Iconic Sydney fine diner Icebergs Dining Room has opened its doors once again, just in time to celebrate 20 years of business under Maurice Terzini.
The Bondi restaurant has been redesigned by Lazzarini Pickering Architetti, with the firm returning the oceanside venue to its former glory.
“I see how fortunate I am,” says Terzini. “This opportunity doesn’t come around often. There are restaurants all over the world, but how many of them become institutions? To be a custodian of a place like this, it’s a body of work, it’s about dedication.”
Guests will now enjoy a dining experience in a space that’s a reflection of its unique location, with the palette informed by blues and greens as well as textural elements such as tiled tables crafted by manufacturers outside of Florence, Italy.
An open ice-filled seafood counter is one of the key interest points of the space, which is filled with everything from lobsters to marron.
Head Chef Alex Prichard remains at the helm of the Icebergs kitchen and has revised the menu in line with the reopening, which takes cues from Terzini family recipes and classic Italian flavour profiles.
“‘Flavours Maurice’s mother would recognise, but food she would never cook’ has always been the brief since opening in 2002,” says Prichard. “Coastal seaside Italian, but true to where we are in Australia.”
The chef lists a dish of caviar, pizelle (Italian waffle cookies) and cultured cream as an example. “We’ve rarely seen pizelle in Australia, but after eating Maurice’s mother’s pizelle at his house, we decided it had to be on the menu.”
Guests can choose two courses for $110 or three for $130, with options categorised under antipasti, secondi and dolci. Or better yet, leave the decision-making to the kitchen with the $180 tasting menu.
Highlights include the classic antipasti dish of San Daniele prosciutto and wasabi melon; koshihikari risotto with XO and prawn crudo; pasta alle vongole and market fish with oregano butter and garlic chives.
Matty Opai’s drinks list charts signature sips such as the house sbagliato alongside cocktails split into ‘beachside drinking’, ‘strong and sophisticated’, ‘Icebergs numbers’, wines by the glass and bottle along with beer, cider and seltzer.
“The drinks list is all about seaside drinking with twists on the classics, but also featuring Icebergs numbers we know and love that have been with us from the beginning,” he says.
The restaurant’s wine cellar has now been integrated into the new dining space, with wine fridges moving into the dining room, allowing sommeliers and front of house to serve wine at its ideal temperate.
Icebergs is now open for bookings Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm.
