The Italian On The Hill - Yamba
- Written by Greg Rogers, Editor of The Times
On a warm evening weeknight in Spring, I visited The Italian On The Hill at Yamba for a light meal with wine.
The first positive was the location. The Italian On The Hill is indeed on a hill: Pilot Hill in Yamba.
The famous Pacific Hotel is across the road facing the Coral Sea. Before or after dining, a walk along the trails on the cliff top is a must.
The Italian On The Hill is a nice looking restaurant both externally and internally. It is not large and there are not a lot of tables. The proprietor has not made the mistake of crowding tables together to fit in more guests and therefore reservations are recommended. I arrived unannounced without a reservation and was fortunate to be offered the last table.
Service from the staff was first class. The ratio of staff to customers was high and there was no waiting to order food or drinks. Yet another positive.
A man of Italian descent mingled with guests offering advice on food and drinks according to his wont. He just moved from table to table as a supplement to the efficient and knowledgeable wait staff. I suspect that he was the owner or manager.
My food arrived soon after ordering and it was stunning.
I ordered a Shiraz to go with the bottle of chilled water presented to me on my arrival and my meal was pasta based.
"PACCHERI RAGÙ - Traditional Neapolitan large tube shaped pasta, served with an aromatic pork ragù, slow cooked for 8 hours. Topped with pecorino. $38"
The meal was delicious: more than that, it was a delight, made up of the texture of the pasta, the genuine long time cooked ragu and the sauce was topped with pecorino cheese. I ordered crusty bread with an olive oil based garlic drip and its flavours perfectly complimented the main.
Presentation on arrival was again, perfect but I soon added the bread to absorb the flavours of the ragu and sauce.
The meal was most enjoyable and was exceptional value.
For dessert, I ordered Sorbet, both lemon and a strawberry passion fruit combination. Unlike many sorbets, my portions were somewhat creamy. Every spoonful was certainly the best that I have ever tasted.
While waiting for my food and while eating, I saw many meals being delivered to other guests. Each serving looked very good, were generous portions and the various interesting aromas were left behind, lingering in the air, as they passed by.
I used to judge an Italian restaurant by the quality of its spaghetti bolognese. That Italian classic was my benchmark. The Italian On The Hill does not appear to serve that meal but it does not matter as its PACCHERI RAGÙ is my new reference point of the quality of an Italian dish.
I enjoyed my first "Italian On The Hill" experience immensely. Every aspect was faultless.
The menu may vary from that displayed on the website and on arrival a daily specials list is offered with the wine list.
3 February 2024 Sad news. The Italian on the Hill is now permanently closed
https://www.theitalianonthehill.com/menu
Address: 16 Clarence St, Yamba NSW 2464
Menu: theitalianonthehill.com
Reservation: nowbookit.com
Phone: 0458 384 058
* I was a paying guest who arrived unannounced and anonymously.
