Buon Ricordo

Ph: (02) 9360 6729; 108 Boundary St, PADDINGTON 2021 www.buonricordo.com.au

Italian, $$$, *** for Food & Ambience
Open Lunch Fri-Sat noon-3pm; Dinner Tue-Sat 6-10.45pm, Closed All public holidays; Licensed; AE DC MC V EFT, Seats inside 90, Private room 55, Kids welcomed
Chef (Armando Percuoco & Massimo Bianchi, 2007-11-3) Owner (Armando Percuoco & Gemma Cunningham, 2007-11-3)

Mietta's Review
Buon Ricordo means good memory and you will certainly have one after you leave this comfortable place. All sorts are here - foodies, families, neighbourhood types, suits - and we can see why: first class service, a comfortable room and excellent Italian food. For many years the menu didn't changed much, but with the arrival of the new chef,Massimo Bianchi, a new direction has evolved. One of the better Italian wine lists in town. Founded in 1987 it's still one of Sydney's best and is highly recommended.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 16/20, Two Hats "Home to the well-heeled and very well fed, Buon Ricordo offers classic - and simple, as it should be - Italian, sprung with luxurious flourishes"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "Don't miss the timballo. A reconstruction of the 18th-century Neapolitan feast dish, this plinth of pasta tubes, stuffed with quail eggs, pork and tomat sauce, exemplifies the marriage of tradition and bravura that makes this grandest of Sydney Italian restaurants great"

Sydney Eats 2008 "Owner Armando Percuoco and young Roman-born chef Massimo Bianchi continue to share the kitchen at this Paddo perennial, the quiet and thoughtful Massimo in the kitchen and the ebullient Armando out front in the comfortable rooms, glad-handing his army of faithful customers"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 16/20, Two Hats "One of Sydney's finest Italians is a class act, enhanced by the faux-Tuscan building, heavy upholstered chairs, white-jacketed waiters and Armando Percuoco's affable hospitality. In Massimo Bianchi's pared-back menu, the fine produce and perfect pasta speak for themselves."

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide Score: ** "It's the hospitality and passion of chef/host Armando Percuoco that has always energised this simple room of double-clothed tables and dark wooden chairs, as he does the rounds, kissing regulars, welcoming newcomers and enthusiastically describing new dishes and specials."

SMH Good Living Eat Out Mathew Evans score 17/20, 1/11/05 "Still the one. Buon Ricordo continues to set the benchmark for Italian food in Sydney. A readjustment after the arrival of Massimo Bianchi has seen the restaurant bounce back better than ever."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006 "If it wasn't for landlord troubles about 20 years back, Armando Percuoco would be well into his third decade at the same restaurant. No matter, because Buon Ricordo feels like it's been in Boundary Street since the fall of Rome, with its classic rendered facade, faded tapestry at the entry, and timeless padded chairs."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide *** ""It just feels good walking in there. They always make you feel welcome and wanted. It's like going to a friend's place to dine." So says a loyal patron ofthis landmark Paddington restaurant, expressing a view shared by legions of discerning diners."

Sydney Eats 2006 "It's the clientele and their unconditional love for Armando Percuoco and his cosy restaurant that make the atmosphere here so special. It has the feel of a large family outing without the fights"

SBS Eating Guide to Sydney 2005 "Oft-cited as a standout Italian eatery, Buon Ricordo is gradually becoming an institution, not the least due to the charming, ever-present, exuberant owner/chef Armando Percuoco, who presides nightly over his kitchen and dining room."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 Two Hats Good Wine List "Buon Ricordo has been enshrined in the back streets of Paddington for 17 years serving food as true to its origins as the Tuscan pink and green shuttered facade. This is the home of Sydney's most loved pasta dish, fettuccine al tartufovo, and Armando Percuoco is a passionate protector of 'la vera cucina' (real Italian cuisine). He emerges frequently from his kitchen to greet regulars dining in the homely but elegant surrounds."

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005 *** Good Wine List "There are a handful of reasons that this upmarket Paddington trattoria is a perennial favourite with regulars. Its reassuring rustic decor - Majolica plates over the fireplace, a well-worn ochre tiled floor and starched white tablecloths - sets the scene for some seriously reliable Italian dining. Armando Percuoco and his gracious staff are well-versed in the restaurant arts and can guide menu-waverers to the right dish or Italian wine in a flash of evocative description."

Sydney Eats 2005 "Armando Percuoco's multi-award-winning establishment is a local favourite with an international reputation. The ebullient Percuoco (even his name sounds like he was destined to cook) is a champion of the cucina povera of his family's Neapolitan origins; some gourmands never recover from their first taste of his signature fettuccine al tartufovo (cream sauce with a lightly fried, truffle-infused egg)."

SMH GFG 2004, Score 17/20, 2 Hats-Kitchen alchemy, excellent wine list,'What makes Buon Ricordo so popular is consistency and attention to detail...The timing of the dishes and the attentive yet inconspicuous service makes for an experience that unfolds like a sweet dream-as does the excellent wine list'

Gournet Traveller Guide 2004-3 red stars for fine dining, excellent wine list, gracious and efficient staff, classical italian, carefully selected wine list- details updated