When a chef grows up in Southern Italy learning family recipes from his mother, you know you’re in for some seriously good, humble Italian food. Put him in charge of the kitchen at a new restaurant in the foodie suburb of Waterloo and it’s a good bet he’s taken those traditional recipes and made them even better. Meet your new favourite Italian: Beccafico.

The Italian in the kitchen, head chef Diego Arata, has put together a delicious menu of classic dishes using simple ingredients (sourced from local Italian suppliers where possible) but made them into knockout dishes full of flavour and finesse. Start the day with brunch, from anytime between 10am and 3pm, with potato pancakes, smoked leg ham, fresh horseradish and poached eggs, or panettone pudding with mascarpone, red wine poached pears and amaretto. To name just a few.

For dinner start your feast with the artisanal selection of salumi. It’s meat that melts in your mouth. For the rest of your meals, the best approach is to convince everyone at your table to order something different, put their dishes in the centre of the table and you all dig in. There are too many hero dishes here that we’d hate for you to miss out on any. There’s the likes of eggplant parmigiana (yes, it’s meat free but trust us on this one) and grilled octopus for entrée, and paccheri with oxtail ragu, veal saltimbocca prosciutto and sage or braised lamb shoulder for mains. For dessert, do yourself a favour and order several plates of the doughnuts served with chocolate and Cointreau sauce. Fights might ensue if there’s not enough to go around.

When you’re eating Italian like this, you want to feel relaxed and welcome like you’re part of the family. Beccafico have nailed that with their modern industrial décor that throws in a few home comforts. You’ll feel like staying a while.

Beccafico
8/18 Danks St (entrance at Phillips Street), Waterloo NSW 2017
(02) 9319 6666
beccafico.com.au