Parma Cucina

Named after the provincial city in northern Italy famous for its art, music, architecture, surrounding countryside and of course, gastronomy, Parma Cucina brings us that wonderful Italian dinning experience.

Peroni on tap

The venue is causal yet cosy with friendly service. The drinks menu offers cocktails, wine, beer and cider. You can get Peroni and Grolsch on tap, while the wine list favours the red, there is a good selection of white and sparkling to keep you interested. You'll find classic cocktails on the list plus some rather interesting sounding ones, such as Strawberry Balsamic Martini (fresh strawberries muddled with sugar and lemon, strawberry liquor, vodka and Balsamic vinegar), definitely one for the adventurous.

We kicked off our evening with the Parma House Antipasto (Chef's selection of salumi, cheese, marinated vegetables, olives, smoked salmon, panelle and grissini). The serving is very generous and could easily satisfy 3-4 people as a shared entree. For something light to go with the mains we ordered the Caponatina (seared tuna, Spanish onion, deep fried eggplant, baby fennel, orange, cos salad, pistachio and mint). It is full of flavour and the seared tuna simply melt in your mouth.

Lasagna D'anatra

Their signature dish, Lasagna D'anatra (slow roasted duck and porcini lasagna from their pizza oven) is a must try. It is deliciously cheesy, rich and very filling. The Orange Tagliatella (with spicy saute of swordfish, green olives and wild fennel leaves) had a real kick to it, you can really taste the swordfish and chilli, of course the pasta was cooked al dente, the Italian way. 

They source their coffee from Mecca and organic tea from The Rabbit Hole, I like the fact that they have included a few caffeine free teas on the list, I know for those like me, who tend to stay away from caffeine in the evenings, a small detail like this comes much appreciated. What I also noticed from the menu was the numerous gluten free dishes on offer, definitely a plus for those who has gluten sensitivity.

The Rocher (Ferrero Rocher cheese cake with vanilla gelato and chocolate bread) looked very tempting but given the amount of food we ate, thanks to the generous servings, none of us could fit dessert in, or anything else for that matter.

Don't have time for a trip to Italy in the near future for that glass of sparkling Prosecco? Not to worry, just head to Parma for happy hour and stay for dinner. Buon Appetito!

Parma Cucina: 285a Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010