I’m on the loose end tonight because Mysaucepan is catching up with her girlfriends. So I find myself with the boys which is a rare thing these days.
Well, not quite all the boys because my friend Peter is also with his wife Cindy. Tonight, he suggests one of the better Italian restaurants in Sydney’s north shore and we rock up to Amici Ristorante Pizzeria along Miller street. When this restaurant first opened years ago, I remember the craze with its wafer thin pizzas with a refreshing twist from the traditional ones. I love thin crusted pizzas because less crust means more toppings and flavours.
The staff is ever so friendly at this lively restaurant that has two dining sections – downstairs dining, a small courtyard and dining room upstairs. We settle for a table downstairs that looks out to the lively street activity and a buzzing restaurant strip.
We cannot resist a couple of pizzas for starters and opt for the frutti di Mare and a Bianca which is a pizza senza pomodoro (pizza without tomato sauce).
The seafood pizza is true to its form with delectable fresh seafood of prawns, calamari and black mussels. The crust is fresh and crisp and a sprinkling of chilli flakes on each slice only whets my appetite more.
The Bianca is one of my all time favourites without tomato sauce and it looks to be everyone’s favourite too. No sooner can I take a photo of this delectable pizza that a few pieces are already missing. “Bugger this food blogger!” seems to be what the boys are saying to me.
Light on the meat with wafer thin slices of prosciutto, mushroom and shaved and crumbly parmigiano reggiano, the star flavour of this pizza is the aromas of black truffle oil.
The hint of this heady and earthy aroma with each bite is brings this pizza to a whole new level.
A ling fillet arrives golden brown and is crisp outside and succulent inside with a slivers of roasted capsicum and sun-dried tomatoes.
I resist the temptation of ordering a pasta although I know the pastas at this restaurant are really wholesome and delicious.
A chance order of the bistecca del giorno or steak of the day and it turns out to be a great choice. A healthy piece of ribeye on the bone arrives cooked to medium rare as requested. It is nicely seared on the outside with its slightly charred and crisp flavours while the meat is pink and tender inside.
The delectable red wine reduction sauce has hints of truffle like the creamy mash on the side with a skewer of grilled baby zucchinis.
I request for more freshly cracked black pepper and then proceed to wipe this sauce with each piece of meat and mash until the entire plate is clean. No Dijon or any other mustard is needed and this steak can rival some of the better steak houses in town and I would gladly return for this same dish all over again.
Peter orders one of my favourite pastas, a spaghetti marinara that is cooked in a baking bag wrapped in foil to seal in all the flavours.
The healthy bag of seafood pasta is opened at the table. We see plump pieces of prawn cutlets, clams, mussels, fish, calamari that are mixed with cherry tomatoes in a delectable sauce.
Cullen is one of the great wineries from Margaret River in Western Australia and its cabernet sauvignon merlot is one of the best wines from its stable.
Tannins are soft, its complexity clearly evident with bold tones of tobacco and oak. It has a lingering finish that draws away ever so slowly.
Amici is still maintaining its standard for good pizzas and pastas because I know I will be back for the Bianca, marinara and that beautiful ribeye which I would hope would be the steak of the day when I return.
So dear readers, what is your favourite activity for a girls or boys night out?
Amici Ristorante Pizzeria
465 Miller street
Cammeray, New South Wales
Tel: + 61 2 9922 2222
Business hours: Dinner Monday to Sunday, 6pm to late
You know, I haven’t actually been to a good Italian restaurant (any Italian restaurant in fact!) for … months, if not years. This post is giving me all kinds of cravings! 😀
As for nights out? Well, I think you can’t beat a meal with friends in a restaurant. It’s just so civilised and fun
Your dinner looks wonderful and so nice to share it with your buddies.
I have to say, after all this time I actually thought you were female. I don’t know why, you never indicated one way or another at least from all the posts I’ve read. So MySaucepan is your wife not your husband! That’s a pleasant surprise. I think although I can’t be sure now, that you are the only man that I follow and who follows me. Funny how you just never really know who you are talking to unless they divulge themselves. Even funnier is just assuming!
Oh by the way, thanks for sharing your menu on your night out with friends.
My kingdom for that pizza. Mmm, with tender calamari rings, too. Perfection.
Oh! I just had dinner, but looking at the pictures of your post is making me hungry again…they all look spectacular…
Thanks for sharing this nice dinner and hope you are having a wonderful week
Such a beautiful-looking dinner! Oh, to have a taste of that steak!
Stud and I use to live in Cammeray and we had been to Amici once. The pizzas really were great
That steak looks reaaaally good I have to say! 😀
Frutti di Mare, Bianca, and Vongole are all my favorite and I’d love to go to this place. I haven’t had good Italian for a while, and definitely I need GNO for my Italian cravings!
“Bugger this food blogger!” is what I hear a lot too, but my closest friends have now gotten used to it, hee hee. I adore thin crust pizza too because of the heftier toppings. Plus you can eat more slices!
Oh I love pasta cooked in the bag, well generally foil, but it is fantastic.
I totally did NOT realize I was craving pizza until reading this post! Sounds like a fun (almost all) boy’s night out!
I love going out with the girls and what do we do? We eat and we drink and we laugh. Pretty much in that order.
They could feed that steak of the day to me nearly every day of the week. Wonderful photos!
I usually pass Italian places by because it’s rare to have it done well, but if I’m ever in the area I’ll definitely check this place out, if only for the steak!
I also prefer by far thin crusted pizza. First, because I prefer the texture and taste and the crunchy crust (I have a close friend, who loves pizza but hates the outer crust which I devour when we dine out in our favourite pizzeria 😉 ) The second reason is I feel no guilt because usually the pizzerias serving this type of pizza don’t exagerrate with cheese either and the result is light and delicious.
The spaghetti marinara’s way of serving is amazing! I can already imagine all the flavours imprisoned inside and suddenly released!
A very appetising read, as always!
Wow.. I loved the fact that the seafood marinara came wrapped in foil.. but the spaghetti looks delicious too!
OH man… Nothing like a good slab of ribeye when you’re hanging out with the boys, eh? Unbeatable combo. I love a good Italian restaurant and the pizza/pasta here sounds absolutely smashing. Good choice for a meat/carb overload on a night out!! My favourite thing to do with my mates??? Definitely parma and beer at our favourite beer gardens in Melbourne!!! Also, a simple dinner over some good old Korean Fried Chicken (and house Korean beer too lol)
OMG…you had meat the first picture. Steak!!!!
The wrapped up spaghetti marinara reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where they ordered Chinese then got banned! LOL
This post gives me a major appetite for seafood! 😀
Omg you know I drive past this place everyday coz its like around the corner from me but I’ve never ventured in coz its so tucked away! But damn!! that Spaghetti Marinara has my mouth DROOLING! will defo have to make a reservation and try it out! Thanks for the lovely review!
This restaurant seems to do many things exceptionally well — pizza, pasta, seafood, steak… Great choice for any night out! I haven’t been on a girls’ night out for awhile, but the memories that come to mind are “lots of food and lots of laughter!” Oh and yes, wine. Topping it off with Tiramisu would be heavenly!
Never had pizza without a tomato base before but the Bianca sounds lovely!