The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Some of our friends asked us if we wanted to go to the Carriageworks Markets, which we kind of assumed was a Christmas thing, but it turns out it was the thing that just happens every single weekend.
In a massive hall lined with probably a hundred vendors we only got one thing to eat, which was this sourdough panzerotto ($7.50), from the Vannella cheese stall, by a Marrickville based cheese factory that apparently does the burrata for a large number of Sydney’s restaurants.
It was basically like a large dumpling or an empanada – a sourdough wrapper with some mozzarella inside, some tomato passata and extra virgin olive oil and dried oregano, all deep fried. It came out hot, even though it wasn’t freshly made, covered in just a little sprinkling of salt and was just so delicious, just like a pizza pocket, with such an unexpectedly stringy cheese pull which was not captured on camera.
The marketing materials harped on about the single origin nature of the Gunnedah flour, but that doesn’t really mean anything to me. All I know is that it tasted good.
In what’s probably a vain attempt to undo 30 years of processedmeatmaxxing, I’ve been trying to minimize my intake of processed and red meats overall – an endeavor that’s probably ruined my experience at the Illawara’s famed panini hub – a place that really specializes in sandwiches filled with the worst and best kinds of processed meat.
Instead of some delicious abomination filled with salami and mortadella, I had a cotaletta ($13.50), featuring a chicken schnitzel, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, Swiss cheese, and Russian sauce between some housemade bread.
Not bad, good size comes to mind. The flavours are muted, and a little bit more dressing could have gone a long way, though the light taste of it all did allow the sweetness of the Swiss cheese to shine through. The schnitzel was pleasntly warm, though the bread, though made in-house, was nothing special.The deli is located within a bottle-o, and co-located with an Italian grocery store, so it’s less of a restaurant and more of a place that sells sandwiches, with a park bench outside – adequate seating for a couple of guys, but probably inadequate during a more busy period of time.
Service, in contrast to what some of the other online reviews have said, was instant near closing, with no wait at all – a completely different experience to Inner West darling Raineri’s. It’s probably not a huge amount more time driving down to the Gong and getting a sandwich from Paninoteca Hub, than waiting in line at Five Dock.
Perhaps a more cured meat forward sandwich, preceded by a psyllium husk bolus, is on the menu for next time.
Paninoteca Hub Shop 1a/20-22 Weringa Ave Lake Heights NSW 2502
I don’t normally go for this style of pizza (prefer Neapolitan) but this Ayers Rock ($26 for a family size, 15 inches) is really not bad – purchased for $2 delivered as part of a once off app promotion.
The base is very thin, as can be seen through the cross-section, which means that the topping to bread ratio is actually very good. The flavour, in keeping with a ham, onion, and egg pizza, is predominantly of salt with a hint of tang from the tomato base. They managed, in a rare display of restraint and skill, to avoid the pie being over-salty.
Overall, and deadnaming the landmark aside, it was a pretty good pizza – though not something I’d go out and get.
Pane e Vino Trattoria was actually not the Croydon pizza restaurant I had intended to visit, something I realised only as we drove past Mario’s Pizzeria. In spite of this, and the tail end of a protracted URTI, we had a pretty good meal.
My partner is on a bit of a health kick and requested the insalata di rucola ($17), a plate of mostly rocket drizzled with vinaigrette and with some walnut , parmesan, and a few pear slices mixed in. She enjoyed it, though I could not appreciate it much apart from the vinegar.
The rustica ($26) was a good pizza. Very tasty, well topped, and with a very crispy and chewy crust – a trait that is surely a class characteristic and not unique to this particular topping offering.
The pistaccio pizza ($27) is somewhat of a house specialty, and much more subdued in flavour compared to the rustica. As this pizza relied on subtlety rather than a combination of highly seasoned meats, I had difficulty really appreciating it at the time of consumption, apart from the creamy textures and excellent base. My partner however really enjoyed this pizza, going so far as to not even pick off the prawns. I hope to try it again in a more sinus-clear state.
We pre-ordered online and subsequently picked up in person a cake from local bakery Tamborrino, taking the opportunity to try a few quick snacks whilst we were there.
The REASON FOR VISIT was this ricotta and pear semifreddo (around $40). Semi-freddo as a concept is not something that we’re particularly familiar with, and we were told to keep this out of the fridge for 3 hours prior to serving. Due to poor planning on our part, we consumed this cake after only 90 minutes at room temperature, by which point it had devolved into extremely soft, almost custard like texture. Being non-Italian and not having had any semi or full freddo before, I wasn’t sure if such a degree of softness was intentional, but it certainly did not help with the cake’s overall overpowering sweetness. Though sacrilegious as it may be, I think this would’ve been much better eaten straight out of the freezer, giving it a bit more structure and muting the sweetness just a little bit.
I should admit that I did enjoy the little gold encrusted cereal balls, which were a bit chewy and a bit crunchy. Despite this, this was one of the few occasions where I actually preferred the backup cake from Savoy, the classic taro cake, that is always present at such events.
Though I didn’t love the main event, I did quite enjoy this ricotta mini cannoli ($~4 or less). We had made a separate trip some months ago to Mezzapica in Leichardt to get their allegedly very good cannoli, but I honestly don’t think Tamborrino’s was any worse – possibly even better. We had been lured to Leichardt on the promise that Mezzapica’s cannoli would be extra crispy due to their piping to order, but to be honest Tamborrino’s cabinet cannoli crisped just fine. Unlike the other things we had from Tamborrino, the cannoli was not too sweet.
The other little snack we had was this pistachio mini bomba ($4) – essentially a donut filled with an absolutely huge amount of pistachio filling. This, much like the cake was also quite sweet. But somehow more enjoyable – perhaps due to its small size.
UPDATE 2026 For my boss’s 41st birthday and in a show of absolute Chinese deference, my colleague brought us an entire box of mini cannoli from a local bakery. Not wanting to be the lone one out, I was therefore obliged to also bring in some baked goods from my local bakery on the way to work the following day.
Not wanting to provoke a direct head to head comparison, I did not get any cannoli, which I already knew to be good from our last visit.
This sfolgiatella ($3.50) was not too bad. Sweet but not oppressively so, with a crispy multilayered exterior and a slightly citrusy interior.
Not learning my mistake from our previous visit, I ordered some pistachio lobster tails ($5), which were again overpoweringly sweet. I guess in some cultures, that is a good thing?
Pasticceria Tamborrino Five Dock 75 Great N Rd, Five Dock NSW 2046
