An Arvo at Pilu's

With two private function rooms, excellent food and cuisine of Sardinia and a location right spot on overlooking Freshwater Beach along Moore Road at Harboard, on Sydney's northern beaches, there is much expectation when you step into Pilu's Restaurant. You can choose seating inside, on a covered verandah outdeck, or below in garden settings, with the ocean breeze and smell of sea and sand up the nose. There is a selection of both Italian and Australian wines. The decor is retro beach house, painted an off shade from white and reminding me of lazy summer days in tropical climes. You dine and have a view over a small bay surrounded by cliff top houses and much activity on the rather sand-powdery beach.

Selections a group of us had to celebrate Charmaine's birthday earlier this month included:

Salt baked New Zealand King salmon, replete with saffron kipfer potatoes, baby leeks and beetroot puree.

De-boned quail wrapped in pancetta, stuffed with chicken livers, fennel and tarragon.
Saffron flavoured spagettini, graced by Queensland spanner crabmeat, crispy guanciale and breadcrumb pangrattato.

Slow cooked Coronga lamb fillet, accompanied by olive and almond salad and cous cous.

Gus found in-grown hairs under the crackle of the deliciously outstanding suckling pig - apparently this is a natural feature of the black variety of swine used for this dish. Jeanette from Perth had to deal with a rather hard serving of an otherwise very juicy and tender selection of cuts on a similiar dish. I am not a fan of sausages, but could not resist the Sardinian version of the pork sausage served.