Frankly pizza

AT FERNANDOS

132 Norton Street, Leichhardt.
Tel: 9560 7957

 

After so many years in the restaurant industry, the Riggio family have cooking good food down to a fine art. When you enter their family run restaurant, At Fernandos, and smell the pizza dough crisping up in the wood fire oven, you know you are in good hands.

All the recipes used in the kitchen have been handed down from one generation to the next over the last 40 years and fi rst began in the family’s hometown of Calabria. Since opening up on Norton Street five years ago, At Fernandos has gained a strong following for their authentic Italian food and most of their customers are regulars who can’t stop coming back for more. Owner Anthony Riggio decided to celebrate the restaurant’s fi fth year anniversary this month by introducing a new selection of $10 pasta lunch specials and installing a traditional wood fi re pizza oven.

Obviously I can’t help but try a Fernando’s style pizza but I’ve also heard that the seafood is great here so I decide to start off my meal with a Margherita and follow it up with the Penne Gamberi.

Now speaking as someone who thinks her Nonna makes the best wood fire pizza in the world, I can be a little hard to please, but I was certainly not disappointed as my pizza arrived at the table. With a thick and crispy base and plenty of cheese, At Fernandos pizza is among the best I’ve tried in Leichhardt. And it only gets better from there.

I am overwhelmed when a generous serve of penne tossed with gulf prawns and crab meat in a rosa sauce is set down in front of me but I cannot not wait to dig in. The creamy sauce cooked with a hint of garlic is amazingly smooth and tasty and I don’t stop until the plate is completely empty. When I comment about how great the sauce is I am told that it’s because everything At Fernandos is home made…no bottled sauces… everything is made from scratch, and it defi nitely makes all the difference.

At Fernandos was always the perfect place for an authentic Italian dinner, but now that it’s opened during the day, it’s also the perfect place for an affordably delicious lunch. Fully licensed and BYO. At Fernandos is open Monday to Sunday from 5.30pm for dinner and Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm to 3pm for lunch.

Nancy Merlo