (02 9259 5656).

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