Spiga

IN BRIEF Stunning, silky-smooth handmade pasta, authentic puffy pizzas and more, all delivered with punchy Italian flavours and an authentic Neapolitan-style atmosphere. WHY CHOOSE THIS

RESTAURANT? A warm welcome is offered at this intimate, almost jewel box-like dining room, where you can experience the best food that’s been cooked in staid old Remuera for several decades. It's a thoroughly modern interpretation of serious Italian fare, with a drinks list to match.

ABOUT THE FOOD Start with freshly sliced-to-order genuine Parma prosciutto topped with cute little balls of fried pizza dough, plus as many of the starters and snacks that you possibly dare to order. Chargrilled octopus arrives deliciously smoky, finished on a small ‘Green Egg’ cooker and served with an old-school potato salad. Salads are seasonal, always fab and tasty, and the playful approach to tonnato turns out to be sliced pork loin with traditional tuna mayo and hazelnut oil. Pasta dishes range from gorgeous melt-in-the-mouth squid-ink tortelli stuffed with broccoli and lemon zest and served with a spicy baby octopus sauce, through to traditional linguini clams in garlic and chilli oil, and a wonderful tangle of saffron tagliatelle with veal-shank ragout and salsa verde. Don’t miss the flavour-packed pizzas, as leftovers are always obligingly packed up to take home for next day snacking.

ABOUT THE CHEF His name says it all. Fabrizio (Fab) Napolitano is truly ‘fab', a chef who really does hail from Naples, the centre of all amazing pizza and pasta. He formerly forged a fine reputation at Nom in Hong Kong, where his famed meatballs were highly applauded by the discerning diners of that food-oriented city. Fab met his Kiwi wife Taryne Hall Napolitano there, where she ran a top-notch catering company. “She is everything that’s essential to my life and food,” he shared.