Enzo's Cucina — Restaurant in Sydney

For Italians, food isn’t just nourishment, it is life!  It’s the most searched cuisine on Google here in Sydney and the most requested and imitated food around the world.  In spite of divergence in cooking styles and interpretations from region to region, there is a deep unifying connection that Italians have with what they eat.  From the extensive knowledge of ingredients used, to the meticulous planning in preparation, at Enzo’s,  it’s the connection to his family which every diner gets with every meal that is served to your table.

Setting the tone for the evening begins with an elaborate platter featuring tasters from the entire starter’s selection. It’s a sample of many of the hero dishes stripped down, but so compelling they stand out on their own. The Calamari Fritti, the arancini, BBQ octopus, pork belly, garlic prawns, and halloumi all have their own prescribed accompaniments when served at full portion.  From aioli and lemon, red wine jus, napolitana sauce, lemon dressing, local honey and rocket, somehow this special assembly becomes a dish of its own while spectacularly representing the introductory section of the menu.  

An invitation to Enzo Cucina’s table, is an invitation to his family’s table. The items selected in the evening’s menu honoring the integrity inherent in authentic food values of Italian culture.  

POLPETTE AL POMODORO is a menu staple first served at the original store in Chipping Norton and has continued to delight for the past 8 years. These Italian meatballs are cooked in Napolitana sauce with parmesan cheese that’s been grilled into the shape and texture of wafers that break at the slightest touch.  It’s Enzo’s mother’s recipe, many of which are at the heart of the menu. 

GNOCCHI BEEF CHEEK are matched perfectly. The soft pillowy textures of the Potato dumplings pan tossed with slow cooked beef cheek providing the perfect vehicle for their home made Napolitana sauce. The gnocchi used in all dishes at Enzo’s is made fresh on site by Enzo’s nephews. It’s all about beautiful simplicity in Italian cuisine and the LINGUINE AL GAMBERETTI uses a simple dressing of virgin olive oil, chilli, garlic and parsley allowing the contrasting raw flavors of bacon and prawn to dominate.

This is also seen in their MARGHERITA pizza of Tomato, mozzarella with oregano and their proscuitto, rocket and parmesan pizza.   

The RISOTTO PESCATORE of octopus, mussels, calamari, prawns, vongole in a fresh Napolitana sauce is the star attraction. Ask about the personal connection to this dish which has a personal tie to Enzo’s father who has now passed. It’s a beautifully presented dish, sculpturesque in form in this special version featuring crab. The rich broth absorbed into the rice with hues of sweetness from the fresh seafood make every bite worth savouring. 

Enzo’s sister crafts the desserts and there are 12 to choose from. It was a symphony of ‘oooooo’s and ‘aaaaahhhhh’s as the end note to a great meal came out.  Each plate buildng on the next. The silky wobble of the panna cotta, the lacy encasement of crepe both feature nutella - an impossible choice! The spongy pudding of caramel and finely chopped dates and the puff pastry seeds filled with ricotta, masacarpone, goats cheese, sultanas, fried and served with pistachio crumbs, vanilla gelato, honey castor and sugar!  

In reaching this level of perfection, very little change has been needed to their menu since the opening of its flagship in Chipping Norton. Very few can boast such a unique proposition propelling this chain of restaurants into one of the destinations for rustic Italian in the Western Sydney...

PLEASE READ EVERYONE Extremely very disappointed. Customers of Northmead and Gregory Hills - but this place at chipping Norton is filthy.. usually if one see a dirty front door.., toilets etc - the place is read like a book, WELL I’m not wrong, my entree plate was dirty and not cleaned in clean hot water (covered in fingerprints and marks) the water cooler (bottle) was the same, my husbands calamari was on its way off, and a few pieces were bad and tasted rotten, you could even smell it , and was removed by the waitress, my entree cream sauce was put on a cold plate and was received cold as it was only a very small amount of sauce, my main pasta wasn’t seasoned and was very blan... which I took home for my dogs. The last thing I was shocked about was my visit to the rest room... access was through a private back walk way to the shopping centre public amenities... what a discusting area.. the walk way was littered with bags of full dumped rubbish, scatted empty boxes everywhere and the smell was shocking, which I had to walk around and step over, besides this.. the door to the restaurant was dirty all over and covered with finger prints from clean washed hands leaving New marks in the filth.. I wished I could was them again as I was on my way back in to eat after touching this door 😡 Besides all this ... if you do visit the chipping norton enzos restaurant, look under the white butchers paper that covers the dirty table underneath with the stuck on previous paper on the table that the staff are more than happy to keep covering. Over all... never again.. we may never visit any of the other restaurants as these are family owned restaurants not franchised. ONE...

Premium city restaurant prices, with service worse than any local pub.

First, the grilled octopus entree arrived hardly warm, within about 4 min of ordering. Obviously pre-cooked and not even warmed up properly.

About 8 waiters standing around (nearly more than patrons), yet I waited 20 min for a mineral water before getting up to get one myself. Also waited 15 min for a glass of wine that was supposed to go with my steak. Even after I went to the bar to remind them, they didn’t bring it until after I finished my meal.

$45 Eye fillet came overcooked (ordered medium).

Spoke to a lady that claimed to be the manager. She added insult to injury with disingenuous excuses (like that a wine I ordered from among 4 reds by the glass on their menu is a rare one, even though I saw the bartender take it from a bunch of bottles on the bar) and claims that none of this has happened before.

Won’t be back until I see a serious change of management and service staff. Enzo should be able to do better with half the staff members, if he pays for competent people. This team should be working...