Olio

Sicilian-born, award-winning chef Lino Sauro opened Olio Kensington Street in early 2017 to show Sydney why Sicilian is the new Italian. Olio Kensington Street (Italian for olive oil) is located in the beautifully restored The Old Rum Store with a contemporary indoor dining room plus lush rooftop terrace overlooking Chippendale. Sauro comes from a long lineage of self-sufficient Sicilian farmers where he grew up with meals that were created with the quality produce grown on the property. This translates into Sauro’s menu with dishes that reflect a strong connection to his Sicilian roots. Keeping it in the family, Sauro sources his olive oil – the base of all his dishes – from the family’s Sicilian farm. Typical of the region, seasonal seafood, wild fennel, raisins, saffron and couscous are hero ingredients on Olio Kensington Street’s menu. For the past 10 years, Sauro has lived in Singapore heading up his first solo Sicilian restaurant venture showing locals that Italian food can be more than pizza and heavy, creamy sauces. Now it’s Sydney’s turn. “This is the style of food my family and I eat in Sicily. At home we’re surrounded by the ocean and olive trees, so obviously olive oil and seafood are very important. Sicily’s historic past also mean there’s influences from North Africa and Mediterranean Europe. It’s a beautiful cuisine that I believe will translate really well to Australia given the location and climate here.” – Lino Sauro, Chef