Lose yourself in the moment at Attimi, Paddington’s new degustation restaurant from Dario Manca
Opening a restaurant of his own has long been a dream for Dario Manca – onFriday September 6, he finally did it. Attimi by Dario Manca has opened to the public in the history-laden Given Terrace site that has, over the years, housed lauded restaurants like NOTA and Montrachet. Sitting at a table the near window of his 28-seat restaurant, I ask the Italian-born chef how he knew he was ready to take the leap into restaurant ownership.
“You’re never ready for this thing, but I think there was a bit of confidence thanks to the good training that I’ve had in the past,” says Dario, who says that previous positions – including stints as sous chef at Sydney’s Pilu at Freshwater and head chef at Brisbane institutions ZA ZA TA and Rosmarino – helped him become a more confident chef. That said, Dario admits that running a kitchen pales in comparison to overseeing all facets of a restaurant.
“[Cooking] is probably 15-to-20 percent of what I do now,” Dario tells us. “I’m like, ‘Wow, there is so much else.’ I’m learning to release my soul from my body and look at it all from another perspective.“
At the end of the day, it’s Dario’s soul – the essence of his being, not just his cooking – that is woven into the fabric of Attimi, which can be broadly described as an Italian restaurant, but not the kind readily found in Brisbane.
“In Italy we have a lot of diversity,” says Dario. “We have trattoria style, you have agriturismo style, you have normal restaurant style, you have pizzerias and then you have casual fine dining, fine dining, and then you have Michelin style. When it comes to Brisbane, I always felt like there were only macro Italian concepts and that’s it. What is missing, for me, is that Michelin style, which is still Italian cuisine, just done a little bit differently.”
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Dario is electing to take somewhat of a conceptual approach to Attimi’s high-end Italian cuisine, offering two degustation menus that take guests on a region-hopping tour of Italy (an a la carte offering is also available). But there’s nothing standard about the fare that hits the table at Attimi – it’s recognisably Italian, sure, but Dario is going to great lengths to present familiar flavours in new, unexpected and fun forms, honouring long-held traditions in his own way.
“I like to be playful,” says Dario of his culinary proclivities. “I like to be a bit more entertaining and colourful.”
For Attimi’s debut menu, the chef has scoured Italy’s most famous regions for inspiration, finding a hook – be it a specialty dish, a story or sometimes just an abstract element – as a starting point for an idea. By playing with form and presentation – disassembling a dish and then reassembling in new ways – Dario is attempting to trigger nostalgia and excite synapses, making diners feel like they’re discovering quintessential Italian flavours for the first time.
“Nothing is traditional, but all of it is,” Dario says, cryptically. “You still have tradition, but there’s a modern twist on it – I’m trying to have a little bit of fun and offer a contemporary take. It’s like we are saying, let’s remember where we come from. Let’s create a story that is edible.”
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Dario singles out the fish crisp – a delicate fish-shaped morsel boasting ricotta, taramasalata, white sardines, house-made preserved lemon gel and oregano – as an example of this approach. In Emilia Romagna, Dario informs us, even the skeleton of the fish is devoured. Therefore, the crisp’s skeletal shape is presented as an homage. Conversely, the burrata opera (found on the a la carte menu), which comes with carbonara paste, pecorino Romano cream, crispy guanciale, pepper and chive oil, puts two recognisable but unrelated staples together in a collision of cheesy decadence.
If he committed to covering every region, Attimi’s full menu would tally 21 courses. Right now, guests can pop in for ‘A quick Italian tour’ – an eight-course whirlwind of regions like Sardinia (rosemary carasau with smoked stracciatella, anchovies and pickled tomatoes), Lombardy (filo confit garlic tarts with goat cheese cream, salt-baked beetroot and basil), Lazio (tagliolini arrabbiata with ‘nduja and oregano, South Australian mussels, buffalo blue cheese cream and bread crumb), and the Aosta Valley (Stone Axe full-blood MBS 8/9 sirloin with fermented honey, pickled mushrooms and red wine jus).
Guests opting for the longer-form, 12-course menu see their travels expanded to regions like Calabria (savoury cannoli with beef tartare, cornichons, stracciatella and bagna cauda mayo), Sicily (the ‘Ultimate Arancino’ with Carnaroli rice, porcini mushrooms, Trifolati and truffle mayo) and Veneto (Mooloolaba king prawns and mascarpone cappelletti, bisque sauce, buffalo stracciatella and basil oil). Both menus include house-made sourdough focaccia with prosciutto-infused cultured butter. If dining a la carte, your options also include beef rump cap tartare with black bagna cauda mayo and stracciatella, Fremantle octopus with lardo di colonnata, and smoked labneh, game farm rabbit cavatelli with goat cheese cream and caper leaves, and charcoal-grilled Queensland coral trout with cardamom and prosciutto di Parma sauce.
“With the long menu, in particular, we really want to showcase Italian hospitality,” says Dario. “You’re going to get full. We’re going to make sure of it. If you’re not full, I’ll fix it.”
All of this is backed by a wine list nudging close to 85 bottles, with Italian wines strongly represented alongside select drops from Australia and France. Attimi’s cocktail list is still being refined, but Dario tells us to expect a bit of quirkiness and some discernible Italian touches for the house cocktails.
As for the space itself, Dario has left most of the site’s character elements as is, cutting back the bar in order to accommodate more seating and shelving space for wine. When it comes Attimi’s decor, Dario is applying his tastes to the restaurant’s finer details – his own painting hangs on the walls (he also hand paints the front of each menu), clay heads from New Delhi artist Claymen sit on every table and coasters resembling Sicilian art can be found under glasses.