The Dolphin Hotel Has Enlisted the Help of an Ex-Bella Brutta Chef to Revamp Its Pizza Menu

One of Sydney's best pubs, The Dolphin Hotel is known for its boundary-pushing wine list and top-notch Italian eats. Situated in a sunlit space unlike any other pub, the venue's kitchen has already built a reputation for its tasty plates of pasta, prosciutto and burrata. And now it's taking its pizza offerings to a whole new level.

The Surry Hills stalwart has just welcomed Delfino, an in-house pizzeria dedicated to woodfired rounds. This fresh offering is centred around a newly arrived, handcrafted Neapolitan Mesiano Wood Oven and Head Pizzaiola Sasa Smiljanic, who was previously leading the kitchen over at Newtown favourite Bella Brutta.

Working with Executive Chef Danny Corbett, Smiljanic has created a menu that balances the traditional and the playful, featuring eight different varieties of pizza all atop the pub's specialty Napoletana pizza dough. This meticulously crafted pizza base utilises three different types of flour imported from Italy, and is pre-fermented using a biga base, which means it requires less yeast and is lighter overall.

"The [old] pizza oven has gone to the gods! After eight years and thousands of delicious pizzas, it needed a replacement," said The Point Group restaurateur Brett Robinson. "We've always had a great reputation for our pizza, and so we sought out the best in the business, and that's how we found Sasa."

Former Dolphin classics make a return on the new menu — like the double pepperoni and the Mari e Monti, an Italian take on surf and turf featuring king prawns, pancetta, fermented chilli and XO sauce. And there's a range of new Smiljanic creations including a New York-style sausage and capsicum pizza; the eggplant ragu, ricotta, calamata olives and mozzarella-topped Caponata; and a truffle, mushroom and porcini variety titled Funghi e Tartufo.

The new pizza menu is available alongside the core range of eats at the pub, and is waiting and ready to be paired with one of the many impressive vinos on offer at the bar.

Delfino Pizzeria is now open inside The Dolphin Hotel at 412 Crown Street, Surry Hills. The pub is open 12pm–12am Monday–Saturday and 12pm–10pm Sunday.