Salt Meats Cheese Cronulla

Overview

Salt Meats Cheese has expanded again. This time, it's headed down south — to the Sutherland Shire. The restaurant chain's fifth New South Wales establishment is a 87-seater located within the art deco and heritage-listed Commonwealth Bank building on Ocean Grove. It boasts big open windows, exposed brick walls and its signature woodfired pizza oven.

The pizzas are, of course, the hero here, and include house favourites like the Amatriciana — topped with smoked scamorza, amatriciana sauce, pancetta and pecorino — and the Tartufo, made with fior di latte, mushrooms, gorgonzola and truffle oil. There are gluten-free bases and dairy-free gorgonzola up for grabs, too.

With pizza must come pasta, and a standout is the tagliolini with blue swimmer crab, zucchini and chilli. Other Italian staples on offer include antipasti and cocktails. The latter includes a menu of signature spritzes, like the Yarra Valley (Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz gin, prosecco and soda) and the Riviera Spritz (ruby red grapefruit aperitif, prosecco and soda). Cocktails better suited to later in the meal are the amaretto sour and tiramisu martini — which is made with Frangelico and Sydney's own Mr Black coffee liqueur.

Salt Meats Cheese's NSW expansion doesn't stop in the Shire, either — a sixth instalment is coming to a rooftop bar in Circular Quay soon, along with a seventh location in Dee Why. Keep an eye on this space for updates.

Images: Jiwon Kim.