25°C | Monday March 24, 2025 
21 June 2024
By Hannah Wilcox
North Sydney’s newest culinary addition, Antica, opened its doors to diners this week.
Located at 196 Miller Street, residents can divulge in a little slice of Italy at the recently restored 1909 heritage-listed ‘Montrose House’.
Aiming to showcase authentic Italian – honouring tradition whilst embracing modern culinary techniques – the menu offers a wide range of delicacies from fresh seafood to handmade pastas.
Starting off with its cicchetti (appetiser) offerings; Antica ticks all the boxes with starters ranging from chargrilled ciabatta with extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic, ricotta fritta with fried ricotta, pumpkin, risotto al salto, honey and vincotto to Sydney rock oysters with a choice of natural, raspberry prosecco vinaigrette or gin, lime, ginger, cucumber and chilli.
The antipasti menu sports meats of every kind, from pesce crudo cured ocean trout accompanied by blood orange, fennel, pickled onion, squid ink tuile, orange gel and lemon oil as well as deboned quail with apricot, pancetta, limoncello jus, carrot creme, cavalo nero and vincotto.
For the vegetarians: burrata with wilted radicchio, hazelnut, semi dried cherry tomatoes, peach pearls and a side of charred bread.
Diners are spoiled for choice with Antica’s not one, but two pasta menus. Paste Ripiene details ravioli with salami, pork sausage, roasted cherry tomato sugo, ndjua, pecorino and parsley foam, blue swimmer crab tortelli and pumpkin, chestnut and ricotta pansotti.
Spaghetti Aragosta with WA rock lobster, pear, asparagus and stracciatellla risotto verde, maccheroni ragu, risotto alla milanese and spaghetti pascatore with seafood from all over AUstralia decorates the pasta menu.
The mains and the grill sections boast mouth-watering duck, toothfish, lamb rack, wagyu beef and of course venison and ribeye.
All this can be served with a choice of sides including broccolini, duck fat potatoes mixed leaf salad and shoestring fries.
Antica is open six days a week for lunch and dinner from 11.30am and 5.30pm, and only for dinner on Saturdays.
The bar will be serving drinks from 12pm till late.
The venue, previously home to iconic eatery L’Inconto in the 80’s, underwent three months of refurbishments in time for its open day on May 18.
“We are so excited to welcome and meet our local community,” co-owner Melissa Pagano said at the time.
“The Open Day offers the opportunity for everyone to rediscover the iconic site which has been closed for the past three years and will be open soon.”
Pagano is one of the restaurateurs behind Entrata in Glenhaven, with Antica to be their second culinary venture into the east.