15.5/20
Italian$$$
The difference between Neil Perry's original Rosetta in Melbourne and the newly opened Rosetta in Sydney is,essentially,the difference between Melbourne and Sydney dining.
Rosetta Melbourne is a moody,theatrical,draped and chandeliered space with a rich,meaty menu;while Rosetta Sydney is all light,sunny and seafoody.
Melbourne is damask cloths and crystal chandeliers,roast pork and Tuscan bistecca,while Sydney is three cantilevered levels in the Seidler-designed Grosvenor Place,complete with outdoor terrace,mezzanine bar and a menu of scampi crudo with blood orange,mint and pistachio;tagliolini with spanner crab;and whole grilled baby snapper with salmoriglio.
The seafood acts as bait for the loud power-broking lunchers and a more mixed crowd in the evening,happily hoeing in to hand-rolled grissini (points for that),house-baked focaccia and generous bowls of fruity olive oil.
Designer Melissa Collison has kept the chairs velvety and comfortable,the tone sophisticated,urban and business-luxe,and the themes marble,bronze and ribbed wood.
I go hook,line and sinker for a seafood antipasto of raw and cooked scampi,crab,squid,prawns and mussels ($39) that's light,fresh and sweet. There's good salumi ($28),and pizzette ($16). Zuppa di pesce ($45) is celebratory,with lightly cooked mussels,octopus,clams,prawns,cuttlefish and fish lolling about in dark juices,with garlicky grilled fingers of bruschetta for dipping and dunking.
Head chef Richard Purdue cooks with a light hand,happy to give tradition a tweak or two. His gnocchi ($29) is a warm bath of beautifully balanced oxtail ragu coating light,potatoey dumplings,with cheese grated at the table (points for that,too).
Veal also features – not just any veal,but Cowra milk-fed Torello rose veal from the otherwise unwanted male calves bred from dairy cows. It's dark and beefy rather than pale and milky,giving gumption to vitello tonnato,rock salt-grilled veal rump,and a freshly crumbed veal cotoletta on the bone ($49) that's as big as your face.
As at London's acclaimed River Cafe (which I suspect figures as a muse for Mr Perry),most mains are what-you-see-is-what-you-get,necessitating side orders of,say,slow-cooked cavolo nero,chard,rapa and tomato ($14).
Rosetta is about wine as much as it is food,but you pay for the privilege. There are no bargains on the vast,distinguished,Italian-led list,with an intense yet delicate 2014 Bertani Valpolicella Ripasso from the Veneto ($21/$95) and a clean,subtle 2016 St Michael-Eppan Schulthauser pinot bianco from Trentino Alto Adige ($21/$95) sitting somewhere in the middle.
Cute little cannoli can be had for $5,or a rich slab of torta di Verona for $21;all whipped mascarpone,pandoro sponge,marsala,blueberries and crisp flaked almonds – although mine needs a little more time for the cheese to ripen and bloom.
Senior Rockpool hands keep up the pace,and the kitchen is closing in on the early-days gaps. But this is an impressive offering. At just a few weeks old,Rosetta Sydney has the bearing of a restaurant destined to be a vital part of the high-end dining landscape – proving that Melbourne and Sydney aren't that different after all.
The lowdown
Best bit: Snaring a prized circular booth on the kitchen level
Worst bit: Loos are a (slow) elevator ride away
Go-to dish: Zuppa di pesce,garlic bruschetta,$45
Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for theGood Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system